A defining feature of If I Were a Bell is the use of the II7 chord—the V7 of V7—which replaces the typical ii minor chord and creates a slightly different sound. In this lesson, you’ll learn how players like Sonny Rollins hear and navigate this progression, turning what often feels confusing into a clear and logical harmonic movement.

Both If I Were a Bell and But Not for Me use the II7–V7–I movement. In this lesson, we highlight examples from Red Garland and Mulgrew Miller, showing how great players connect these dominant chords within these tune's progressions and resolve them smoothly.

Mulgrew Miller’s solo on If I Were a Bell brings together blues language, standard vocabulary, and modern ideas. Studying this example gives you a clear model for how to approach the tune musically.

With the II7 chord and multiple dominant chords throughout the tune, developing altered dominant vocabulary is essential. Working with simple shapes and patterns will help you create tension and resolve it naturally through the progression, and in this lesson, we give you specific altered ideas from solos on If I were Bell.