[Smt-talk] I-II-IV as a progression

[jcovach]

Great discussion.  Here's my take on this progression in pop:

My sense is that the I - II - IV - I move derives mostly from guitar voicings,
as has already been pointed out, and specifically from easy, guitar chord shapes
that are very "strum friendly."  So, the easy ones would be:

C - D - F - C (though F gives some strummers a bit of a problem);
D - E - G - D (all easy chords, but also used a lot with the D shape kept intact
and moved up the neck against an open D pedal tone on the open fourth string);
G - A - C - G (very easy)

It's certainly possible (as in D) to move the first voicing up against the open
strings, and so E - F# - A - E works well if you leave the sixth, second, and
first strings open.  A - B - D - A also sounds great if you leave the fifth and
first strings open.  I have even seen (heard) players use this technique with
the C - D - F - C progression, as well as with the G - A - C - G one.  The use
of a capo (or even an open tuning) can open up possibilities as well.

I do not often have a sense that the II - IV is a deceptive resolution/movement
of V/V, since I do not have a stylistic expectation that the II chord acts as a
dominant (so there's no way to be "fooled").  There is, of course, always the
potential for the chord to act in that way, but in such case I would tend to
hear it as a reference to "classical" practice (as can often occur when such a
progression is worked out at the keyboard).

I do not hear a strong connection to blues practice, nor to any minor pentatonic
moves that are derived from that.  These seem like something different to me
mostly by virtue of stylistic context, though I readily acknowledge the
structural similarities.  The I - II - IV - I seems more closely related to folk
practice than blues, in a broad sense and only to the extent that such
distinctions can be usefully made.

My sense is that the move from I to II involves a sense of "lift," with the
Lydian #4 creating a sense of rising.  With the move to IV, a sense of "falling"
occurs, in which the inner voice chromatic descent plays a crucial role.  It's
interesting that the inner voice ^5 to ^#4 that occurs during I - II always
sounds more like ^3 - ^#4, but is recontextualized (if only in an abstract
sense) as the ^#4 descends to ^4 with the move to IV, and then to ^3 with the
return to I.  Most of the guitar voicings mentioned above lead ^3 to ^#4 to ^4
to ^3.

BTW, support for a slightly different blues hearing is the stock move often
heard over a tonic dom 7th chord that goes (with chord tones contained within
parenthesis):

E: (E B D) (E Bb Db) (E A C) (E G# B)  note the inner voice: B - Bb - A - G#

John Covach
Professor of Music and Chair, Music Department, University of Rochester
Professor of Theory, Eastman School of Music