Chain the leading-tonedim7 trick: every diatonic step gets a chromatic dim7 between it and the next. The bass climbs six half steps and the ear hears one long inevitability.
hear it in gospel preludes · stride piano runs
Lead-in — how players set it upStart the climb from a firmly planted 1.From 6-⁷ dropping to 1 — then the stairway begins.Or from 4, entering the climb at its second step.Follow — where it usually goesArriving at 3-, either descend the same stairs or jump the lane to 4.From 3-, jump the lane to 4 and cadence conventionally.Or reverse the stairs — the descending dim7 mirror.
Climb the stairway in 3rds: over each °7 play its top pair, over each minor its root-3rd — a ladder of paired notes.Target tones (in C)C — lean on E (3)C#°7 — lean on E (b3) · Bb (bb7)Dm7 — lean on F (b3) · C (b7)D#°7 — lean on F# (b3) · C (bb7)Em7 — lean on G (b3) · D (b7)Half-step wiresC → C# · C# → D · E → F · D → D# · F → F# · D# → E