Progression (E7-A7-D7-G7)
Play (help·info) which often appears in the
bridge of
jazz standards [1]. The V7/V/V/V - V7/V/V - V7/V - V7 [or V7/vi - V7/ii - V7/V - V7] leads back to C major (I)
Play (help·info) but is itself indefinite in key.
The ragtime progression [2] is, "a falling [chord] progression that works its way to a full or (more rarely) half close by a series of dominants, usually with sevenths... So named because of its frequency in ragtime and kindred genres, though it goes back much further."[3] It and its close variants, typical of ragtime music and parlour music genres though its use originated in classical music and spread to American folk music.[4] Growing, "by a process of gradual accretion. First the dominant chord acquired its own dominant...This then acquired its dominant, which in turn acquired yet another dominant, giving":[5]
Or:[6][7]
| (V7/V/V/V) |
V7/V/V |
V7/V |
V7 |
I |
Or:[8][9]
In C major this is:
Most commonly found in its four chord version (thus the parentheses). Play (help·info) This may be perceived as a, "harder, bouncier sounding progression," than the diatonic vi-ii-V7-I, in C: Am-Dm-G7-C.[10][11] Play (help·info)
The progression is an example of centripetal harmony, harmony which leads to the tonic and an example of the circle progression, a progression along the circle of fifths. Though creating or featuring chromaticism, the bass (if the roots of the chords), and often the melody, are pentatonic.[5] (Major pentatonic on C: CDEGA)
Variations include the addition of minor seventh chords before the dominant seventh chords, creating overlapping temporary ii-V-I relationships[12] through ii-V-I substitution:
| Bm7-E7 |
Em7-A7 |
Am7-D7 |
Dm7-G7 |
C |
since Bm7-E7-A is a ii-V-I progression, as is Em7-A7-D and so on. Play (help·info)
Examples of the use of the ragtime progression include the chorus of Howard & Emerson's "Hello! Ma Baby" (1899), the traditional "Keep On Truckin' Mama", Robert Johnson's "They're Red Hot" (1936), and Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" (1967).[13] Also Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby" (1962) and The Rooftop Singers's "Walk Right In"(1963) and the five chord "Charleston" (1923) and "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" (1925).[11] Lastly, Rev. Gary Davis's "Salty Dog",[14] "Sweet Georgia Brown"; Rossini's Stabat Mater, "Cujus animam" (mm.9-18); and Liszt's Liebestraum (1850), beginning.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- ^ Boyd, Bill (1997). Jazz Chord Progressions, p.56. ISBN 0-7935-7038-7.
- ^ Fahey, John (1970). Charley Patton, p.45. London: Studio Vista. Cited in van der Merwe (1989).
- ^ Van der Merwe, Peter (2005). Roots of the Classical, p.496. ISBN 9780198166474.
- ^ van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music, p.321. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
- ^ a b c Van der Merwe (2005), p.299.
- ^ Warnock, Matthew. "Turnarounds: How to Turn One Chord into Four". Music Theory Lesson. jazzguitar.be. http://www.jazzguitar.be/chord_turnarounds.html. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ^ Levine, Mark (1996). The jazz theory book. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 1883217040. http://books.google.com/books?id=iyNQpJ4oaMcC. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ^ Averill, Gage (2003). Four Parts, No Waiting, p.162. ISBN 9780195116724.
- ^ Weissman, Dick (2005). Blues: The Basics, p.50. ISBN 9780415970679.
- ^ Scott, Richard J. (2003). Chord Progressions for Songwriters, p.428. ISBN 9780595263844.
- ^ a b Davis, Kenneth (2006). The Piano Professor Easy Piano Study, p.105. ISBN 9781430303343. Same quote but gives the progression in E instead of C.
- ^ Boyd (1997), p.60.
- ^ Scott (2003), p.429
- ^ Grossman, Stefan (1998). Rev. Gary Davis/Blues Guitar, p.71. ISBN 978-0825601521.
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
Play (help·info) This may be perceived as a, "harder, bouncier sounding progression," than the diatonic vi-ii-V7-I, in C: Am-Dm-G7-C.[10][11] 
