Bossa nova · Advanced · major key

Bossa ii9–V9–Imaj9–VI7

ii9 – V9 – Imaj9 – VI7 — Soft extended chords with a VI7 to cycle back round.

Chord shapes in D major (standard tuning)

Using a different tuning? Open it in the Looper — it finds playable shapes for whatever tuning you choose.

How the chords work

Written in Roman numerals, this progression is ii9 – V9 – Imaj9 – VI7 — in C major that is Dm9 – G9 – Cmaj9 – A7. Each numeral is a step of the scale; upper case is a major chord, lower case minor.

• ii9 — a soft minor chord that leads towards V (a "pre-dominant").
• V9 — the tension chord that wants to resolve home.
• Imaj9 — the home chord — the progression feels finished when it lands here.
• VI7 — a major VI — the "V of ii".

Bossa ii9–V9–Imaj9–VI7 in all 12 keys

Practice ideas

• Beginners: play one strum per chord and say the chord names out loud, then two strums, then a steady down-down-up-up-down-up pattern.
• Change keys with a capo: keep the D major shapes and move a capo up — the capo calculator shows which fret gives the key you want.
• Solo over it: loop it in the Looper and improvise with the D major pentatonic or D major scale — the scale pages show every position and play a backing track.
• Train your ear: the progression ear trainer mixes this with similar progressions until you can tell them apart.

Similar progressions

• Bird blues (Parker changes) Imaj7 – viiø7 – III7 – vi7 – II7 – v7 – I7 – IV7 – iv7 – ♭VII7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – ♭III7 – ii7 – V7
• Jazz blues I7 – IV7 – I7 – I7 – IV7 – ♯iv°7 – I7 – VI7 – ii7 – V7 – I7 – V7
• ii–V–I–VI turnaround ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – VI7
• Rhythm changes A section Imaj7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – V7
• Bossa nova I–II7–ii–♭II7 Imaj7 – II7 – ii7 – ♭II7
• City pop loop IVmaj7 – V7 – iii7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – Imaj7

← Major circle of fifths · Imaj7–I6 vamp →

← All 198 chord progressions · Generate a new one

Questions