2-5-1 Progressions (w/ Some Modal Work)
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D
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A
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0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
(/) Slide Up (\) Slide Down (h) Hammer On (p) Pull Off (b) Bend (r) Release (v) Vibrato Stave 1: E|----------- B|--6--3--5-- G|--5--4--4-- D|--7--3--5-- A|--5-----3-- E|-----3----- Stave 2: E|------------- B|--10--12--8-- G|--10--10--9-- D|--10--12--9-- A|------10----- E|--10------8-- Stave 3: E|-------------------------------------------------------- B|-----------------------------------------5--3----------- G|-----------5--4--2--------------------4--------5--4--4-- D|-----3--7-----------5--3--------2--5-------------------- A|--5-----------------------2--3-------------------------- E|-------------------------------------------------------- http://www.guitartabcreator.com
Both staves here are 2-5-1 in C, which means the chord progression is (D-7, G7, Cmaj7). The first stave shows the generic pattern of the progression starting on the A string. The second stave shows a generic pattern starting on the E string (note that starting here means starting the chord progression, i.e. where you play the D-7 in this case). So, if i took this same pattern and progression, but moved each chord shape up one fret, I would be playing a 2-5-1 in the key of C# (D#-7,G#7,C#maj7).
We will see 2-5-1's frequently in Jazz, they are often used back to back in different keys, where the 2 from the progression is used to show that there is a new key coming (Blue Bossa does this when you change to the Eb-7). Because they are so prominent in Jazz, we need to know how to play over this progression.
The third stave is a sample line using each chords respective mode: D Dorian for the D-7 (this is the first four notes), G Mixolydian for the G7 (this is the second four notes), and C Ionian for the Cmaj7 (the last eight notes). This will fit and is a reasonable line to have at the ready when you see a 2-5-1 (note that if the 2-5-1 was in a different key, I would have to play this line in another spot on the guitar, even though the actual pattern would stay the same).
However, sometimes when we're playing a 2-5-1 we may want to make it grab the listener's attention, as they are often turning points in a song which can be important or they are the final chords in a song where we really want to spice our improvisation. One way to do this is Modal Interchange, which is one of the next steps to the idea of modes.