Music Practice Materials
A guitar ii-V-I progression chart for practicing a core jazz cadence with compact voicings, guide tones, and smooth chord movement.
Overview
This chart gives guitar players a practical way to hear and play the pull from ii to V to I. It supports compact voicings, guide-tone awareness, and smoother comping through one of the most important progressions in jazz.
Practice one of the most common jazz progressions on guitar.
Use shell chords to hear thirds and sevenths move through the cadence.
Help beginning jazz guitar students connect voicings instead of memorizing isolated grips.
Learning notes
Use the sheet for practice, then use these notes to connect the chart to the musical idea behind it.
A major-key ii-V-I progression moves from a minor seventh chord on scale degree 2, to a dominant seventh chord on scale degree 5, to a major seventh chord on scale degree 1.
In C major, that is Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7. The roots move by descending fifths or ascending fourths, and the dominant V7 chord creates the strongest pull back to the tonic chord.
Jazz standards often move through key centers, and ii-V-I is one of the clearest ways to establish or return to a key. Rhythm section players use it to outline harmony, while soloists use it to practice resolution.
The progression also transposes well. Once a guitarist understands ii-V-I in one key, the same idea can move through all twelve keys for standards, comping practice, improvisation, and arranging.
Shell chords are compact guitar voicings that usually keep the root, third, and seventh. They often leave out the fifth, which is less essential in many seventh chords unless it is altered or diminished.
For ii-V-I practice, shell chords are useful because the third and seventh show the harmonic movement clearly. They let guitarists hear the progression without relying on large six-string grips, and they leave space for bass, piano, melody, or another guitar part.
Practice the progression in small areas of the neck instead of jumping to unrelated grips. Smooth comping comes from connecting nearby voicings with the least motion.
Listen to the guide tones: in C major, the C in Dm7 moves to B in G7, and the F in G7 resolves to E in Cmaj7. Hearing those small movements makes the progression feel like connected harmony rather than three separate shapes.
Guitar
Beginner
View the public sheet first, then make your own copy when you are ready to adapt it for your practice or teaching library.
