Chord Progressions | Guitar Player's Guide

This guide covers everything you need to know about chord progressions on guitar: what they are, how the Nashville Number System works, and a collection of the most common progressions across rock, pop, blues, jazz, folk, and more, each with audio examples and chord diagrams.

You'll also find an interactive chord progression generator to build and hear your own sequences, plus tips on borrowed chords, modulation, and secondary dominants to make your songs stand out.

Chord Progression Generator - Interactive Tool

The Chord Progression Generator With Guitar Fretboard is a free, browser-based tool that lets you build custom chord progressions of up to 24 chords, hear them played back with realistic strumming, and see every chord tone on the fretboard in real time. It works on any device , Windows, Mac, Linux, or mobile , with no installation or sign-up required.

Key features:

• Time signatures & tempo , choose from 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 7/8, each with its own strum pattern and drum groove. Adjust BPM from 30 to 300.
• Wide chord library , from basic major, minor, diminished, and suspended voicings to extended 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords.
• Preset progressions , start from classics like I–V–vi–IV (pop), ii–V–I (jazz), or I7–IV7–V7 (blues) and customize from there.
• Visual fretboard , during playback, the current chord tones are highlighted with filled markers while the next chord is previewed with half-transparent outlines, helping you practice improvisation and voice leading.
• Note names or scale degrees , switch display modes to suit your learning style.
• Built-in microphone , real-time note detection so you can play along and check your pitch.
• Multiple tunings , standard, Drop D, Open G, and more, plus bass guitar layouts and a left-handed fretboard option.
• Save & load , store your complete progressions (chords, BPM, time signature, tuning, and drum settings) directly in the browser.

What Is A Chord Progression

On your music journey so far you have moved from pitches to scales, to intervals, to making chords, and now we come to the next step in your guitar practice routine: chord progressions.

There are certain sequences of chords that just happen to sound very pleasing to our ears.

Most popular music across many genres relies on specific chord progressions to set the mood of a song.

Chord progressions are like drum beats and bass lines: they cannot be copyrighted and are used by everyone. It is the melody, the specific note and rhythmic choices, that belongs to a particular musician.

The better you get to know the popular progressions, the easier it will be to recognize them in every song you listen to.

Drill Down: this tutorial covers some of the progressions listed in the ebook: 52 Chord Progressions - Learn How To Connect Chords and Create Great Songs.

Some progressions are used so often that by learning just one pattern you can play hundreds of songs.

We will list quite a few below, and you should aim to memorize each one.

Many guitarists focus on learning scales, which is great, but you shouldn't neglect chord progressions. First, let's learn how to read chord progression charts.

So let's begin!

Some Words About Strumming Chords

When starting out with chord progressions on guitar, don't stress too much about perfecting your strumming patterns right away.

Your strumming style will naturally evolve as you practice. For now, focus on maintaining a steady rhythm.

It's okay to strum open strings between chord changes, this can even add a unique touch to your playing.

Your primary goal should be mastering the chord fingerings and achieving smooth transitions between chords.

Let's try playing a simple song with just one chord: A major. You should already know the fingering for this chord, as shown above on this page.

The song is in 4/4 time, which means the count is 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, and so on.

To develop proper strumming technique from the start, try this:

• On 1, hit the open A string and let it ring.
• On 2, strum down from the A string.
• On 3, hit the E string and let it ring.
• On 4, strum down from the A string.
• Repeat for every measure.

This technique creates a nice bass line and will significantly improve your sound while helping you develop a solid rhythmic strumming style from the beginning.

Learning to sing along with the song is all about timing. Listen to the song a few times, and you'll get the hang of it.

It's easier than trying to explain time signatures and timing. You'll know when you've got it right. Just keep listening.

Drill Down: Learn 10 strumming patterns to practice daily for great improvement.

If the band leader says it's a 1-5-6-4 in the key of G, we know to play G-D-Em-C.

Now, certain chords happen to sound great when played in specific orders. Just as the note C and its fifth G sound good played one after another, so do the chords C major and G major.

Many folk and simple pop tunes use nothing more than the first and fifth chords of the key. And just as the root, fourth, and fifth are common intervals, we get the very popular chord progression I-IV-V.

In the key of C that gives us C-F-G.

Playing those three simple chords opens up thousands of songs in pop, rock, punk, and gospel , a huge amount of music is built on the 1-4-5!

The blues then extends the 1-4-5 to 1-4-1-5-1 or something similar, often adding sevenths.

Pick up your guitar and play C F7 G C:

C Major

F7

G Major

C Major

Repeat the C and F7 a few times back and forth, then end with a G7 resolving to C.

If we reverse the 1-4-5 to 5-4-1, we get many popular classic rock tunes. Typically, the progression finishes on the tonic, unless you are modulating or moving to another key.

Just as three-chord progressions follow the rules of scales and intervals, so do four-chord progressions.

After the I-IV-V progression, which chord would also sound pleasant to add? The answer is the vi, the natural minor.

In the key of C, that would be Am. Once we add Am to the other three chords, we unlock a variety of popular chord progressions.

With I-V-vi-IV we get the chord progression behind countless hit songs.

Change it to I-vi-IV-V and you can play nearly every 50's doo wop tune. Start with the minor , vi-IV-I-V , and you have the backbone of nearly every sensitive or sad tune ever written.

Pick any key you like and try each of these four chord progressions. You may already recognize some songs as you play through them.

They are a great example of how you can take the basics that everyone loves, tweak them with solid music theory, and create something extraordinary.

While there is certainly experimental music that tries to break all the rules, in general you want to work with what audiences respond to.

The 1-5-6-4 is arguably the best-sounding progression in modern Western music, so you can't go wrong using it as the backbone of your song.

Below is a list of the most popular chord progressions, give each one a try in various keys! (Use this chart to make sure you have the right chords.)

Remember, these are only the standard foundations. Chords are often tweaked with sevenths (especially in blues and jazz), extended chords, or suspended chords to make a song more distinctive.

Don't be afraid to experiment and build on these basics.

You can find more chord progressions in the ebook 52 Chord Progressions | Learn How To Connect Chords and Create Great Songs.

The 1-4-5 is the most common progression of all. Knowing this simple chord sequence lets you jam with any band, as long as you know the key.

Even though it seems simple, there are countless ways to tweak it.

Many rock and blues songs add a seventh to the fifth chord, giving us the classic rock 'n' roll progression E-A-B7. You can even add sevenths across the board. For example, Prince's "Kiss" uses this 1-4-5 in the key of A: A-D-E.

He makes it funky by playing A7-D7-Esus4.

The sus4 chord replaces the third with the fourth degree, and the Esus4 contains the note A, which ties it neatly back to the key and gives it that funky sound.

There are a ton of substitutions that can make a three-chord progression sound unique to each genre.

Just as 1-4-5 dominates rock, the reverse, 5-4-1, was especially common in many classic pop songs.

This progression has too many examples to list. Surf songs, sock hops, rockabilly, 60's rock , anything you want to play with a driving groove.

You can use variations like E-D, D-A-E, or even E-A-D-A.

This progression is named after the comedy band that famously performed dozens of hit songs all built on this same sequence. Virtually every artist has used this 4-chord sequence , do a quick search and you'll be amazed at how many songs follow this pattern!

Nearly every 50's doo wop tune uses this exact sequence. Once you can play one song from that era, you can play them all, from "Monster Mash" to "Earth Angel" and, of course, "Beauty School Dropout" from Grease.

Folk tunes are very simple, often nothing more than the root and fifth repeated over and over.

These songs can sometimes be more fun to listen to than to play, as the repetition can get tedious. A seventh is often added to the V chord for extra color.

In the key of E, a blues tune would go E-A-E-B-E.

Most blues songs use seventh chords, so you'll want to mix those in.

Blues progressions can vary, but they always revolve around the first, fourth, and fifth chords.

As shown above, you can repeat the first and fourth for a few measures before building tension with a V7, then resolving back to I.

The number 7 beside a chord denotes a dominant chord , a major chord with a minor seventh interval added.

Virtually any epic or powerful rock ballad you've ever heard follows this progression. David Bowie was a big fan of it.

Without even looking up the chords to Ziggy Stardust, we already know how the verse goes: in the key of C it's C-Em-F-G.

III-VII-i-V7-i (C G Am E7 Am)

La Folia is one of the oldest progressions in Western music. Try it in the key of A minor.

You'll notice it has a distinctly medieval, almost fantasy-like quality. If you were playing music in a castle for royalty, this would be the progression to reach for.

Even after hundreds of years, our ears still love this sound.

If you want a Spanish flamenco flavor on classical guitar, give this one a try. In the key of A minor the chords are Am-G-F-E. The Ventures' "Walk Don't Run" follows this progression.

You'll recognize this from songs like "Eight Days a Week." Note that the second chord here is major, not minor. In the key of C, that gives us C-D-F-C.

For a long time, the II major chord was traditionally followed by the V and then the tonic. The Beatles popularized moving to the IV instead of the V, creating a completely different resolution.

This progression is often called the sensitive female progression, as many pop-rock and indie women artists have built songs around it.

Of course, it's not limited to any one style. Jewel, Avril Lavigne, Joan Osborne, and many more use it. It also powers Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and Iggy Pop's "The Passenger."

This progression and its variations are perfect for tunes like "Heart and Soul," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and Nilsson's "Without You."

In those songs, of course, sevenths are added to each chord.

This longer progression was a staple of the swing era.

You'll hear this in songs like "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" and "It Never Rains in Southern California."

Also known as the 2-5-1 turnaround, it is a staple of both jazz and rock, another progression with countless examples.

You might find this ii-V-I play-along backing track useful for practice.

An example of this progression is C-Caug-C6-C7. You'll recognize it in songs like "You've Got to Accentuate the Positive" and Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All."

The "+" symbol indicates that the fifth is raised by a half step, creating an augmented chord.

C6 refers to a C Sixth chord, a major chord with an added major sixth.

If you're looking for something truly distinctive, try some ragtime chord patterns, you never know what inspiration they might spark.

Read Also: Uncommon Chord Progressions

We've also interviewed 11 guitar experts and asked them about their favorite unusual chord progressions.

The result is a great list of unconventional chord progressions you can use in your songs. Check it out!

Of course, not every song follows a progression exactly as written. Chords can be substituted with 7ths, 9ths, 13ths, min7, maj7, sus2, and sus4 voicings, among many others (see this list of different chord structures for reference).

When playing a common chord progression, it's the small changes that can make your song sound unique and stand out.

Along with substituting chords, you can change keys , subtly or dramatically, depending on the sound you're after.

Use Borrowed Chords

A borrowed chord is a chord taken from a parallel key without changing the tonic or overall key of the song.

Borrowed chords often involve a flattened 3rd and flattened 7th (b3 and b7).

In the key of C, for example, the most common borrowed chords are Eb and Bb, which stay close to the natural 3rd and 7th degrees. This technique is especially popular in rock.

Alternatively, you can skip borrowing altogether and simply change the key of your song at some point, this is known as modulation.

Modulate to Other Keys

There are several ways to modulate. You can move chromatically, such as shifting from the key of C to C#.

There's also common-tone modulation: both the key of C and G contain the note D, so you can use that shared note as a pivot when moving from C to G.

Parallel modulation means moving from C major to C minor, keeping the same tonal center but changing the mode.

Finally, there's phrase (or abrupt) modulation, where you simply change the key after a phrase ends. Generally, it's best to keep to a somewhat related key when doing this.

You can even combine different types of modulation in what's called a chain modulation.

Add Secondary Dominants

Another way to enrich your chord progressions is by adding secondary dominants.

The first chord of the key is the tonic, and the fifth is called the dominant. To find the secondary dominant, count up a fifth from the dominant or use the Circle of Fifths.

• G is the dominant of the key of C
• D is the dominant of the key of G

Therefore, D is the secondary dominant of the key of C. Secondary dominants are often played as seventh chords or higher extensions (9ths, 11ths, 13ths).

The reason they're typically sevenths is that the purpose of the secondary dominant is to create tension that resolves into the next chord.

For example, instead of going straight from C to G, we can insert the secondary dominant: C-D7-G. Secondary dominants open up many new possibilities for your progressions.

You Can Even Use Extended Dominants

An extended dominant takes this concept further by resolving down a fifth to another dominant seventh chord. In notation, it's written as V/V/V.

The extended dominant of C is A7.

There's even a quaternary dominant (V/V/V/V), in the key of C, that would be E7.

You probably won't use borrowed chords that far removed from the key very often, but it's a great exercise for testing your music theory knowledge.

Another interesting approach is modal chord progression, which builds progressions from the chords of each mode.

Chord Progressions - More Resources and Conclusions

Practice each of these progressions and use your ears to identify which songs they remind you of.

When writing your own music, don't be afraid to substitute chords and experiment.

Once you start modulating, altering chord qualities, and changing keys, you'll be amazed at the music you can create.

Now that you understand the fundamentals of chord progressions on guitar, you have the foundation to learn and write countless songs.

There are of course more progressions beyond the ones listed here, but most are simply variations or slight modifications of the examples above.

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Below you'll find more resources to help you deepen your chord progression knowledge: