double Two / Five

Hip to the Two / Five harmonic motion as found within all of the popular American styles of music? What is happening here with the double 2 / 5 is to simply mirror any Two / Five motion with a second idea that is either a half step below or half step above the written changes. For example, thinking Two / Five in C major, we create the following double 2 / 5 possibilities. Example 1. ( Oh, are you cool with using numbers for chords? )

So why would we want to do this? Well, thinking along these lines can increase the challenge and fun for the experienced player. For the players of jazz standards, where the Two / Five motion is so very, very common, these double 2 / 5 ideas can be a welcome window in expanding their lines. We can oftentimes create some very interesting and nice outside to inside ideas over regular chord changes. We can open up new harmonic ground based on these ideas as we are not limited by the half step motions as described in example 1. So, a few reasons at least for starters.

Here is the sound of chart # 1. Thinking double 2 / 5 from a half step above. Example 2.

Thinking double 2 / 5 from a half step above. Example 3.

Cool so far? Let's create a melodic idea over just the written 2 / 5 motion. Example 4.

Offbeat idea and a simple sequence over the tonic resolution. Here is the same line recreated to include a mirror 2/ 5 from half step above. Example 4a.

Arpeggiating the changes is a sure way to go eh? Here is the same line recreated to include a mirror 2/ 5 from half step below. Example 4b.

Do we have to have the written changes in order to sub in the double 2 / 5? No, and that is the gist of of the idea on this page. What advanced players will do is to substitute in more complex ideas than what is suggested by the written players. Termed "outside" artistically, we are simply borrowing pitches outside of the key center, which in this discussion is C major. So, we slip out of C major for a bit, maybe to Db ( Eb / Ab ) or B ( Db / Gb ) and then move back into C major? Exactly. Here is the idea. Example 4c.

Sound a bit like wrong pitches in the front of the line? Well, they are "outside" in regards to the chord D minor 7. We simply started the line with a Db minor triad then moved back to the diatonic pitches of C major. In this next idea, the dissonance is placed within the line. Example 4d.

Getting a sense for what is happening here? We are simply momentarily borrowing pitches from the key center a half step away from our written changes to create a momentary lapse in the tonal direction / tonal gravity of the line. Cool with this? Could we further extend this suspension and direction? Absolutely. Whatever your ear tells you is cool. My task here is simply to suggest the possibilities. Other ways to get outside?

Is there a theoretical basis for this double 2 / 5 motions as described above? With the musical construction of the diminished sounds being minor thirds, a unique and important consideration emerges with regard to the "doubling" up of the Two / Five progression into the Three / Six / Two / Five grouping. Two basic possibilities emerge relating the above 3 / 6 / 2 / 5 with the minor third interval. Comparing the 3 / 6 to 2 / 5, we realize that the component parts have identical construction, i.e., a Two chord type moving to a Five chord type and are located a whole step apart. For example, in the key of C major, we arrive at:

So, the minor third interval is dividable into whole steps and half steps yes? With this in mind, is moving a particular diminished chord or scale up or down a whole step the equivalent of moving that same group up or down a half step? Let's add a flat nine to each of our dominant chords above, to create the diminished seventh chord in it's upper structure, then crunch it all down. Hip to spelling chords?

To restate our question, is the diminished chord and scale found within the G 7b9 located a whole step below A 7b9, equivalent to the diminished chord and scale found a half step above the A 7b9, namely Bb 7b9 ? Let's spell out the Bb 7b9 shape and compare:

A cursory glance between the G 7b9 and the Bb 7b9 reveals an identical grouping of four pitches. These pitches D, F, Ab and B, are a minor third apart and comprise the fully diminished seventh chord found within the upper structure of any dominant seventh flat nine chord ( V7b9 ). For our 3 / 6 / 2 / 5 progression, with the addition of a flatted ninth to our dominant chords, the common relationship between dominant seventh flat nine chords ( V7b9 ) a minor third apart, creates a situation where our possible choices now include moving up a half step from Three / Six. Thus, our original chords evolve from:

Thanks to the diminished properties, we now have a Two / Five cell a half step up from our starting point. In terms of moving shapes around, this can become very handy. Cool with this? Yes, it is pretty advanced even for a experienced theorist. Click here for a few musical examples of the above ideas.

Review. So, that gets us up a half step, how about below? Could we move the A 7b9 down a minor third to Gb 7b9 and approach things from a half step below? Is the same fully diminished 7th chord in A 7b9 and Gb 7b9? Could be, try to figure it out on your own. For once you discover these secrets, they will be with you always. So, are the double 2 / 5's from the top of this page simply "softened" versions of this 3 / 6 / 2 / 5 motion based on the diminished principles? That they be. Maybe use them in a folk tune? No, you'd get some looks for sure. Rock tune? No, give folks a headache. Blues tune? Well ... Jazz tune? Yes, but even here you must handle these substitutions with love, for not everyone always gets there ya know? Maybe try them out and then watch what happens?

Jazz players should research John Coltrane's wonderful composition "Moments Notice", which was the music that initially revealed the joy and excitement of the "double 2 / 5" to the modern world.

Where to next?

review new ideas

I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know that it has to get down to work. Pearl S. Buck