Guitar Chord Progressions – Where Do They Come From?

By Ricky Sharples

Guitar chord progressions are like baby brothers – you cannot escape from them and they take some explaining. Let us do some analysis on the term “guitar chord progressions”. In case you did not know, any time two or more notes are played, this is referred to as a “chord”. You probably know that certain guitar chords sound good together. These are called guitar chord “families”. Guitar chord “progressions” are certain sequences of chords that sound so good together that they are used as the musical basis of songs.

Chord progressions are derived from musical scales like C D E F G A B C. This is the C major scale which is used very often in music. It is just a sequence of notes with no sharps or flats which makes it easy to use to teach music students the principles of music. When we study chord progressions we think of these letters as chords instead of single notes. If we number the chords from one to seven we can work in a practical way with the chords in any key because the basic principles are the same.

If we write out the chords as numbers we have the problem of getting the numbers denoting the chords confused with numbers that are used in the names of the chords. If we are working with the chord B7 we do not want to have to stop and think what “77″ means so we use Roman numerals to number the chords. That way B7 is named VII7. To a newbie that might still be confusing but it is a good way of fixing the problem.

So, now the chords are named I II III IV V VI VII. To save us from getting too bogged down in musical theory, let us take some simple ideas for granted. First, in any key the chord that the key is named after is always the I chord. So now you can go back and look at the notes in the C major scale and check out the new names of all the notes. Not that it will mean much yet.

Another thing we are going to take for granted is that I IV and V are the three most important chords in the scale. When you learn a song or instrumental piece, the chances are that you will be starting the song with the I chord and when you end the song, the chord you finish on is also the I chord. There are exceptions but there is no need to go looking for them. So we can take that fact for granted.

That is all the basic theory we need to learn guitar chord progressions without blundering around like an elephant in an outhouse. There is more you could learn but we are more concerned with playing the chords than explaining them. Now we can take a look at the some chord progressions. The most common progression you will come across as a guitar player is I IV V. You will find these chords referred to in music theory as “tonic” “subdominant” and “dominant”.

You have probably heard that pop musicians only know three chords. This may or may not be true but they do mostly work with one chord progression consisting of three chords. The main variations come when for effect the composer or interpreter of a song might use the V7 or IV7 chords.

This chord progression is the basis of almost all pop, blues and rock songs. Many songwriters have made departures from this basic progression and jazz musicians have long ago abandoned sticking to this, or any basic form.

So there you have your basic chord progression for modern popular music. Other progressions that you could benefit from experimenting with are: I IV I V, I IV V IV, I V VI IV, I V IV V, I VI II V and I VI IV V.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.

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Playing Guitar Chord Progressions By Numbers – Guitar Theory Lesson

By Desi Serna

Becoming a good guitar player requires a strong knowledge of music theory and chord progressions. Recognizing chord movement and playing by numbers can help guitarists:

” Chart, learn and remember songs better

” Apply and use scales correctly

” Play by ear

” Compose music and improvise jams

” Apply guitar theory to the fretboard

Triads of the Major Scale

guitar chord progressions are critical to guitar theory and stem from major scale patterns. Each of the major scale’s seven notes can be played as a chord. To build guitar chords, each note is combined with others three and five degrees ahead in the scale. Hence the terms root, third and fifth (or 1 3 5). These three chord tones are called a “triad”.

1-3-5, Root, Third, Fifth
Not all triads, or chords, in the major scale are the same. This is because some triads have major thirds (two whole-steps or four frets above the root) while others have minor thirds (one and a half-steps or three frets above the root). This occurs because the distance between major scale tones varies (some notes are a whole-step apart while others are a half-step apart). Coincidentally, the fifth intervals are all the same with the only exception being the chord built on the very last scale tone.

Play By Numbers

The major and minor chords in the major scale create the sequence major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, minor (flat 5). Often referred to as the “Nashville Number System,” the theory behind this sequence is one of the most important elements of music. Major scale chords are best represented by Roman numerals with major chords written in upper case and minor chords written in lower case as follows: I ii iii IV V vi vii

Learn Chords and Keys By Pattern

Different keys have different key signatures (sharps and flats), different notes, and different chords. But the major/minor number sequence remains the same regardless of key. The number system can be visualized on the guitar as a chord pattern so that guitar players needn’t be concerned with key signatures and notes. When this pattern is shifted around the neck, guitarists can instantly see all the chords for each key. Guitar players have a music theory advantage because of this ability to move patterns on the fret board.

Learn and Remember New Songs
Playing chord progressions and playing by numbers go hand in hand and the concept is easier on the guitar than many other instruments. Good players know the right way to map things out on the guitar neck. Visualizing chord patterns on the fretboard will help players group songs by number instead of trying to keep track of movement in other ways. No more minds cluttered with confusing chord information because everything can be simplified with numbers. This really helps guitarists learn and remember new songs.

Learn Guitar Music Theory

Charting chord progressions has more advantages than just playing songs. Progressions play a role in learning guitar theory including using pentatonic and major scale patterns properly, recognizing modes and modal scales, playing intervals and adding extensions to chords.

Hear and Play By Ear

How do some musicians seem to know what’s coming next in a song the first time through? Apparently, knowing where to look is half the battle. When a player maps out all the chords of a key, it’s possible to assume the chord change or even anticipate the chord movement before it happens. Many songs are based on typical progressions, and experienced musicians become very familiar with common changes. Often times numbers are called out on the stage. Many guitarists want to be able to understand these queues, not to mention sit around and talk theory with real musicians without feeling like an idiot.

Composing Music and Improvising
Mapping out keys, determining chord movement, applying scales and playing by ear are all necessary for song-writing and jamming. Guitarists don’t need to leave spontaneity to chance. When technical details are worked out before hand, improvising and composing becomes much easier (and better).

Play Until Your Fingers Bleed!

Mr. Desi Serna (Google Me!)

Author of Fretboard Theory

http://www.Guitar-Music-Theory.com

Scales, Chords, Progressions, Modes

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7 Fun & Easy Guitar Chord Progressions For Beginners

A chord progression is basically a series of chords played one after another in a particular order. But before you learn how to play the following 7 chord progressions, you must know how to play the chords.

Here are the chords you will need to know in order to play these chord progressions:

A, A Minor, C, D, D Minor, E, E Minor, G

I have included videos below which demonstrate how to play these chords:

The A & E Chords:

The D Chord:

The A Minor, E Minor, D Minor, C, G

Watch the videos above and practice those chords first. Then start practicing the chord progressions below.

For the chord progressions, strum each chord 4 times with a down up down up strumming pattern. Or you can take a look at a post I put together on strumming patterns to make these chord progressions a bit more challenging.  Go very slow in the beginning so that you will be able to change chords smoothly and accurately.

You can test and see if you are playing each chord accurately by playing one string at a time on the chord. If you hear any buzzing , or if any of the notes sound muted, you are either not pressing down hard enough, or one of your fingers or your hand is touching another string.

Here are the Chord Progressions:

G -- C -- D -- G

G -- Am -- D -- G

D -- G -- A -- D

D -- C -- G -- D

D -- E Minor -- A -- D

C -- Dm -- G -- C

E -- D -- A -- E

I know this all seems very difficult in the beginning, and it may seem that way for some time.  The most important thing to remember is to never give up.

Eventually your hands will become stronger, your chords will sound cleaner and your chord changes will become faster.

Enjoy and Happy Guitar Playing!