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The Chord Guide: Pt III – Chord Progressions Posted on August 16, 2011
I have moved this guide to the site of my new magazine, PRISM. This has been my most
popular post on endofthegame, with over a thousand views daily, daily, but pretty soon it will be taken down from this blog, so if you want to bookmark the new page p age it can be found here. Chord progressions are the canvas on which musicians paint their masterpieces, and it’s it’s a canvas which is a piece of art in itself. A chord progression can be subtle and in the background or it can be blatant and up front; it can be simple and catchy, catchy, or it can be technical and complex, it can stay in one key or it can change like the seasons. In any of these cases a chord progression is what drives the song as it literally shapes the music that accompanies it. Chord progressions are
like a cozy home where melody and rhythm can kick their feet up. All the songwriting giants, like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, McCartney, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan, to name a few, have/had a tremendous knowledge of the art of the chord progression. I’m not going to promise you tremendous knowledge, but I will offer you a good head start s tart in the way of making your own music – in an easily digestible chunk to boot. In a nutshell, I don’t mean this guide to be a comprehensive guide on the theory behind behind chord progressions – that guide will w ill come later, later, I assure you. This guide is meant to inject an interest in songwriting in new and old guitarists alike, alike, I hope that at some point after reading this you will pick up your old guitar, guitar, blow off the dust, and join me in playing music. Music is the universal language of the human soul; it speaks more volumes about us than a library full of words ever could, so learning to communicate in this language is a wonderful ability to have. Read on, assimilate everything, and s tart making your own music! Play for yourself, and others will listen, not the other way around – music mus ic is a journey, a personal voyage. I hope you have a blast playing these chord progressions! If you like, you can download a print friendly word document version of version of this post.
Chord Progression Guide This handy little guide will help all musicians create create their own catchy chord progressions progressions on the fly! Included are two chord charts (one for major and one for minor) and a list of common progressions that you can make, referring to the charts to help you. Note, I/IV/V is highlighted in bold as it’s it’s such a popular chord progression, this way you can easily see chord progressions you can play without having to squint at the chart.
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Major Chord Chart
Above is a chord chart for the 7 most used keys. To create a progression, simply follow a chord progression formula (I is always the key of the progression). For example, a very popular chord progression formula is I-IV-V (highlighted in bold on the chart), in the key of C, the chord progression would be C/F/G, in the key of D the progression would be D/G/A. Another extremely popular chord progression, arguably the most popular (used in hundreds of songs), is the I/V/vi/IV (one-five-six-four). In C the chords would be C/G/Am/F and in G it would be G/D/Em/C. While most chord progressions start with the key of the song (I), this is not always the case, for example the very popular jazz chord progression ii-V-I in the key of C would be Dm/G/C or Dm7/G7/Cmaj7. Even though the progression doesn’t start on the C major chord, it is still in the key of C as all the chords in the progression originate from it’s scale. Note that the vi (6th) note is always the relative minor of the major scale. So for example, in C major, the vi is Am, while in F major the vi is Dm.
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Minor Chord Chart
Above is a chord chart for creating minor chord progressions. As I mentioned before, the vi is the relative minor of any major scale. For example, you’ll notice that all the notes in Am are the same as those iin C major in the first chart, and all the notes in Dm are found in F major and so on. This is very useful to know as you can so you can mix and match major and minor progressions and stay in the same key. You can substitute the chords in the charts for different chord types, for example to play a chord
progression using 7th chords you can – substitute all of the minor chords for minor7 chords, substitute the major chords (I/IV) for major7 chords and substitute the V chord for a dominant 7th chord. If you don’t know these chords, or just need a quick reminder, here’s a list of all of the common open chords, and here is one for the barre chords. Now for what you have been waiting for: a list of common chord progression formulas which you can use to start writing songs straight away! You can even make up your own
chord progressions, or you can substitute major minor chords for 7ths of 9ths, so feel free to experiment! Note: I have transcribed all of the major chord progressions into the key of C to make it easier for you to simply start practicing as soon as possible, as even the absolute beginner knows, or should be learning, the open chords in C major. But if you wish to play these progressions in a different key, which I’m sure you eventually will, you will have to do the work of converting them yourself – don’t worry, it’s one of the easier and more useful things you’ll ever have to learn to do!
Progressions With 2 Chords I – IV – C/F I – V – C/G
Progressions With 3 Chords I – IV – V – C/F/G I – IV – V7 –C/F/G7 I – ii – IV – C/Dm/F I – iii – IV – C/Em/G ii – V – I – Dm/G/C
Progressions With 4 Chords I – IV – I – V – C/F/C/G I – IV – I – V7 – C/F/C/G7 I – IV – V – I – C/F/G/C I – IV – V – IV – C/F/G/F I – V – IV – V – C/G/F/G I – V – vi – IV – C/G/Am/F I – vi – V – IV – C/Am/G/F I – vi – IV – V – C/Am/F/G I – vi – ii – V – C/Am/Dm/G I – vi – ii – V7 – C/Am/Em/G7 I – vi – iii – IV – C/Am/Em/F I – iii – vi – IV – C/Em/Am/F
IV – I – IV – V – F/C/F/G vi – IV – I – V – Am/F/C/G I – VI – IV – V – C/A/F/G ii – V – I – vi – Dm/G/C/Am
Progressions With 5 Chords I – vi – ii – IV – V7 – C/Am/Dm/F/G7 I – vi – ii – V7 – ii – C/Am/Dm/G7/Dm I – ii – iii – IV – V – C/Dm/Em/F/G I – ii – vi – V – I – C/Dm/Am/G/C I – vi – ii – V – I – C/Am/Dm/G/C I – iii – vi – V – I – C/Em/Am/G/C
Progressions With 6/7/8 Chords I – IV – I – V7 – IV – I – C/F/C/G7/F/C vii – iii – vi – ii – V – I – IV – Bm7b5/Em/Am/Dm/G/C/F I – IV – I – V7 – IV – I – vi – V – C/F/C/G7/F/C/Am/G
Progressions With Flattened (b) Chords I – vib – IV – C/Abm/F I – iii – IV – vib – C/Em/F/Abm I – iii – viib – IV – C/Em/Abm/F I – viib – IV – V – C/Abm/F/G
Natural Minor Chord Progressions i – VI – VII – Am7/Fmaj7/G7 i – iv – VII – Am7/Dm7/G7 i – iv – v – Am7/Dm7/Em7 i – VI – III – VII – Am7/Fmaj7/Cmaj7/G7 ii – v – i – Bm7b5/Em7/Am7
Harmonic Minor Chord Progressions i – iv – V – Cm(maj7)/Fm7/G7 ii – V – I – Dm7b5/G7/Cm(Maj7)
Melodic Minor Chord Progressions
ii – V – i – IV – vii – III -vi – Dm7/G7/Cm(maj7)/F7/Bm7b5/Ebmaj7#5/Am7b5
Modal Chord Progressions 1. (Ionian) I – IV – V – I – Cmaj7/Fmaj7/G7/Cmaj7 2. (Dorian) ii – iii – IV – I – ii – Dm7/Em7/Fmaj7/Cmaj7/Dm7 3. (Phrygian) iii – ii – vi – IV – iii – Em7/Dm7/Am7/Fmaj7/Em7 4. (Lydian) IV – vi – V – iii – IV – Fmaj7/Am7/G7/Em7/Fmaj7 5. (Mixolydian) V – IV – I – V – G7/Fmaj7/Cmaj7/G7 6. (Aeolian) vi – V – IV – V – vi – Am7/G7/Fmaj7/G7/Am7
Diatonic Progression Cycles (2nds) I – II – III – IV -V -VI -VII – I – C/Dm/Em/F/G/Am/Bm7b5/C (7ths) I – VII – VI -V -IV -III -II – I – C/Bm7b5/Am/G/F/Em/Dm/C (3rds) I – III – V – VII – II – IV – VI – I – C/Em/G/Bm7b5/Dm/F/Am/C (6ths) I – VI – IV – II – VII – V – III – I – C/Am/F/Dm/Bm7b5/G/Em/C (4ths) I – IV – VII – III – VI – II – V – I – C/F/Bm7b5/Em/Am/Dm/G/C (5ths) I – V – II – VI – III – VII – IV – I – C/G/Dm/F/Em/Bm7b5/F/C Progressions can be made from these cycles in any combination. These can be applied to any of the 7 tone scales: Major, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor, Harmonic Major etc
Jazz Chord Progressions Note with jazz chord progressions you have to substitute the s tandard major/minor chords for 7ths (you can also play 9ths, 11ths or 13ths.) These are the basic chord substitutions: I = maj7, ii = m7, iii = m7, IV = maj7, V = dom7, vi = m7, VII = m7b5. I have omitted all the 7s in the formulas simply because they look messy (ii/V/I looks cleaner than iim7/V7/Imaj7). I have only included a 7 in the formula if the chord is untypically given a 7th note, eg II7 (D7) when it is usually ii (dm7). Since these progressions are catered for jazz, all chords should be played as 7ths or 9ths etc. ii – V – Cmaj7/G7 ii – V – I – Dm7/G7/Cmaj7 ii – V – I – vi – Dm7/G7/Cmaj7/Am7 I – vi – ii – V – Cmaj7/Am7/Dm7/G7 VI7 – II7 – V – I7 – A7/D7/G7/C7 iii – vi – ii – V – I – Em7/Am7/Dm7/G7/Cmaj7 I – vi – ii – V – iii – VI7 – ii – V – Cmaj7/Am7/Dm7/G7/Em7/A7/Dm7/G7 I – II7 – ii – V – I – Cmaj7/D7/Dm7/G7/Cmaj7
I – I7 – IV – ivm7 – iii – VI7 – ii – V – I –Cmaj7/C7/Fmaj7/Fm7/Em7/A7/D/G7/Cmaj7) ii – V – I – IV – vii – iii – vi – Dm7/G7/Cmaj7/Fmaj7/Bm7b5/Em7/Am7 The last progression in this list is the ultimate one to practice as it contains all 7 notes of the major scale – play it in every key and get completely used to the sound that each chord makes and how they fall into each other; this is perhaps the best thing you can do in terms of developing your ‘ear’ for chord progressions.
Here’s a closer look at the last two chord progressions, I’ll show you two ways of approaching each progression (there are countless ways!) utilising both barre and open chords. I – I7 – IV – ivm7 – iii – VI7 – ii – V – I
ii – V – I – IV – vii – iii – vi
Examples of Chord Progressions Used in Famous Songs I – IV – I – V – Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison (G/C/G/D) I – V – vi – IV – Let It Be by The Beatles (C/G/Am/F) I – V – IV – Blue Sky by The Allman Brothers Band (E/B/A) vi – IV – V – vi or i – VI – VII – i – I’m Eighteen by Alice Cooper (Em/C/D/Em) I – iii – IV – I – The Weight by The Band (A/C#m/D/A) I – ii – iii – IV – V – Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan (C/Dm/Em/F/G) I – vi – iii – IV – Where is My Mind by The Pixies (E/C#m/G#m/A) I – iii – vi – IV – Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo !ole (C/Em/Am/F) I – V – II – VI – iii – Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix (C/G/D/A/Em) I – II7 – ii – V – I – Girl From Ipanema by Antônio Carlos Jobim
(Fmaj7/G7/Gm7/Cmaj7/Fmaj7 I – v – IV – V – ii – V – ii -IV – V – Candyman by The Grateful Dead (C/Gm/F/G/Dm/G/Dm/F/G) P.S – So long as you don’t try to pass this guide off as your own, you are free to print this off and make as many copies as you like, I give you 100% permission – I made this guide to be used, so use it!
Now go make some music!
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This guide is a tribute to The Beatles: the masters of the chord progression. Their music contains just about everything there is to know about the relationship between chords and melody.
Be sure to check out the other guitar guides scattered throughout the site! Chord Theory
Chord Guide: Pt I – Open Chords Chord Guide: Pt II – Barre Chords Song Lesson: The Girl From Ipanema Scale Theory
The Mother of All Music Theory – The Major Scale Modes of the Major Scale Jazz Guitar – Bebop Scales Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Minor Scales
Modes of the Melodic Minor Scale General Music Theory
Introduction to Music Theory University Course If you liked this post, be sure to subscribe! By Michael Cunningham @ endofthegame.net
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This entry was posted in chord theory , guitar lessons, music theory and tagged chord progressions, chords, guide, guitar lessons, music theory , songwriting by Michael Cunningham. Bookmark the permalink [http://endofthegame.net/2011/08/16/chordprogressions/] .
53 THOUGHTS ON “THE CHORD GUIDE: PT III – CHORD PROGRESSIONS”
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Kid Meatball on November 9, 2011 at 11:32 AM said:
Great lesson! Just a little correction. The I/IV/V progression in C is C F G.
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caramellokoala
on November 9, 2011 at 11:40 AM said:
Oh wow, I really should have looked through the post for errors; that is embar" rassing! Thanks a million!
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ben on November 12, 2011 at 8:17 AM said:
thanks for pointing that out, i was reading this and when i saw that got really con " fused, good lesson though thankyou caramelokoala!
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Jake on November 11, 2011 at 5:16 AM said:
Couple things, this is fine as a basic chord structure but one of the most important aspects of the minor keys are the leading tones. It makes the v chord a V, which is of utmost importance, considering one of the strongest chord progressions is I IV V I. Of that there is no argument. It also makes the VII a diminished vii. Also these chords that you give for using flat chords are…unconventional to say the least. If this is a guide to making things sound good, I’m in support. But it seems to be passing off as a lesson in music theory. For that, it would be neccessity to go over predominant, dominant, secondary dominants, the I64 chord, cadences, modulation, etc. I don’t mean to attack this, but were anyone to read this and use this as a guide to music theory, they would come out of it with bad information.
! caramellokoala
on November 11, 2011 at 1:33 PM said:
Thanks for the reply, this is not meant to be a lesson in music theory, I have other posts dedicated to that. I’m not exactly sure how you saw this trying to pass off as music theory. This is simply a quick guitar lesson to help people with chord progressions and was not meant to be in depth at all.
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bammbamm1963
on July 6, 2012 at 8:53 PM said:
Thank you for your efforts. I appreciate someone taking the time to break this down and simplify it. Cheers and Thanks to StumbleUpon for getting me here.
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Trumpetblast on November 16, 2011 at 1:56 AM said:
When in a minor key, because of the leading tone > tonic relationship, you usually use the minor seven (vii). The major VII is diatonic (follows the key) but it more often used as a subdominant of IV rather than a seven. Really good resource though!
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caramellokoala
on November 18, 2011 at 10:43 AM said:
Thanks for the correction!
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joknowswhy (Joellyn)
on November 18, 2011 at 10:40 AM said:
Thanks for the list of chord progressions. I’m going to use the information for my piano student tonight. I’m going to have him play a few of the simpler progressions and make him pick which one he likes best. Then he can practice it with a drum beat on his keyboard. Chords are great! It can make a student an instant musician.
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caramellokoala
on November 18, 2011 at 10:48 AM said:
Your very welcome! I’m happy that students are going to benefit from me writing this! Chords are the best – have fun teaching your students!
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Nick on November 27, 2011 at 7:01 AM said:
Thanks for the post! It was really helpful :)
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caramellokoala
on December 3, 2011 at 11:18 PM said:
No problem, I’m glad you got something out of it! :)
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Jukejoint on December 21, 2011 at 12:49 PM said:
Ty for the chart and post. For those of us who are learning both how to play, and write the countless melodies in our heads, the last thing we want to deal with is too much info. You gave just enough for basic comprehension of progression. Thank you for taking the time to help others that share the love of music
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caramellokoala
on February 20, 2012 at 2:59 PM said:
Thank you for the kind words! It’s people like you that make it all worthwhile :)
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Mike on February 20, 2012 at 2:52 PM said:
Awesome post! I look forward to part 2!
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caramellokoala
on February 20, 2012 at 2:56 PM said:
Glad you like it! Part 2 is already published here http://endofthegame.net/2011/08/16/openchords/ and part 3 here http://endofthegame.net/2011/08/23/barrechord/ However, I might make part 4 a more advanced guide to creating chord progres " sions, and more of the music theory aspect, if you want to be notified when it’s
done be sure to subscribe! Cheers
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Dannylee214 on March 12, 2012 at 2:03 PM said:
Whats a Ib? and how is it different from vii? In C major Ib would be Bmaj and vii would be Bmin. Am I reading that wrong?
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endofthegame
on March 12, 2012 at 4:16 PM said:
Yes, Ib is a flattened first, so in C major it would be Bmaj as you said, vii would be a B half diminished chord (or Bm7b5). There is a difference between a flattened first and a seventh!
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Santa on July 17, 2012 at 6:18 AM said:
Just a detail: The song is actually called ‘Where is my Mind’ not ‘Head’ by The Pixies :) Besides from that, great lesson!
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endofthegame
on July 29, 2012 at 7:06 PM said:
Thanks for the ‘heads’ up!
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Doug Smith on October 6, 2012 at 2:42 PM said:
Girl From Ipanema was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim—Stan Getz and Astrid Gilberto performed it with him. Credit where credit is due. Nice article.
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endofthegame
on October 6, 2012 at 9:03 PM said:
Thanks for that, I’ll edit it in.
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PRAVIN
on November 27, 2012 at 7:42 PM said:
its magic……
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Eric on December 10, 2012 at 4:42 AM said:
Just a typo I think; shouldn’t paragraph 5 say “the vi chord” and not “the iv” chord? The sixth tone of a major scale is the relative minor, I mean. Thanks for the page. Very cool.
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endofthegame
on December 10, 2012 at 3:43 PM said:
thanks for pointing out the typo! i imagine that would’ve confused the hell out of a lot of people so i’m very grateful you brought it to my attention.
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play guitar
on April 7, 2013 at 4:57 AM said:
I think what you said was actually very reasonable. But, think on this, suppose you were to write a awesome headline? I mean, I don’t want to tell you how to run your website, but suppose you added a headline that makes people want more? I mean The Chord Guide: Pt III – Chord Progressions | END OF THE GAME is kinda vanilla. You could glance at Yahoo’s front page and note how they create article headlines to grab viewers to open the links. You might try adding a video or a pic or two to grab readers excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it could bring your posts a little livelier.
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endofthegame
on April 8, 2013 at 2:29 AM said:
This post alone has already had over 230,000 views and it’s only been up for about a year. The title says all it needs to… it’s the content that matters. Thanks for your suggestion nonetheless.
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Jc on December 16, 2013 at 3:52 AM said:
Is there a part 4.
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michaelcunningham300793048 on December 16, 2013 at 11:31 AM said:
Nope.
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Martha
on March 5, 2015 at 3:33 AM said:
Thank you for the chord charts! Great article. I began playing music by ear, but my piano teacher years ago told me to “stop that!” I was formally trained in music, but in just the last five or six years began studying the chord charts on my own. I love it! Now I sit at the piano and play and compose every day. Thanks again.
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