By Jackie Don Loe
~ Jazzy "Two –
Five" Blues ~
The "Two-Five" or "II-V" in musical terms is a common jazz device employed to create motion over a stagnant chord progression. It is derived from the second and fifth chords of any key. (See Ex.1) In a G major chord scale, the two chord is an A minor and the five chord is a D dominant 7. The second example is a standard 12 Bar Blues in the key of G. In example 3, we substitute a ii-V in every other bar. (Bars 2,4,6,8,10,12) In bar 4, the Dm7 to G7 is a
II-V in the key of C and the II-V in bar 6 is in the key of Bb. This is a cool way to jazz up your blues, and you can hear this type of progression in many bebop tunes by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Try the two-five method, bop it and get hip.
Ex 1) G Major Chord Scale = G – Am – Bm – C – D7 – Em – F#dim - G
Ex 2) Standard 12 Bar Blues in key of G
G / / / | G / / / | G / / / | G / / / | C / / / | C / / / | G / / / | G / / / | D / / / | C / / / | G / / / | D / / / ||
Ex 3) Bebop 12 Bar Blues in key of G with Two-Five Substitution
G / / / | Am / D7 / | G / / / | Dm7 / G7 / | C / / / | Cm7 / F7 / | G / Am / | Bm / E7#9 / |
Am / / / | Am7 / D7 / | G / E7#9 / | Am7 / D7 / ||
"Two- Five Chords"
