Jazz · Advanced · major key

Tadd Dameron turnaround

Imaj7 – ♭III7 – ♭VImaj7 – ♭II7 — A bebop turnaround that slides through distant chords back to I.

Chord shapes in A 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 Imaj7 – ♭III7 – ♭VImaj7 – ♭II7 — in C major that is Cmaj7 – Eb7 – Abmaj7 – Db7. Each numeral is a step of the scale; upper case is a major chord, lower case minor.

• Imaj7 — the home chord — the progression feels finished when it lands here.
• ♭III7 — a major chord borrowed from the minor key (the relative major in a minor key).
• ♭VImaj7 — a major chord borrowed from the minor key: epic and dramatic.
• ♭II7 — a major chord a half step above home: exotic and tense.

Tadd Dameron turnaround 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 A 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 A major pentatonic or A 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

• Tritone-substitute ii–♭II–I ii7 – ♭II7 – Imaj7
• Bird blues (Parker changes) Imaj7 – viiø7 – III7 – vi7 – II7 – v7 – I7 – IV7 – iv7 – ♭VII7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – ♭III7 – ii7 – V7
• Chromatic mediants (I–♭VI–I–♭III) I – ♭VI – I – ♭III
• Power-chord I–IV–♭III–♭VI I5 – IV5 – ♭III5 – ♭VI5
• Jazz circle iii–vi–ii–V–I iii7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
• Jazz blues I7 – IV7 – I7 – I7 – IV7 – ♯iv°7 – I7 – VI7 – ii7 – V7 – I7 – V7

← iii–VI7–ii–V7 turnaround · Bird blues (Parker changes) →

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