I get a lot of questions about chords. One of the most common is about writing a chord progression for a song on the guitar. You see, there are so many different combinations of chords that it can be intimidating to get started. In this lesson, I am going to show you how to easily write chord progressions on guitar and how to structure the chord progression so that it doesn’t sound boring or repetitive.
So, can you write a chord progression on the guitar? To write a chord progression on the guitar start by learning the C major scale. Then, add a Roman numeral to the scale degrees and build a chord on each note of the scale. Learn the seven chords C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, B diminished. Use the Roman numerals to write different chord progressions such as I IV V, or I VI II V.
In this lesson, I am going to show you how to write a chord progression on guitar in five simple steps from learning the scale to building beautiful chord progressions with both fingerpicking and strumming technique. There are many reasons why you would want to write a song. This system works for any type of chord progression and key so learn it, use it, and have fun with it.
Guitar Chord Progressions
Chords come from the scale. If you want to learn how to write chord progressions on the guitar (and other instruments) you should always start by learning the major scale in whatever key you want to write the chord progression. In this example, we are going to start by learning the C major scale.
Once you learn the notes of the C major scale, you should then build a chord on each scale degree. To create a chord using the C major scale select the I, III, and V degree starting on each note of the scale. The first chord, the C major, will have the notes C, E, and G (I III V), the second chord, the D minor, has the notes D, F, and A (II IV VI), the third chord, the E minor, has the notes E, G, and B (III V VII), etc.
Do the same thing starting on each note of the scale to build seven chords from the C major key: C major (I), D minor (ii), E minor (iii), F major (IV), G major (V), A minor (vi), B diminished(VII).
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Important Tip! The pattern Maj(I), Min(ii), Min(iii), Maj(IV), Maj(V), Min(vi), Dim(VII) is the same for any major scale. If you apply Step 1 and Step 2 to a different major scale the pattern will be the same. Example: In D major key, the progression of chords will be D major, E minor, F# minor, G major, A major, B minor, and C# diminished.
Now that you know all the chords that you can use in the C major key, learn each chord shape on the guitar. Start by learning the basic chord shapes in the first position of the neck. If you already know them, skip to Step 3 where I am going to show you how to write different chord progressions using the Roman numerals.
So far we learned where chords come from and how to build the chords in the C major key using the C major scale. You also learned the most common chord shapes in C major so it’s finally time to start writing our chord progressions.
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The reasons why we use Roman numerals is to simplify the writing process and narrow down out chord choices. If you had to write a chord progression using any chord in music, that would be really difficult. But in this example, we are only playing the chords in the C major key so it should be easy to write a chord progression.
Below you will find the ten most common chord progression on guitar. The chords are displayed with the Roman numerals as well as the name of the chord. Writing the chord progression with the Roman numerals make it easy to transpose the chords in different keys, however, I recommend that you also memorize the name of each chord in relation with the number. Ex C-I, Am-vi, Em-ii, etc.
You learned some of the most common chord progressions in the major key. Now, it’s time to show you how to make these chord progressions beautiful and musical.
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In this step, I am going to show you how to play five chord progressions using the fingerpicking technique. One of the things that I love about fingerstyle is the fact that we can single out some of the notes of the chords. We can also easily add additional notes to the chords to write interesting chord progressions.
This is indeed one of the most common chord progression in music. In this example, I am going to transform some of the chords from basic to extended.
Another common chord progression similar to the first one. The Am chord adds a different color to the chord progression. Now each chord can be played in one measure.
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Not all the chord progressions should finish with the V chord. In this example, we are going to finish with the IV chord.
This chord progression follows the major scale pattern. We are going to use extended chords again to make the chord progression more folk. The fingerpicking pattern can be quite rhythmic so take things step-by-step.
The I – iii is one of the most melancholic chord progression we have in music. I really love the sound of the C major going to the E minor chord. We are going to play the chords with a simple fingerpicking pattern and a slightly different chord shapes.
Write Better Chord Progressions
Let’s move on to another technique. The strumming is definitely more rhythmic and groovy than the fingerpicking technique. The chords played with strumming share almost the same chord shape as the basic chords you learned in Step 3. However, we can still play beautiful extended chords with the strumming.
In this first example, we are going to play a simple strumming pattern and a bunch of extended chords. We will play a Cadd9, Am9, Fadd9, and Gsus4 chord.
A chord progression can also start from a note different than the root note. This is an example that features the F major as the first chord, followed by the A minor, D minor and G major chord. We don’t play the C major at all.
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Last but not least, the ii vi IV V chord progression. Not quite the most popular but still pretty good for a song.
Can I use the same system to write chord progressions in other keys? Yes indeed. Follow the same steps shown in this lesson. Step 1, learn, for example, the E major scale (E F# G# A B C# D# E). Build the chords on each scale degree as shown in Step 2 and learn the basic chord shapes. Use the examples in Step 3 to write different chord progressions in E major.
Can I use the same steps to write minor chord progressions? You can use the same steps but the scale will be different. To write minor chord progressions you should use the Natural Minor scale, which has a different internal structure than the major scale.
How To Write Chord Progressions On Guitar
I hope you enjoyed this lesson guys. Music theory can be daunting that’s why you always need a simple system that shows you exactly how to do it.
In this lesson, we covered the Major key only. I recommend that you try this exercise in different keys before moving on to minor keys.
Write everything down and record the chord progressions if you can. It’s always nice to go back to old recordings to compare your level after a few months of writing.Stringing chords together is like playing matchmaker. Some chords are made for each other, some are mortal enemies, and some take a bit of coaxing to get on. Add the fact that there are millions of chords and you’ll find it’s way tougher than swiping right or left.
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We’ve already gone through the iconic I-IV-V progression , but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
We’ve said major chords tend to be ‘happy’ while minor chords are more ‘melancholic.’ That’s a simplification, of course. The flavors of chords should be looked at
It happens that no matter the key you’re playing a progression in, the first (I), fourth (IV) and fifth (V) chords will always be major. The second (II), third (III) and sixth (VI) chords will always be minor. We won’t go into the details, but it’s sufficient to know that there are always three major and three minor chords in every key.
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And when you play two or more chords in succession, each chord takes on a different voice in relation to the key. Here’s a simple reference chart of their respective nuances:
While the I, IV and V chords are all major, the I chord has a distinctly positive vibe. The IV chord, however, sounds ‘dreamier, ’ while
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