Jazz Major Matrix

The Jazz II-V-I Matrix In The Major Mode

If you’ve ever taken a jazz theory class, this might seem like a review to you. For all those who are completely new to the subject, this little chart and article will give you new insight into improvisation and chord progressions. If you’re completely lost, you may need a refresher on chords and scale degrees. You might also want to review chord structures to see how the different type of seventh chords are built.

Let’s take into consideration the Bb major scale. Based upon the following 7th chords in the key of Bb,

we get the following II-V-I progression:

The II-V-I progression, in roman numerals, looks like this:

The way this works, is you pick any chord from the II category as a starting point, and you move rightwards. For example, you can choose the ii, V, and I (C, F, Bb) chords. Likewise, you can move from the VI, vii, iii (Eb, A, D) chords. The variations you choose are what make this matrix a lot of fun.