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:
- <math>III^7-VI^7-II^7-V^7-(I)</math>
and its close variants. (van der Merwe 1989, p.321) In C major this is:
- <math>E^7-A^7-D^7-G^7-C</math>
The progression is an example of centripetal harmony, harmony which leads to the tonic and an example of the circle of fifths.
Examples
- "Sweet Georgia Brown"
- Liszt's "Liebesträume", no. III.
- Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant
External links
Source
- 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).
