Theory
At last, Month 2 — the first week of sailing the changes. Last month you learned to walk within a single chord; this week you walk a road where the chords change. That road is called ii-V-I, the most common and most important progression in jazz. In the key of F, that road is Gm7 → C7 → Fmaj7. It's a journey that sets out from ii (Gm7), passes through V (C7), and comes home to I (Fmaj7).
Today we start by getting these three chords' chord tones into your hands. Chord tones are the skeleton notes that build each chord. Gm7 is R·b3·5·b7 (G·Bb·D·F), C7 is R·3·5·b7 (C·E·G·Bb), and Fmaj7 is R·3·5·7 (F·A·C·E). Remember just one thing — the first note of every chord lands on the root (R). The root is where each step starts and the home address of each chord.
The key that tells the three chords apart is the 3rd and the 7th. Gm7 has a minor 3rd (b3), so it's dark; C7 has a major 3rd (3) with a minor 7th (b7), so it holds tension; Fmaj7 has a major 3rd with a major 7th (7), so it opens up bright. This color spreading from b3 to 3 and on to 7 is the map of ii-V-I heading home. Today we press each chord's tones one by one, carving their sound and position into your ears and hands.
First, see the starting point of this week's three chords, Gm7's chord tones, on the fretboard — R·b3·5·b7.
▶ 4-string. Gm7's R (4th string, fret 3), b3 (3rd string, fret 1), 5 (3rd string, fret 5), b7 (2nd string, fret 3).
▶ 5-string. Same positions as the 4-string. Keep the low B covered.
See it
Once Gm7's sound is in your hands, look at C7 and Fmaj7's chord tones side by side too. Then walk the three chords' tones in order, climbing one note at a time from low to high. Every example comes in both 4- and 5-string versions.
▶ 4-string. C7's R (3rd string, fret 3), 3 (2nd string, fret 2), 5 (2nd string, fret 5), b7 (1st string, fret 3).
▶ 5-string. Same positions as the 4-string. Keep the low B covered.
▶ 4-string. Fmaj7's R (4th string, fret 1), 3 (4th string, fret 5), 5 (3rd string, fret 3), 7 (3rd string, fret 7).
▶ 5-string. Same positions as the 4-string. Keep the low B covered.
Now here's an arpeggio that climbs each chord's tones, one bar per chord. The first beat of every bar is that chord's root.
▶ BPM 80, 4-string. Bar 1 Gm7 (G-Bb-D-F), bar 2 C7 (C-E-G-Bb), bar 3 Fmaj7 (F-A-C-E). Beat 1 of every bar lands on the root.
▶ BPM 80, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string. Keep the low B covered.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Walk last week's F blues once at BPM 72 to bring the swing quarter-note feel back to your fingertips.
10–20 min · Brain training With the prep below, press each chord's tones as slow swing quarters at BPM 60. Check by sound whether beat 1 of each bar is the root.
▶ BPM 60, 4-string. Each chord's tones, one per beat, slowly. When the chord changes, grab the root first.
▶ BPM 60, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string.
20–40 min · Real play Repeat the arpeggio above as a three-bar cycle at BPM 80. Notice whether the sound differences between Gm7, C7, and Fmaj7 reach your ear. Learn it on 4-string, then confirm on 5-string.
40–50 min · Record / feedback Record 30 seconds and listen for whether each chord's root lands clearly. Jot down which chord feels most unfamiliar — it becomes tomorrow's starting point for connecting them.
Done when: you can press the chord tones of Gm7, C7, and Fmaj7, landing beat 1 of each bar on the root, in swing quarters on both 4- and 5-string.
- You miss the moment the chord changes. If you don't secure the root first when a bar turns over, the walk falls apart. Decide that beat 1 of every new bar always lands on the root.
- You confuse b3 and 3. Gm7's b3 (Bb) and the major 3rd of C7 and Fmaj7 have completely different colors. Press slowly and tell the dark 3rd from the bright 3rd by ear.
Look at the three chords' home addresses — their three roots — at a glance. These three landing points are the pillars of this week's walk.
▶ 4-string. Gm7's G (4th string, fret 3), C7's C (3rd string, fret 3), Fmaj7's F (4th string, fret 1).
▶ 5-string. Same positions as the 4-string. You can also gauge a lower root on the low B.
- Give yourself credit on day one. Just getting the three chords' tones into your hands already begins half the ii-V-I voyage. Tomorrow you'll link these chords with approach notes and make it truly feel like "walking."