One of the most common chord progressions in jazz is the ii – V – I progression. They are so common that it can get a bit repetitive to play them always in the same way. In this post, I’ll show you how to enhance a ii – V – I progression using chromatic major 7th chords. This is a simple trick that’s easy to use, applicable to any chord progression, and will elevate your piano harmonies.
Basic ii - V - I
First, let’s start with a basic ii – V – I progression in C major:
Chromatic Major 7th Chords
There’s nothing wrong with this progression! But, we can make this much more interesting by adding in additional harmonies, in this case: chromatic major 7th chords. Similar to tritone substitute chords (see my blog post on how to create those), these chords can be found by taking the note a half step above your target chord. So before a target chord G9, we’ll add an Abmaj7. Before a target chord C6/9, we’ll add a Dbmaj7:
As you can hear, these major 7th chords sound surprisingly warm and (dare I say) smooth. They’re a nice and unexpected alternative to tritone substitute chords.
Practice in all keys!
The next step would be to practice these in all keys. The video below includes a full playthrough in all 12 keys:
Apply to any song
This technique is easily applicable to any song. For example, in my reharmonization of the jazz standard “My Ideal”, I’ve used it a few times. Can you find it?
C0nclusion
I hope you enjoyed this quick ii – V – I exercise! Let me know in the comments if you’ve used this technique before and if you found it helpful.
As always, if you’d like to receive PDFs like this exercise in your email inbox, and to grab a copy of my free Reharmonization Quick Guide, make sure to subscribe here.
