Modulating II-V Patterns

It’s better not to say the “J” word without just cause, but it is called for here. In Jazz music, many tunes are based on the ii-V chord progression. These ii-V’s can move across many potential keys.

One common method used to travel across many ii-V’s is to pivot the V into a minor chord, and then let this minor chord serve as the ii of another V to follow. We will explore this method in this lesson.

Key Changes

Since this lesson crosses several keys, the keys will be color-coded to add clarity.

Scales

In addition to the chords, each ii-V will have a major scale attached to it for improvisation and reference.

The Chord Progression

The Fretboard Patterns

G^-7

Key of F major

C⁷

Key of F major

F major scale (For G^-7 C⁷ ii-V)

Key of F major

C^-7

Key of B♭ major

F⁷

Key of B♭ major

B♭ major scale (For C^-7 F⁷ ii-V)

Key of B♭ major

F^-7

Key of E♭ major

B♭⁷

Key of E♭ major

E♭ major scale (For F^-7 B♭⁷ ii-V)

Key of E♭ major

B♭^-7

Key of A♭ major

E♭⁷

Key of A♭ major

A♭ major scale (For B♭^-7 E♭⁷ ii-V)

Key of A♭ major

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the patterns.
• Play the chord progression, using the scale to improvise short melodies between each chord.
• Practice improvising over a set of ii-V’s that proceed along this progression until reaching the original chord again.