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Rhythm Mandolin From Bluegrass to Celtic to Swing
by John McGann

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Fresh Comp'n

Part 2: 'ii V7'

by Ted Eschliman

Static Bling

Our latest session, if you will recall, took a look at some new ways to freshen up the accompaniment . If you haven't had a chance to read through it, now would be a good time to review our take on dressing up a one-chord minor modal section of a song with chord extensions by borrowing from the diatonic material (chords based on notes of the same key). Catch up with Fresh Comp'n Part 1: Bottom of the (Minor) 9ths. Nobody wants to hear the same chord pounded out in tedious progression, and we showed some fingerings that would energize the music without distracting from the music's harmonic integrity.

In Preparation

Now we want to look at one of the most common chord combinations, second only to the 'V7 I' (G7 C, A7 D, F#7 B, etc.) in occurrence; that would be the 'ii V7" pair (Dm7 G7, Am7 E7, Fm7 C7, etc.). In our very first Mandolin Sessions submission, in December 2003, we explored the prominence of this combination , Understanding the 'ii V7 I' Progression, http://mandolinsessions.com/dec03/ted.html , using terms like Dominant and Preparation, the V7 chord being the Dominant, and the ii being Preparation for the Dominant.

Because this occurs so frequently in jazz (really, Pop and Classical, too), it's great to absorb a solid collection of pairings, a stock vocabulary, and the best way to do this is to learn them in at least two positions on the fretboard. We'll start with Dm7 G7. Again, don't let the 7th chord version of Dm7 trip you up, adding the 7th to the chord doesn't change the function at all; it's merely a personal choice (a straight Dm will work, too). The first voicing is a personal favorite because of its stealth motion. You only move one note between to the two, but it still packs a powerful notion of motion:

Try repeating these as four beats to a bar, one chord per bar:

Can you hear the first two measures of Satin Doll as you do these? Do two beats of each and you've got the first two measures of the song "Tea for Two," as well as "Scrapple from the Apple," and "Perdido," If you are playing one of the myriads of songs with this, you can freshen the accompaniment by playing a different finger variation:

This sound may sound rudimentary, but going back to Satin Doll, the next two measures of the song will be Em7 A7, which is easily accomplished by moving the above stock positions up two frets. When these become part of your regular vocabulary, you can continue to move them up and down the fretboard, as in the Gm7 C7 in the first pair below:

Notice the "wholeness" of the three-note chord (muting the 1st string). This also allows you to add some chord extensions as we did by enlisting the note A on the 2nd pair above and filling out with a Gm9 chord instead of just a straight Gm7. This 2nd combination isn't as ergonomic because of the leap back a couple frets, but it's still a good sound. In general, proper voicing leading will not move more than a couple frets; it's smoother to the ears and, obviously, quicker for the fingers.

Again the transposable benefit of enlisting these stock voicings allows you to play the 'ii V7' all up and down the fretboard, and even just knowing a couple of them can get you around all 12 keys effectively:

A good practice routine for you is to drill these frequently through the Circle of Fifths using a different voice in the 2nd pairing:

Should these not be familiar to you, by all means, write the chords out on a blank chord template. You can print one off the JazzMando website: http://jazzmando.com/FretboardTemplate.pdf

Of course there will be many other voicings out there you'll uncover as you build up more experience, but if you start thinking of these chords in terms of their function, rather than as individual chords, you'll supercharge your ability to remember them and transpose in other contexts.

Have you been enjoying the great resources at Mel Bay's Mandolin Sessions? If you're new here, be sure to click on the Back Issues button above. If you've been a regular, take the time to drop us a note with some feedback: a question for a future article, an observation about something that is helping your playing, or just let us know what part of the world you are. Some of you have already done this, and we are treasure it when you take the time. Contact us at http://jazzmando.com/contact_jazzmando.shtml , and of course drop in on the JazzMando.com website, for the latest "Tips and Tricks" and jazz mandolin-related news! If you have an RSS Reader, take advantage of our RSS feed feature!

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