Ragtime progression

The ragtime progression (Fahey 1970) is a chord progression typical of ragtime music and parlour music genres though its use originated in classical music and spread to American folk music:
*$III^7-VI^7-II^7-V^7-(I)$and its close variants. (van der Merwe 1989, p.321)

In C major this is:
*$E^7-A^7-D^7-G^7-C$

The progression is an example of centripetal harmony, harmony which leads to the tonic and an example of the circle progression, a progression along the circle of fifths.

Examples

* "Sweet Georgia Brown"
* Liszt's "Liebesträume", no. III.
* Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant

ources

*van der Merwe, Peter (1989). "Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music". Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
*Fahey, John (1970). "Charley Patton", p.45. London: Studio Vista. Cited in van der Merwe (1989).

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/ragtime.html "MoneyChords": "Ragtime Progressions"] History