| Last issue we were introduced to
"cousin II" -- the next most likely chord to occur in any
given key after the primary chords I, IV, and V.
We said that cousin II might occur as a
major chord or as a minor chord or as a 7th chord, but however
she appeared, she then almost always followed the chord
progression of II, V, I. So once you meet cousin II, you
pretty much know where she is going, don't you? She's almost
always going to V, and V is almost always going to I.
If cousin II is in her 7th form, such
as II7 or IIm7, that even strengthens her predicability more
-- those 7th chords REALLY want to move up a perfect 4th, for
reasons we'll discuss later.
So if you're playing in the key of C,
and you find yourself on a Dm7 chord, you've got an 85% chance
of predicting that the following chords will be G followed by
C. You don't know when, of course, but just knowing the likely
path gives you an enormous advantage over the musician who
doesn't have a clue.
Today I would like to introduce you
to another cousin. This time, "cousin VI". Cousin VI doesn't
show up as often as cousin II, but she is terribly
predictable. When she shows up, it is almost a slam dunk that
she is going to move up a 4th to visit cousin II. She LOVES
cousin II, and is pulled irresistably toward her.
Which means, of course, that you can
when cousin VI shows up, you can predict with DEADLY ACCURACY
what the next chord will be -- II. Close to 90% of the time VI
moves to II. And you already know that II likes to move to V,
and V likes to move to I, so.........
The VI to II to V to I chord
progression in each key is:
| Key of C: A D G C
Key of F: D G C F
Key of G: E A D G
Key of D: B E A D
Key of A: F# B E A
Key of E: C# F# B E
Key of B: G# C# F# B
Key of Gb: Eb Ab Db Gb
Key of Db: Bb Eb Ab Db
Key of Eb: C F Bb Eb
Key of Ab: F Bb Eb Ab
Key of Bb: G C
F Bb |
You'll notice immediately that each
progression is up a perfect 4th (or down a perfect 5th -- same
thing). You may be smelling something called the 'Circle of
4ths" coming up. You're right.
Next issue we'll meet another cousin,
and see how the "Circle of 4th" relates to all this chord
prediction stuff.
See you then. Meanwhile, check out
the course below in Chords & Progressions.
For a complete listing of courses that
will help you greatly in your piano playing, click
here. |
