Rhythm Changes Turnaround — the 1-6m-2m-5 progression

What is the 1-6m-2m-5 progression?

four numbers, four chords: each number is the scale degree a chord is built on, so the same chart plays in every key. In C major, 1-6m-2m-5 is C – Am – Dm – G. The chords, by role:

• 1 — the home chord (I)
• 6m — the vi, the relative minor
• 2m — the ii, a step above home
• 5 — the V, the chord that pulls back to I

Rhythm Changes Turnaround in other keys

Change the key and every chord moves together. The same 1-6m-2m-5 in four common guitar keys:

• G major: G – Em – Am – D
• D major: D – Bm – Em – A
• A major: A – F#m – Bm – E
• E major: E – C#m – F#m – B

Every chord in C major — and each key's page lists its own seven, so any progression can be spelled from there.

Why it works

Every chord shares at least one note with the chord before it, so the changes are smooth, and the last chord leans back toward the first. That is what makes a progression loop rather than simply stop.

Songs that use 1-6m-2m-5

These songs are built on this progression, in whole or in a section. Play any of them and you are playing 1-6m-2m-5:

• I Got Rhythm
• Heart and Soul (original)
• Sh-Boom
• Sherry

How to practice it

1. Play it in C — C, Am, Dm, G — two beats per chord, until you can loop it without looking at your hands.
2. Open it in the chord builder, press Play, and switch the key while it loops. Your ear will follow the numbers, not the letters.
3. Turn on Smooth Voice Leading and watch it re-finger the changes so each chord moves as little as possible.