3 / 6 / 2 / 5

Years ago, while reminiscing with a friend about our local jazz legend and university professor Wendy Williamson, the idea came forth that "Wendy oftentimes would conclude answering a theory question from a learner with the question "it really all comes down to just 3 6 2 5 right?, then go on to "prove" his point with pitches / keys etc. We'd muse about this basic premise and shed our turnarounds, looking for the magic. In this new millenium era of "new age jazz" and other new popular styles of American music, the harmonic and rhythmic complexion of the music has evolved. From the more straight ahead, quarter note bass line, cycling of fourths swing type cadencing we associate with jazz standards, of which the Three / Six / Two / Five configuration is oftentimes a key component, our music has evolved to the softer type cadencing of moving parallel harmonies around, oftentimes over an infectious Latin groove with a bluesy bass line. Where perhaps at one point in American music the Three / Six / Two / Five configuration was the center of local the universe for some players, I wonder if it still is today?

So today, when so many of us emerging jazz artists still thoroughly enjoy to play jazz standards, we can use these compositions from the last millenium as a way into the jazz language of today. My college professor Dr. Miller often remarked that there was a cool and unique musical "something" to be learned in each of the jazz standards, this something which could be applied in other spots in other songs etc. Whether a gorgeous melody, hip interval, unique pairing of key centers, nice rhythmic idea, expansion of a basic form, jazz standards provide the emerging artist with a wealth of cool music to draw from, to help internalize the jazz language. Perhaps playing standards is the best way to understand the historical evolution of the jazz language? The music sure is fun and provides a potentially endless, gradually increasing challenge for developing artists. With the 3 6 2 5 harmonic motion being a key component of many great standards...

With this in mind, let's initially look at the Three / Six / Two / Five motion diatonically and gradually reshape the elements with non-diatonic tones. Starting with basic Three / Six / Two / Five realization in C major. Example 1.

Sound familiar? This type of motion is all over lots of good tunes. Here is a chart to spell these chords and discern their color. Remember, that building your chords up through to the seventh degree helps clarify their type and function. Example 2.

Using the above chart to spell out the pitches of the Three / Six / Two / Five and One chords in the C major tonality. Note color and function eh? Example 2a.

Cool with this spelling of the chords? Can you see the groups of pitches from example 2a in the "arpeggio pitches" of example 2? Cool. We are simply building chords in major and minor thirds from the scale. Are you hip to the term arpeggio? Let's rewrite example 1 and arpeggiate each of the chords in the melody. Example 2b.

Arpeggios can become a major component on one's artistic palette. Not only can they unmistakably outline the harmony, but when rapidly articulated, can quickly generate excitement in the music. From the above charts and music one can perhaps clearly see the Two / Five / One cadential motion contained within the larger Three / Six / Two / Five / One progression? And that as with the Two / Five / One motion, the roots of our chords are simply moving by perfect fourth, in a sense creating a cycle of fourths with the chords? Cool? Oftentimes termed "backpedaling" by players, this is a very common root motion in many of the styles of American music. 

So, is the 3 / 6 / 2 / 5 simply a "doubling up" on the principles of 2 / 5? Well, almost. Thinking chord type, how do the chords in the Three / Six / Two / Five need to be morphed to comply with the requirements of creating a Two / Five motion in the major tonality? Right, the Six chord needs to morph from a Two chord type to a Five / dominant chord type. How to do this? Easy, just raise the third of the minor triad by half step to create a major triad, the sevenths remain the same. The pitch in question, C#, is just one of the other 5 notes. Here is a chart spelling out the pitches of the chord. Again using C major, the root of the Six chord is A. Example 3.

Compare this important color distinction of chord type. Example 3a.

Here the difference? Is the C# diatonic to the key of C major? Hardly. What major key uses the A 7 chord as it's dominant? We find the dominant on the fifth degree, so, the pitch A is the fifth degree of what major scale? Right, D major. Let's place our non-diatonic Six chord into the progression and see what happens. Example 3b.

Dig this non-diatonic sound? Total butter or what? If E min 7 / A 7 is 2 / 5 in D major, can we simply create an idea from D major over 3 / 6, then cycle the idea down by whole step to C major for the second bar and still be cool? Surely we can try right? Example 3c.

So, is part of the "trick" of creating lines over chord changes in simply recognizing the key center of these "patterns of chord types" and simply applying the pitches of that parent scale? Could very well be...

A common variation of either of the diatonic or non-diatonic ideas above simply reverses the order of Three / Six / Two / Five into a Two / Five / Three / Six cycle. This motion can be a fun and exciting environment to create in. Here is the sound. Example 4.

Reconfiguring the Three / Six / Two / Five into a Two / Five / Three / Six cycle makes a great tag for taking out up tempo jazz tunes, we hear this type of thing a lot in the literature. This cycle can become a cool "workout" for shaping melodic ideas. Once comfortable with these changes, try some or all of the other keys, perhaps using the cycle of fifths to organize your key centers. Check out the jazz standard Just Friends to experience the above harmonic motion in action.

So, as to the initial idea of 3 / 6 / 2 / 5 being potentially at the core of so much music, does the last progression of 2 / 5 / 3 / 6 simply imply that in any 2 / 5 / 1 motion, we can substitute an idea created from Three and Six over One?

Thanks to all of the players who have come before us, there is a potentially endless variety of ways to alter both the Two / Five cell and it's big brother, the Three / Six / Two / Five harmonic motion. In the above ideas, we have briefly examined the most common diatonic and non-diatonic structures. These two groups form the basis for potentially giant expansion. Click to substitution concepts and / or jazz chord substitution for more ideas to shape these important harmonic motions. Or perhaps...

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Lao tzu