2–5–1 Cadence Voicings on Guitar

Anyone who starts playing jazz knows that 2–5–1 cadences are ubiquitous. The 2–5–1 cadence is the most commonly used chord progression in jazz music. Let’s take the jazz standard Autumn Leaves as an example.

The standard starts right away with a 2–5–1 in G major. So, Am — D — G. Then comes a C major, but immediately after that, the next 2–5–1 in minor, on E minor. Next is a B7 on E minor, which is a 5–1 (2–5–1 simply without the 2), followed by the same 2–5–1 in minor on E minor.

Again, there’s a 2–5–1 in G major (as we had initially), followed by another 2–5–1 in minor, and finally, the 5–1 to the tonic of the song (G major).

So many 2–5–1 progressions in such a short song, and we haven’t even counted the substitutions yet. 🙂

The good thing is that it makes it easier for us to play over partially complex standards without having to assign every single chord of the tonic key.

Attached are 4 different Voicings, 2 in major and 2 in minor.

II — V — I in Major
II — V — I in Major
II — V — I in minor
II — V — I in minor

I would play through all these 2–5–1 Voicings in all possible keys. That helps you later to immediately recognize and respond to the 2–5–1 cadence in a standard.