For the I–IV–vii°–iii–vi–ii–V–I or I–vi–ii–V–I chord progression, see Circle progression.
The ragtime progression (E7-A7-D7-G7-C) often appears in the bridge of jazz standards.[1] The III7-VI7-II7-V7 (or V7/V/V/V–V7/V/V–V7/V–V7) leads back to C major (I) but is itself indefinite in key.
Most commonly found in its four-chord version (including the chord in parentheses). This may be perceived as a, "harder, bouncier sounding progression," than the diatonic vi–ii–V7–I (in C: Am–Dm–G7–C).[11][12]Playⓘ The three-chord version (II–V–I) is "related to the cadential progression IV–V–I...in which the V is tonicized and stabilized by means of II with a raised third."[2]
The progression is an example of centripetal harmony, harmony which leads to the tonic and an example of the circle progression, a progression along the circle of fourths. Though creating or featuring chromaticism, the bass (if the roots of the chords), and often the melody, are pentatonic.[6] (major pentatonic on C: C, D, E, G, A) Contrastingly, Averill argues that the progression was used because of the potential it offered for chromatic pitch areas.[13]
^ abJonas, Oswald (1982) Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker (1934: Das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks: Eine Einführung in Die Lehre Heinrich Schenkers), p.116. Trans. John Rothgeb. ISBN0-582-28227-6.
^Fahey, John (1970). Charley Patton, p.45. London: Studio Vista. Cited in van der Merwe (1989).
^van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music, p.321. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN0-19-316121-4.
^Weissman, Dick (2001). Songwriting: The Words, the Music and the Money, p.59. ISBN9780634011603. and Weissman, Dick (1085). Basic Chord Progressions: Handy Guide, p.28. ISBN9780882844008.
^Fox, Charles; McCarthy, Albert (1960). Jazz on record: a critical guide to the first 50 years, 1917-1967. Hanover Books. p. 62.