The II-V-I (or 2-5-1) is a very common chord movement in many musical genres, but especially in jazz. Understanding how it works can add a lot of flexibility and fluency to your soloing and improvisation.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Arp Ex 01
So, to play over the A7 chord, here's your first Eb7 arpeggio. No, that isn't a typo! We're using ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Arp Ex 02
The second Eb7 shape, again starting from a 5th-string root.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Arp Ex 03
Finally, the Eb7 arpeggio from a 6th-string root.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Ex 01
Now, let's play over the full 2-5-1 in D minor. We'll play E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) in the ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Ex 02
The same principle as Ex1, but shifting down to Shape 5 of E minor pentatonic, and ending on a ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Ex 03
Down to Shape 4 of E minor pentatonic, and now it's easier to go to a different Eb7 arpeggio shape.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Ex 04
Shape 3 of E minor pentatonic. Notice how the 2-5-1 progression is flexible – we're using minor ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Ex 05
Finally, Shape 2 of E minor pentatonic, and now it's more convenient to go to the first Eb7 shape.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Lick 01
Now we'll make things sound more sophisticated. Still playing over the 2-5-1 in D minor, I'm now ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Lick 02
Almost the same as Lick 1, but I'm now using E Dorian (E F# G A B C# D) over Em7 and this allows me ...
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Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Lick 03
Back to the minor pentatonic (E G A B D) over Em7, then Eb Mixolydian and D Dorian.
Tuesday 31st Oct, 2023
Solo
Now we'll loop the backing track, so you have to keep coming up with new ideas. I'm keeping things ...
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