What are the most Uncommon Jazz chord progressions?

**bobsguitars09** · 09-24-2014, 11:43 PM

**jasaco** · 09-24-2014, 11:52 PM

OK, I'll bite: um... how about any progression that modulates down a half step for each successive chorus?

Think I'm wrong? Go find one!

**cosmic gumbo** · 09-25-2014, 04:53 AM

Modal jazz changes can be the most unusual because often they're written without classic functional harmony and get notated in the key of C for ease of writing and reading, but have nothing to do with C as any key center.

**pkirk** · 09-25-2014, 07:40 AM

Here's one:

D#majb9/ % (repeat 18 bars)

I bet its only been composed once. Just now. And never performed. ;-)

**marcwhy** · 09-25-2014, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

What are the most Uncommon Jazz chord progressions?

Could be anything. Are you trying to work on soloing over unusual progressions, or just asking a trivia question? I see you posted another (related) question here on avant garde jazz, so maybe you're studying modern stuff??

**JonR** · 09-25-2014, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

Here's one:

D#majb9/ % (repeat 18 bars)

I bet its only been composed once. Just now. And never performed. ;-)

Well, I just performed it (admittedly only for myself), and I quite liked it

.
The more you repeat it, the better it sounds.... (standard rule for all music... up to a point, that is...

)

TH · 09-25-2014, 09:28 AM

Most uncommon jazz chord progression? That's an easy one!

Dmin 0 0 0 2 3 1
G 3 2 0 0 0 3
C 0 3 2 0 1 0

I don't think I've ever heard that one even by Sonny Sharrock and he was pretty out.
David

**SamBooka** · 09-25-2014, 09:58 AM

I rarely see someone play open G

TH · 09-25-2014, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by SamBooka

I rarely see someone play open G

Never heard of it. Part of your collection of Jedi Mind tricks?

David

**pkirk** · 09-25-2014, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by JonR

Well, I just performed it (admittedly only for myself), and I quite liked it

.
The more you repeat it, the better it sounds.... (standard rule for all music... up to a point, that is...

)

Aw man, I was hoping to hold on to the record for most uncommon jazz chord progression for a few days at least. You had to go and ruin it...

;-)

**mr. beaumont** · 09-25-2014, 01:21 PM

Probably something really weird that suggests like two Dorian modes a half step apart...that's probably never happened.

**Doctor Jeff** · 09-25-2014, 04:11 PM

I don't play a lot of modern jazz stuff, e.g. Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, or any of the more recent fusion-oriented guitar stuff.

Out of the standards I play Lush Life has some of the more complicated, unusual chord changes of any jazz song. It's a brilliant song--one can't see how the song is going to work at first glance, but it does beautifully. The Dbmaj7 to D7#11 in the second part is a completely cool touch.

Early Autumn is another one with an unusual beautiful descending progression.

I don't play them myself, but I am a big Zappa fan. Frank was a genius, many of whose more jazz-flavored songs featured some crazy chord progressions. I am reminded of my favorite lyric from the album Bongo Fury:

"The music was… thud like. The music was… thud like.
I usually played such things as rough-neck and thug.
Opaque melodies that would bug most people.
Music from the other side of the fence."

**pingu** · 09-25-2014, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Probably something really weird that suggests like two Dorian modes a half step apart...that's probably never happened.

maybe not but so what ?

**pingu** · 09-25-2014, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

What are the most Uncommon Jazz chord progressions?

a ii chord going to a II7 chord
can't think of a song like that

**JonR** · 09-26-2014, 04:17 AM

Originally Posted by mr. Beaumont

probably something really weird that suggests like two dorian modes a half step apart...that's probably never happened.

LOL

Or maybe a dom7 chord going to min7 on the same root, and back...

**Liarspoker** · 09-26-2014, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

maybe not but so what ?

pingu, I get the impression that you know your jazz.

**pingu** · 09-26-2014, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by JonR

LOL

Or maybe a dom7 chord going to min7 on the same root, and back...

This is starting to give me the Blues

**pingu** · 09-26-2014, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by Liarspoker

pingu, I get the impression that you know your jazz.

a little but not like the real McCoy !

**Doctor Jeff** · 09-26-2014, 03:23 PM

If there was any crazy chord progression out there I'm sure Monk used it in a song...

**Takemitsu** · 09-26-2014, 05:57 PM

Any progressions or major or minor triads without a 7th and or a ninth but with a lot of first and 2nd inversions. Jazz people just can't resist the 7th.

**Tomcat** · 09-28-2014, 01:24 PM

Giant Steps is tough for me, can't follow the changes so well as, for example, Horace Silver "Peace" which is complicated but logical imho.

**edh** · 09-28-2014, 11:43 PM

Nice tune.

**Liarspoker** · 09-29-2014, 03:50 AM

Originally Posted by pingu

a little but not like the real McCoy !

Not sure about that. You seem to be miles ahead of everyone else.

**pingu** · 09-29-2014, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Takemitsu

Any progressions or major or minor triads without a 7th and or a ninth but with a lot of first and 2nd inversions. Jazz people just can't resist the 7th.

metheny ?

**ajrdileva** · 10-02-2014, 12:27 AM

Any progression works as long as there's something holding it together that validates it.
So I guess there must be trillions of uncommon progressions, some of those being all the ones that have never been used in a tune!

Here, I wrote one for you. I mixed "common" progressions with ones that have never been used before (as far as I know) and use the melody to "validate".
Analyze it and let me know if you find any Jazz tunes with the progressions I used here

http://mdecks.com/uncommonexample/th...haveforyou.pdf

http://mdecks.com/uncommonexample/th...haveforyou.mp3