Basic "Gypsy" Chord Progression Part 1

Although the Basic "Gypsy" Chord Progression is a foundation of Romani music, it is not required in a piece of Romani origin. 

On Page 8 of “Gypsy Violin”, by Mary Ann Harbar,   "the basic Gypsy chord progression  IVm-Im-V-Im" is mentioned.   I'll call this the "BGP" or Basic Gypsy Progression. On page 61, she mentions the "... standard Gypsy chord progression IV-I-V-I."  (When the chord is minor, it either has a minuscule m appended, or is given in lower case, as in “iv”.)  I'll also call this the BGP - it gives the same general feeling to the piece as does the progression that has the minor chords.  Because Ms Harbar and her band learned these pieces directly in Hungary, these progressions are almost certainly authentic.

I was curious about how often the BGP is seen in music identified as "Gypsy" or Romani, both in Mary Ann Harbar's book and in other places. 

To understand what this progression business means, we need to refer to the Common Practice Chord Progression used in most Western European music.  Begin by numbering the levels of a scale from 1 to 7. Use the corresponding Roman Numerals to denote chords based on the same 1-7 notes. Use Capital letters for Major chords and minuscules (small letters) for minor chords. Using the C major scale as an example, C is the first note and C major is denoted I. F is the fourth note, denoted IV, and G is the fifth note, denoted V. If you play much music identified as American Folk, you will have used the chord progression  I-IV-V-I (or C-F-G-C) a lot, and that might even be the only progression in the entire piece. 

From about 1600 to about 1800, composers established a set of PREFERRED transitions between chords, known as the Common Practice Chord Progression ("CPC" or "STD").  There are diagrams on this site, http://learnmusictheory.net/diatonic/index.asp?FileName=02%2D03%2DHarmonicProgressionDiagrams   that show the preferred chord transitions in common practice of music influenced by western European composers. I will call these the STD progressions.

The change that gives the strongest feeling of completion is the final V-I or V-i transition.  Whether the V chord also has the 7th added (the dominant seventh) or is just plain makes little difference to the sense of completion. 

The IV-I or iv-i transition within the BGP is seen in Common Practice, but recently with less frequency.  Note that the BGP is allowed within the STD practice.

Next time I’ll show the results of my analyses of some collections of “Gypsy” music and we’ll see that, although the Basic Gypsy Progression is seen very often, many other chord progressions appear in Romani and Romani-influenced music.

Reference: “Gypsy Violin”, by Mary Ann Harbar,  (Mel Bay # MB95538BCD)