The Magic Chord Sequence

[MarkRhodes]

Michael Lydon talks about this in his book "How to Play Classic Jazz Guitar: Six Swinging Strings." It's a way to get the sound of the basic seventh chords of a major key into one's ears and under one's fingers.

The sequence runs: I IV vii iii vi ii V I

In C, that would be: CMaj7 FMaj7 Bm7b5 E- A- D- G7 CMaj7

In Bb, that would be: BbMaj7 EbMaj7 Am7b5 D- G- C- F7 BbMaj7

And so on.

Many tunes use this sequence of chords, or a significant portion of it. "All The Things You Are" is one and "Fly Me To The Moon" is another, and "Black Orpheus" yet one more.

If you practice this sequence as is---one chord per measure to start with, then two---in different keys with a few different fingerings, you'll be ready to handle 'the magic chord sequence' when it pops up in a song. What's more, you'll see it as a cohesive unit, rather than "one damn chord after another."

[MarkRhodes]

P.S. Mention has been made of 'the magic chord sequence' in other threads but I thought it deserved a thread of its own.

Which other tunes that you play rely heavily upon it (at least in part)?

Might this sequence serve as the spine of a tune of your own?

Have you found that certain voicings are more / less suitable for playing it with a combo?

[ColinO]

I like this Mark. Thanks for posting. Just one thing - you left out the C- in the sequence starting on Bb.

Cheers.

[MarkRhodes]

I like this Mark. Thanks for posting. Just one thing - you left out the C- in the sequence starting on Bb.

Nice catch! Sorry about that. I fixed it. Thanks!

[Rob MacKillop]

The cycle of 4ths. My first teacher jokingly called it Bach's telephone number, 14736251. Never forgot it since.

[MarkRhodes]

Bach's phone number--I love that!

But you know, the movement from the IV (FMaj7) to the vii (Bm7b5) doesn't seem like a fourth to me: a fourth up from F would be Bb!

[JonR]

Michael Lydon talks about this in his book "How to Play Classic Jazz Guitar: Six Swinging Strings." It's a way to get the sound of the basic seventh chords of a major key into one's ears and under one's fingers.

The sequence runs: I IV vii iii vi ii V I

In C, that would be: CMaj7 FMaj7 Bm7b5 E- A- D- G7 CMaj7

Check Autumn Leaves as well as Fly Me To The Moon, and you'll find the E- is usually E7. You then have a ii-V-i into A minor.

[jasaco]

Check Autumn Leaves as well as Fly Me To The Moon, and you'll find the E- is usually E7. You then have a ii-V-i into A minor.

Agree. I want to hear that as an E7 rather than an Em7

[MarkRhodes]

Check Autumn Leaves as well as Fly Me To The Moon, and you'll find the E- is usually E7. You then have a ii-V-i into A minor.

I agree, Jon.

Lydon talks about how that E- (the iii) is often made into a dominant 7 (E7). But while one is learning one's seventh chords, it is good to use them as they naturally appear in a major key, then learn how to jazz 'em up.

[edh]

In Bb shouldn't it be G- C-.

[MarkRhodes]

In Bb shouldn't it be G- C-.

Yes! Sorry about that. (I've edited it the OP.)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Bach's phone number--I love that!

But you know, the movement from the IV (FMaj7) to the vii (Bm7b5) doesn't seem like a fourth to me: a fourth up from F would be Bb!

F -> Bb = perfect 4th

F -> B = augmented 4th

FMaj7 to Bm7b5 (4 to 7) is the most awkward transition in the diatonic sequence, and because of that, many songs avoid it. Take ATTYA:

Fm7 Bbm7 Eb7 AbMaj7
DbMaj7 G7 CMaj7 %

vi ii V I
IV ... bam!

[setemupjoe]

Interestingly enough I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor has the same chords as Fly Me To The Moon. Who woulda thunk it?

[Reg]

Cmaj7, F9 / B-7b5, E7#9 / A-7, D7 / G-7 C7#9 / F13 //

[Phil in London]

cycle of diatonic 4ths, in German we use the hilarious word: Nebenseptakkordketten... ;-)

[Phil in London]

Bach's phone number--I love that!

But you know, the movement from the IV (FMaj7) to the vii (Bm7b5) doesn't seem like a fourth to me: a fourth up from F would be Bb!

If I may comment: fifths and fourths can be perfect or diminished / augmented. The pattern here is diatonic and based on a major scale. A major scale incorporates a tritone (diminished 5th or augmented 4th) between iv and vii (in C: F - B). Thus, if one creates a sequence of upward fourths (1-4; 7-3, etc), with the fourths being shifted downwards step by step based on a major scale (1, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 etc), one will eventually use the tritone, because it is part of the major scale on which the pattern is built. Thus, F-B is part of a 'diatonic cycle of fourths', even though it is an augmented 4th. Needless to say that the sequence is to be distinguished from the cycle of perfect fourths, which is non diatonic, and works through the whole chromatic spectrum (F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb/F# B E A D G C).

[MarkRhodes]

Interestingly enough I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor has the same chords as Fly Me To The Moon. Who woulda thunk it?

Certainly not me!

[MarkRhodes]

Thus, F-B is part of a 'diatonic cycle of fourths', even though it is an augmented 4th. Needless to say that the sequence is to be distinguished from the cycle of perfect fourths, which is non diatonic, and works through the whole chromatic spectrum (F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb/F# B E A D G C).

Right. I learned "the cycle" first and when I came to what you've called the 'diatonic cycle,' it threw me. However, when it was explained *as* a diatonic cycle (-all the seventh chords of a major key), then I went, "Okay, sure, I get that."

So I get it. I appreciate what you wrote here because it will help me now explain it to someone else.

[JonR]

I agree, Jon.

Lydon talks about how that E- (the iii) is often made into a dominant 7 (E7). But while one is learning one's seventh chords, it is good to use them as they naturally appear in a major key, then learn how to jazz 'em up.

I agree, although it's debatable whether the E7 amounts to "jazzing it up" .

Certainly the diatonic set is good to learn, as a full cycle of 4ths in the root movement (one being necessarily an augmented 4th).
But what the E7 does - at least in Autumn Leaves and I Will Survive (less so in Fly Me To The Moon) is support the overall minor key tonality of the song.
I.e., in the context of C major, E is a secondary dominant (classical, not exclusive to jazz ), but it can also be seen as the primary dominant if Am is the final chord of the tune. (Doesn't actually need the 7th, btw, although it usually gets one.)
At least it provides a balance between the relative major and minor keys, the ii-V-I of each being featured, with the major key IV acting as pivot. That's the great charm of using E7, the tonality drifts from C to Am and back.
Em, OTOH, is very rare in such a context. iii chords are rare in both classical and jazz, unless (in jazz) you regard them as subs for the tonic, in which case, of course, they're not iii at all.

Anyway, once you have a logical series of triads (with or without diatonic 7ths), then "Jazzing up", properly speaking, would then involve various kinds of alteration or substitution!

[MarkRhodes]

Anyway, once you have a logical series of triads (with or without diatonic 7ths), then "Jazzing up", properly speaking, would then involve various kinds of alteration or substitution!

Right. No question. But for someone just learning their seventh chords, well, they're just learning their seventh chords and which ones combine to make up the steps in a major key. That's enough to start with. For someone who has only played triads, seventh chords seem "jazzy" in their own right.

That said, I work a lot more with triads now than I did when I was a kid who thought he was too 'advanced' for them. (Yes, I was a fool.) I learned from a Carol Kaye booklet how to "stack" them as follows.

C (I chord) C Em G Bmb5 / Dm F Am C (Each triad is played as a triplet)
Dm (ii chord) Dm F Am C / Em G Bmb5 Dm
G (V chord) G Bmb5 Dm F / Am C Em G


The roots of the triads for C are the tones of a CMaj7 and D- arpeggio
The roots of the triads for Dm are the tones of a D- and E- arpeggio
The roots of the triads for G are the tones of a G7 and A- arpeggio

They do not have to be played in this order, but it is easiest to learn them this way. (They can be fingered a few different ways on the guitar, too, so it's good to figure out which fingerings work best depending on where you are on the neck and which register you wish to play in.)

A lot of "take-offs" for solos (as Carol calls them) come from stacking triads so that you'll land on a key chord tone on the downbeat where the band comes back in. They generate motion. Sometimes they're run I ii iii IV (C, Dm, Em, F, then bam, whatever note you want to land heavy on.)

But I digress.

[Reg]

Does diatonic only relate to maj/ min or can there be other references.

Is this principals based on root motion or are there harmonic guidelines.

Does dominant function work with root motion or is the harmony needed.

Does root motion imply harmony.

Does this relate to chord patterns...

[JonR]

Right. No question. But for someone just learning their seventh chords, well, they're just learning their seventh chords and which ones combine to make up the steps in a major key. That's enough to start with. For someone who has only played triads, seventh chords seem "jazzy" in their own right.

Right! Triads and power chords = standard in rock. 7ths = standard in jazz.

That said, I work a lot more with triads now than I did when I was a kid who thought he was too 'advanced' for them. (Yes, I was a fool.) I learned from a Carol Kaye booklet how to "stack" them as follows.

C (I chord) C Em G Bmb5 / Dm F Am C (Each triad is played as a triplet)
Dm (ii chord) Dm F Am C / Em G Bmb5 Dm
G (V chord) G Bmb5 Dm F / Am C Em G

The roots of the triads for C are the tones of a CMaj7 and D- arpeggio
The roots of the triads for Dm are the tones of a D- and E- arpeggio
The roots of the triads for G are the tones of a G7 and A- arpeggio

Yes - when I said "triads" above, though, I meant as chord types; eg all the standard cowboy chords are triads; three different notes, not just 3-string shapes. While a 7th chord has 4 different notes.
On guitar, naturally, we tend to double up at least one note, to fill more strings (until we start learning jazz, that is...).

IOW, this is just to clarify that the notion of playing the chord cycle as "triads" doesn't mean limiting yourself to 3-note shapes. It just means the usual basic chord shapes, no 7ths.

Adding 7ths has an important effect in the circle progression, of course. It adds tensions which provide voice-leading on to the next chord, dropping to the 3rd. Meanwhile the 3rd will drop to the next 7th, or become the next 7th. Hence the jazz "guide tones". (3rds and 7ths end up more important than roots and 5ths, a notion that will feel very odd to the average rock player .)
If the chords are not running in this order (roots up a 4th or down a 5th) then 7ths have a quite different effect, and might even sound wrong. Eg, it's common in rock for chords to run the opposite way, and in that case 7th chords will sound very odd; triads sound much better.

[Reg]

Since 7th chords are the basic voicings of jazz. I would thing learning diatonic 7th chords would just be the first step to learning jazz chords, the harmony.

Next step is going through the same process with Melodic and Harmonic Min. etc.. Then becoming familiar with how blue notes work with the different diatonic chord patterns. Modal interchange.

Then you become aware of other chord patterns, or magic chord progressions, and go through the same process.

Then you begin to use those chord patterns... even some of the cycles as references for comping. Approaching and creating movement when desired...and maybe even begin to become aware of your lead line, the melody on top of your voicings of chord patterns. From being aware of all the different note collections and their respective diatonic chords, your able to expand this concept of Diatonic... which is where this process ends up for some.

Use of triads is great method of deriving diatonic voicings for chordal movement with an organizational concept... without expanding the reference for their structure... may get pretty boring and miss many of jazz harmonic and melodic characteristics.

The concept of voice leading is just that, how you choose or are told to play the implied notes of the chord progression. Traditional choices are one organized set of guidelines.

[MarkRhodes]

Since 7th chords are the basic voicings of jazz. I would thing learning diatonic 7th chords would just be the first step to learning jazz chords, the harmony.

Next step is going through the same process with Melodic and Harmonic Min. etc.. Then becoming familiar with how blue notes work with the different diatonic chord patterns. Modal interchange...

That's all good stuff, Reg, but far beyond the Scope of Lydon's book. It's about playing guitar in a swing band, Freddie Green chords (-with some other voicings too), standard tunes (-pre-50s standards), and the rudiments of soloing. Coming to grips with 'the magic chord sequence' in several keys helps the beginner navigate the changes of "ATTYA," "Ain't Misbehavin'," and the bridge of "Body and Soul" with some insight but not too much trouble.

I wish I had been taught then when I was starting out. I figured some who are starting out now, or who teach beginners, might find that useful.

[JonR]

That's all good stuff, Reg, but far beyond the Scope of Lydon's book. It's about playing guitar in a swing band, Freddie Green chords (-with some other voicings too), standard tunes (-pre-50s standards), and the rudiments of soloing. Coming to grips with 'the magic chord sequence' in several keys helps the beginner navigate the changes of "ATTYA," "Ain't Misbehavin'," and the bridge of "Body and Soul" with some insight but not too much trouble.

I wish I had been taught then when I was starting out. I figured some who are starting out now, or who teach beginners, might find that useful.

No argument there. It's kind of why jazz classes start with standards like Autumn Leaves and ATTYA, because they are exercises in that kind of sequence - the "circle progression", root movement in 4ths (up).
But that's also why it's good to notice that E7 tends to sneak in there in place of Em(7).
Jazz, by and large, is not "diatonic", in the narrow sense of sticking to chords harmonised from one major scale throughout.
Yes, you need to learn those major-minor key basics to start with (before you even approach jazz). But it's rare to use all 7 chords from a key. 5 is usually the maximum: in major keys, Imaj7, V7, ii7, IVmaj7, vi7 (in roughly that order of likelihood); in minor keys, i6, V7, iim7b5, iv7, viidim7.
The most likely role of a min7 chord is a ii - hence the jazz class beginner exercises in "ii-V-i"s in all keys. Many standards are composed of little else than ii-V-Is (in various keys, major and minor, in the same tune).
The substitutions and alterations come later, of course. (Let alone modal jazz and quartals... )