ii–V–I comping in three keys

Note after Note · Level 3 (Late beginner) · jazz and blues · Piano

Jazz’s favourite cadence (ii–V–I) in C, F and B♭, with three-note voicings that move as little as possible, in the “Charleston” rhythm.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

  • Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
  • Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
  • Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
  • Notice how only one or two notes move from chord to chord: the seventh of ii stays as the seventh of V, then slides to the third of I. Charleston rhythm: one chord on beat 1, the next just before beat 3 (on the “and” of 2). First play the voicings alone, as half notes, to memorise the shapes.

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