Major and minor ii–V–I
Hear the most important cadence in jazz in both major and minor, then follow its guide tones into the tonic.
Interactive listening
Hear the harmony in time
Compare the examples at one tempo.
Major ii–V–I in C
Dm7 moves to G7 and resolves to Cmaj7. Listen for C–B–C and F–F–E in the middle voices.
Minor iiø–V–i in C
The half-diminished ii and altered dominant introduce A♭, the characteristic lowered sixth of C minor.
Watch it in context · Jens Larsen
II V I - Who Has The Best Approach For Jazz Beginners?
Connect the cadence to target notes and jazz vocabulary instead of treating ii-V-I as three unrelated scale shapes.
Open on YouTube (opens in a new tab)The harmonic sentence
A ii–V–I is a predominant–dominant–tonic motion. In C major, Dm7 prepares G7, and G7 creates the strongest pull toward Cmaj7. Each root falls by a fifth or rises by a fourth, so the progression feels directional even before a melody is added.
Jazz musicians learn ii–V–I as a reusable schema rather than a single fixed voicing. Extensions, inversions, altered dominants, and delayed resolutions can change while the root motion and chord functions remain recognisable.
Guide tones do the real work
The thirds and sevenths define each seventh chord and create the smoothest inner lines. In the major example, C—the seventh of Dm7—falls to B, the third of G7. F stays as a common tone from Dm7 to G7, then falls to E, the third of Cmaj7. B resolves upward to C.
Practise hearing those two inner lines separately from the roots. They explain why sparse rootless voicings can still make the harmony unmistakable.
- Major: ii7–V7–Imaj7, or Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 in C.
- Minor: iiø7–V7(♭9)–i, or Dm7♭5–G7♭9–Cm7 in C minor.
- For improvisation, target the third or seventh when the chord changes; those notes reveal the function clearly.