Lesson 10 Root movement by Second
Part I - Progressions
Chord Progressions that use root movement by second:
I-ii-V-I I-IV-V-I i-iv-V-i
In each of these progressions, the underlined chords have roots that are a second apart.
Root movement by 2nd is one of the more important types of progressions because it creates the best indicator of key signature. The I-ii-V-I progression. This will come in handy later when we discuss key change techniques.
You can see that the I and the ii chords have a root separated by a second.
Fig.1 Root movement by second I-ii-V-I
Listen:
Part II - Deceptive cadences
A deceptive cadence is that which ends on the VI chord. The I chord and the VI chords have two common tones e.g. C - E - G (I in the key of C)
A - C - E (vi in the key of C)
Thus, when writing a progression, the vi chord can be a substitute for the I Chord.
Fig.2 Root movement by second I-IV-V-vi
Listen:
This last example is simply root movement by second, not examples of deceptive cadences.
Fig.3 more examples of root movement by second
Listen:
