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Progressions
1) You'll be able to write your own songs by stringing chords together into something meaningful. There are certain chord relationships that you can use to make writing compelling songs of your own easier - relationships behind some of the world's most loved music and used by the world's greatest songwriters.
2) You'll be able to pick up chord progressions by ear and know exactly how to accompany them in any key (e.g. for soloing and vocals). This naturally ties in with your knowledge of scales.
Obviously I don't want to tell you what to play, but I hope this series of lessons will leave you feeling more confident with both identifying and writing your own chord progressions on guitar.
Note: this section is still expanding. It's a huge subject and I intend to make this the most comprehensive course available... anywhere!
Three-Chord Progressions A good primer. How to create
simple three-chord progressions in any
key.
Gets you playing around some key relationships used in popular music.
Basic
Guitar Chord Progressions Shows you how to use
those
basic open position chords you learn as a
beginner to craft meaningful guitar chord progressions based on a few
important relationships.
Diatonic Chord Progressions & Scale Harmonization
The word diatonic,
in the context of chord progressions, is just another way of referring
to a
system of chords built around the degrees of the major scale. It's the
formula behind countless songs, old and new. It also gives us the most common major and minor key centres.
Think of the major scale with chords built on each of its 7 degrees. The result is a harmonization of the scale, or what I prefer to simply call a chord scale.
Watch the video below for a great introduction to scale harmonization and the concept of building chords from a parent scale...
There is also a lesson to accompany the video - see chord scales on guitar.
This scale is by no means the limits of your songwriting, as we'll be expanding out of it in later stages. However, it has been the backbone of many chord progressions and music in general for hundreds of years. It's the basis of countless hit songs, old and new.
So, the above chord scale uses the same intervals as the major scale. All we're doing is building chords on each degree of the scale, from 1 (tonic) to 7 (leading). These chords, their function and variations are covered in the lessons below...
Tonic
Dominant Relationship Introduces us to one of the
most
important relationships in
music - the tonic (I)
and dominant (V).
Dominant
Variation Looks at modifying dominant chords to
make
them work
more effectively as natural tension chords.
Subdominant
Introduces us to subdominant chords (IV),
to
add to that tonic-dominant relationship.
Subdominant
Variation Looks at the different
ways you can enhance the subdominant chord.
Supertonic
Adds the supertonic chord (ii)
to the scale, immediately showing us
just how easily many of those "hit" songs you hear on the radio have
been formulated - just from 4
simple chords.
Supertonic
Variation Shows us how we can modify the ii
chord for some interesting variation.
Submediant
Adds the submediant chord (vi)
to the scale. Now we have a 5 chord
scale with a new minor chord function. Later, you'll see how the
submediant becomes the natural tonic chord (i) of
minor key
progressions.
Submediant
Variation Gives us some ideas for
modifying/enhancing the
submediant chord.
Mediant
Adds the mediant (iii)
chord to the progression, a commonly used link
between the tonic chord and other chords in the scale.
Mediant Variation
Shows us how to modify the iii
chord by using major, dominant 7th and
augmented variants in your guitar chord progressions.
Leading
Tone Chord Introduces the final chord in the scale,
built on
the 7th degree
leading tone (vii)
which
makes use of those tense sounding diminished chords.
Tonic Variation
Looks at enhancing the major key tonic chord (I),
and which types of
major chord work well in the tonic position, including using the tonic
as an "ending chord".
The minor key chord scale can be seen as chords built on the degrees of the natural minor scale, or starting from the 6th degree of the major scale. So the vi chord becomes the tonic i, and the sequence continues from there.
Minor
Key Tonic Introduces us to minor key relationships,
establishing a new minor
tonic chord (i)
using the same chord scale as before.
Chord
Resolution Learn about the use of tension and
resolution in
chord progressions.
Relative Key Changes Learn how to change between relative keys to make your music structurally more interesting.
Parallel Key Changes Another simple key change option that helps to take your listener on more of an emotional journey.
Major Key Darkness Learn how to give major keys an undercurrent of tragedy, loss and foreboding in this unique lesson.
Major 7th Chord Progressions Learn the function of major 7th chords in progressions, including key changes.
Dominant Key Changes Learn how to use the dominant to change to ANY key, major or minor, even distantly related keys.
Extended Minor Function Beautifully soulful ways to use extended minor chords in progressions.
Backdoor
Progression Uses a bVII
or "subtonic" chord to resolve to the major tonic.
Minor ii V i A common minor key three-chord turnaround. Learn the chords and scales to play through this sequence.
Transpose
Chords How to transpose a sequence of chords to
another key using a simple
visualisation method.
Suspended
Chords Learn how suspended chords can be used in
progressions.
Diminished 7th
Chords Learn how diminished 7th chords can be used in
progressions.
Augmented
Chords
Learn how augmented chords can be used in progressions.
Blues
Chord Progressions Takes you through the common 1 4
5 blues forms including 12 bar, 8 bar
and 16 bar blues, plus typical jazz blues variations.
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Guitar Chord Progressions - Turn Chords Into Songs
Welcome. There are two key benefits of learning about guitar chord progressions on this site...1) You'll be able to write your own songs by stringing chords together into something meaningful. There are certain chord relationships that you can use to make writing compelling songs of your own easier - relationships behind some of the world's most loved music and used by the world's greatest songwriters.
2) You'll be able to pick up chord progressions by ear and know exactly how to accompany them in any key (e.g. for soloing and vocals). This naturally ties in with your knowledge of scales.
Obviously I don't want to tell you what to play, but I hope this series of lessons will leave you feeling more confident with both identifying and writing your own chord progressions on guitar.
Note: this section is still expanding. It's a huge subject and I intend to make this the most comprehensive course available... anywhere!
Basic Guitar Chord Progressions
Three-Chord Progressions A good primer. How to create
simple three-chord progressions in any
key.
Gets you playing around some key relationships used in popular music. Basic
Guitar Chord Progressions Shows you how to use
those
basic open position chords you learn as a
beginner to craft meaningful guitar chord progressions based on a few
important relationships.- Part 2 introduces us to minor key relationships and the concept of relative key, switching between major and minor key to change the mood of your song.
- Part
3 looks at modifying and enhancing the relationships
we learned in the
first two parts, giving you more options for adding depth and variation
to your songwriting.
Diatonic Chord Progressions & Scale Harmonization
The word diatonic,
in the context of chord progressions, is just another way of referring
to a
system of chords built around the degrees of the major scale. It's the
formula behind countless songs, old and new. It also gives us the most common major and minor key centres.Think of the major scale with chords built on each of its 7 degrees. The result is a harmonization of the scale, or what I prefer to simply call a chord scale.
Watch the video below for a great introduction to scale harmonization and the concept of building chords from a parent scale...
There is also a lesson to accompany the video - see chord scales on guitar.
This scale is by no means the limits of your songwriting, as we'll be expanding out of it in later stages. However, it has been the backbone of many chord progressions and music in general for hundreds of years. It's the basis of countless hit songs, old and new.
Major Key Progressions
| I | W | ii | W | iii |
H | IV | W | V | W | vi | W | vii |
| Tonic | Supertonic | Mediant | Subdominant | Dominant | Submediant | Leading |
So, the above chord scale uses the same intervals as the major scale. All we're doing is building chords on each degree of the scale, from 1 (tonic) to 7 (leading). These chords, their function and variations are covered in the lessons below...
Tonic
Dominant Relationship Introduces us to one of the
most
important relationships in
music - the tonic (I)
and dominant (V). Dominant
Variation Looks at modifying dominant chords to
make
them work
more effectively as natural tension chords. Subdominant
Introduces us to subdominant chords (IV),
to
add to that tonic-dominant relationship. Subdominant
Variation Looks at the different
ways you can enhance the subdominant chord. Supertonic
Adds the supertonic chord (ii)
to the scale, immediately showing us
just how easily many of those "hit" songs you hear on the radio have
been formulated - just from 4
simple chords. Supertonic
Variation Shows us how we can modify the ii
chord for some interesting variation. Submediant
Adds the submediant chord (vi)
to the scale. Now we have a 5 chord
scale with a new minor chord function. Later, you'll see how the
submediant becomes the natural tonic chord (i) of
minor key
progressions. Submediant
Variation Gives us some ideas for
modifying/enhancing the
submediant chord. Mediant
Adds the mediant (iii)
chord to the progression, a commonly used link
between the tonic chord and other chords in the scale. Mediant Variation
Shows us how to modify the iii
chord by using major, dominant 7th and
augmented variants in your guitar chord progressions. Leading
Tone Chord Introduces the final chord in the scale,
built on
the 7th degree
leading tone (vii)
which
makes use of those tense sounding diminished chords. Tonic Variation
Looks at enhancing the major key tonic chord (I),
and which types of
major chord work well in the tonic position, including using the tonic
as an "ending chord".Minor Key Progressions
| i | W | ii | H | III |
W | iv | W | v | H | VI | W | VII |
| Tonic | Supertonic | Mediant | Subdominant | Dominant | Submediant | Subtonic |
The minor key chord scale can be seen as chords built on the degrees of the natural minor scale, or starting from the 6th degree of the major scale. So the vi chord becomes the tonic i, and the sequence continues from there.
Minor
Key Tonic Introduces us to minor key relationships,
establishing a new minor
tonic chord (i)
using the same chord scale as before.Chord Progressions Function
Chord
Resolution Learn about the use of tension and
resolution in
chord progressions. Relative Key Changes Learn how to change between relative keys to make your music structurally more interesting. Parallel Key Changes Another simple key change option that helps to take your listener on more of an emotional journey. Major Key Darkness Learn how to give major keys an undercurrent of tragedy, loss and foreboding in this unique lesson. Major 7th Chord Progressions Learn the function of major 7th chords in progressions, including key changes. Dominant Key Changes Learn how to use the dominant to change to ANY key, major or minor, even distantly related keys. Extended Minor Function Beautifully soulful ways to use extended minor chords in progressions. Backdoor
Progression Uses a bVII
or "subtonic" chord to resolve to the major tonic. Minor ii V i A common minor key three-chord turnaround. Learn the chords and scales to play through this sequence. Transpose
Chords How to transpose a sequence of chords to
another key using a simple
visualisation method. Suspended
Chords Learn how suspended chords can be used in
progressions. Diminished 7th
Chords Learn how diminished 7th chords can be used in
progressions. Augmented
Chords
Learn how augmented chords can be used in progressions. Blues
Chord Progressions Takes you through the common 1 4
5 blues forms including 12 bar, 8 bar
and 16 bar blues, plus typical jazz blues variations.| Was This Helpful? Share this with your fellow guitar enthusiasts... Please support this site. I really appreciate it! |
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