The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern

A Friendly Little I-VI-ii-V Sequence

11/23/2023

A Friendly Little I-VI-ii-V Sequence

It's always good to run into a friendly face - or in this case, a friendly chord progression. What, in most cases, makes the experience so "friendly" is the familiarity involved.

The I-vi-ii-V chord progression and its modifications is, in one form or another, arguably the most familiar 4-chord harmonic progression found in all popular styles of music.

Its familiarity includes the A-sections of standards such as "I Got Rhythm" and "Blue Moon", for example, as well as parts of countless tunes, intros and vamps across all genres.

So, what makes this friendly chord progression so popular? Must be the sunglasses.

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A Friendly Little I-VI-ii-V Sequence

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