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← Learn·Jazz ii-V-I and Extended Harmony

The ii-V-I Progression

Builds on Altered Dominants

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The ii-V-I is the single most common chord movement in jazz — a minor 7th chord (ii7) moves to a dominant 7th (V7), which resolves to a major 7th tonic (Imaj7). Each chord change moves the bass down a perfect 5th, and each chord shares several notes with the next, giving unusually smooth voice-leading.

Jazz harmony extends triads and sevenths further — 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths stack additional 3rds beyond the 7th, and 'altered' dominants raise or lower the 9th and/or 5th for extra tension before resolving. These extensions color the same underlying ii-V-I skeleton rather than replacing it.

💡 Tip

Listen for the bass motion in perfect 5ths first — once you can track ii-to-V-to-I by root movement alone, adding the extended color tones on top becomes much easier to parse by ear.

⚠️ Common mistake

Treating every dominant 7th chord followed by a major chord as automatically a 'ii-V-I.' The label specifically requires the preceding ii chord (a minor 7th a whole step below the dominant) — a V-I alone is just a plain authentic cadence, not a ii-V-I.

📝 Summary

ii-V-I moves a minor7 chord down a 5th to a dominant7, then down another 5th to a major7 tonic. Jazz extends this skeleton with 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, and altered dominants for color.

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