Eric Davis
Chord Progression Table
Posted on 20-Aug-09 19:36Viewed 3997 times
I iiv iii IV V vi vii
M m m M M m Dim
One chord on each note of a major scale
Named in upper/lower case Roman numerals to denote major/minor triad.
The spaces or "Intervals" between notes or chords are named according to the number of semitones between the two.
semitones
0 Unison
1 minor 2nd=m2
2 Major 2nd=M2
3 minor 3rd=m3
4 Major 3rd=M3
5 Perfect 4th=P4
6 Tritone =T
7 Perfect 5th=P5
8 minor 6th=m6
9 Major 6th=M6
10 minor 7th=m7
11 Major 7th=M7
12 Octave
Each of the 7 chords of the scale can progress to any of the remaining 6
To give a total of 7*6=42 progressions.
Each progression can either ascend ">" or descend "<" the scale
Example 1) V-I in C Maj can be G4-C5=P4 > or G4-C4=P5 <
Example 2) I-vi in F Maj can be F3-D4=M6 > or F3-D3=m3 <
C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5
The table below lists all 42 progressions
21 reading Left to Right (I-ii)
21 reading Right to Left (ii-I).
Example 1) I-ii ie C4-D4 in C Maj=M2 > and ii-I ie D4-C5 in C Maj=m7 >
Example 2) ii-iii ie A3-B3 in G Maj=M2 > and iii-ii in G Maj B3-A4=m7 >
M2/m3
M2/m7 M3/m6
M2/m7 M3/m6 Tri
m2/M7 m3/M6 P4/P5 P5/P4
M2/m7 m3/M6 P4/P5 P5/P4 M6/m3
M2/m7 M3/m6 P4/P5 P5/P4 M6/m3 M7/m2
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I ii iii IV V vi vii
---------------------------------------------
2 2 1 2 2 2
JungleGirl
Thanks for that , very interesting.
Eric Davis
Your welcome, Sorry about errors I keep trying to copy from wordpad then paste but usualy makes a mess.
Eric Davis
The subject above is about the number of possible intervals within the notes of a scale.
The movement from one chord to another can be expressed in intervals
If both chords are in root position then the movement from I-ii is an interval of a major 2nd ascending or minor 7th descending the scale.
If chords are not in root position(represented by the number 0) then they are either in 1st inversion(represented by the number 1) or 2nd inversion(represented by the number 2)
If you lay out the related chords of ANY Maj scale.in the following manner; It can when using 3 simple rules make it a little easier to calculate these moves.
vii V iii I vi IV ii
Rule one
Starting from any chord in any inversion; Add 1 to inversion for each move RIGHT.
(return to 0 if inversion exceeds 2)
Rule 2
Starting from any chord in any inversion; Subtract one from inversion for each move LEFT.
(return to 2 if inversion exceeds 0)
Rule 3
Not ideal but can't think of a better way and open to sugestions.
If a chord is in 1st inversion think of it as the # version of chord on LEFT
If a chord is in 2nd inversion think of it as the b version of chord on RIGHT
Example one a simple step up movement of chords I-I#-iib-ii
I 0=CEG=I
vi 1=CEA=I#
IV 2=CFA=iib
ii 0=DFA=ii
Example two another simple step up movment of chords vib-vi-vi#-viib
I 2=GCE=vib
vi 0=ACE=vi
IV 1=ACF=vi#
ii 2=ADF=viib
Example three a simple step down movement of chords iii-iiib-ii#-ii
iii 0=EGB=iii
V 2=DGB=iiib
vii 1=DFB=ii#
ii 0=DFA=ii
I find it very easy to get confused with chord movement especially involving inverted chords.
Why move from chord X to chord Y.
Is the move up the scale or down the scale.
Is it a P4 ascending scale or a P5 descending etc.
Although this method of moving from one chord to another can still be confusing and has unanswered questions it
can be easier; especially as the movement is by INTERVAL or degrees of an INTERVAL making it similar to a melody.
Mr. Frankie
Eric,
Try playing "free" instead of being wrapped in theory all the time.
Happyhacker
You could continue the table as follows:
13 m9th = b9
14 M9th = M9
15 Aug9th/m10th = #9, b10th
16 M10th = M10, 10
17 P11th = P11, 11
18 Aug 11th = #11, +11
19 P12th = P12, 12
20 m13th = m13, b13
21 M13th = M13, 13.
thus covering the extensions. Comment appreciated.
