The ii V I is one of the most common chord progressions used in jazz standards but how can we practice it efficiently? It is essential to be able to navigate this progression up and down the neck. It seems like a daunting task to learn all of those shapes but the good thing is that you only need a few chord shapes to do it!

In this lesson we look at 7 chord scale exercise to start getting your fingers and ears around typical ii V I substitutions - or as I prefer to look at it - chord movements.

Download the free PDF to accompany this lesson

We’ll build the progression from scratch with Barry Harris’ sixth diminished scale and explore chord substitution possibilities with only three types of chords - Major 6, Minor 6, and Diminished. You’ll be surprised at just how much mileage you can get out of this limited set of shapes. For a primer on the chord shapes you'll need check out this lesson

The more you practice these chord scales the more natural the movements between the different various ii V progressions will become allowing you to build the muscle memory to use them at will without thinking.

Follow along as we play with the backing track and don’t worry about the names of the chords or substitutions - focus on the sounds that they make.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club to put these chord progressions to use with new lessons every week.