Guitar chord progressions
Guitarist clamps several strings and plays so that they sound at the same time - he puts a chord. If we sort through the strings in turn, we will also get a chord form, but already in the form of an arpeggio. Harmonic combinations of sounds are pleasing to the ear. When you combine them into guitar chord progressions, they take on a special magic.
The same triad in a different environment gives completely different colors, although the notes in it do not change. This is one of the manifestations of musical magic. Different songs with different guitar chord sequences demonstrate this well to us.
What does harmony consist of (notes, intervals, chords)?
We create a melody by playing notes one after another, giving them different durations and pausing between them. We create harmony by pressing several strings at the same time. All songs are built on melody, harmony and rhythm. When we play two sounds of different pitches at the same time (for example, pulling С and E), we get an interval. This is also a sound combination, but it is not yet considered a chord or a guitar chord progression. Allocate 13 intervals.
Name
Composition
Scheme (for greater clarity on the piano)
Prima
One note
Minor second
Half tone, two adjacent frets on the fretboard, or two adjacent keys, such as C and C sharp
Major second
One tone, for example, C and D
Minor third
One and a half steps, C and D-sharp
Major third
Two tones, C and E
Quart
Two and a half tones, C and F
Triton
Three tones, C and F sharp
Quint
Three and a half tones, C and G
Minor sixth
Four tones, C and G-sharp
Major sixth
Four and a half tones, C and A
Minor seventh
Five tones, C and A sharp
Great seventh
Five and a half tones, C and B
Octave
Six tones, C and next C
It is intervals that set the mood in guitar chord progressions and music in general. For example, the minority or majority of the triad depends on the location of the thirds. Seconds, tritones and sevenths are dissonant intervals. They sound harsh and unpleasant. When arranging, musicians try to carefully monitor the intersections of parts of different instruments so that a second does not accidentally form. The sound of the fifth is quite wide and pleasant. The sound of fourths and sixths can even be called majestic. Although everyone has their own associations.
Now let us move on to triads, the components of a guitar chord progression. We have only two main triads: major and minor. The major consists of a major third and a minor, and covers its fifth. Example: C - E - G. Between C and E is a large third, between E and G is a small third, between C and G is a fifth. Thus, in a chord, three intervals merge at once. If we move one note, we get a minor triad. It first comes with a minor third, and then a major one. Example: C - D-sharp - G.
A triad of two minor thirds is called diminished triad. Of the two large ones – enlarged triad. But they are not often used in guitar chord progressions, as they have a rather specific sound. There are other forms of chords - from four notes. They are called seventh chords.
We can add a major or minor third to each triad (minor, major, diminished and augmented), and we get eight seventh chords (actually seven, because an augmented triad with a major third forms an octave, and a seventh chord does not work). Can you imagine how many possibilities for building guitar chord progressions? The seventh part indicates that there is a seventh between the first and last notes in such chords. Thus, from one note we can postpone 11 chords.
Name
Number of semitones
Letter designation
Scheme (for greater clarity on the piano)
Major triad
4+3
С
Minor triad
3+4
Cm
Reduced
3+3
Cdim
Magnified
4+4
Caug
Grand major seventh chord
4+3+4
Cmaj7
Small major seventh chord
4+3+3
С7
Grand minor
3+4+4
Cm+7
Small minor
3+4+3
Cm 7
Small reduced
3+3+4
Cm7b5
Reduced
3+3+3
Cdim7
Magnified
4+4+3
Cmaj7+5
Notations, chords and functions
There are 12 notes in total: C, C-sharp, D, D-sharp, E, F, F-sharp, G, G-sharp, Aa, A-sharp, B. Then they repeat. This is the chromatic scale from C to C (includes an octave). But guitar chord progressions are rarely built on chromatics. Basically, modern music uses natural major or minor: each has 7 notes. In A minor, for example, this composition.
- La (A);
- C (B);
- Do (C);
- Re (D);
- Mi (E);
- Fa (F);
- Sal (G).
Triads are built only on these seven notes of the tonality. If another note appears, it can get into dissonance and ruin the song. But the skillful interweaving of non-tonal notes or triads can, on the contrary, enrich the work. For ease of notation, each note was assigned a letter.
A chord that is built from a particular note receives its letter. A minor triad is denoted by "m". Magnified - "aug". See all symbols in the table above. Thanks to the letters, guitarists can easily exchange their recordings of guitar chord progressions. For example: Em, C, G, Bb7.
At the climax, the key of the song may change. And if we played, for example, Gm-Cm-D-Gm, and then jumped up a tone, then our notation should change like this: Am-Dm-E-Am. But essentially the chain remains the same. Only the tonality, the pitch of the whole song has changed. Therefore, practicing musicians designate guitar chord sequences not with letters, but with numbers, in steps: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII. Others generally use Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. This is the so-called Nashville system. No matter what your tone is, you only need seven numbers to designate the chain.
But numerals don't just describe a guitar chord progression or indicate a particular chord, they emphasize its function. The fact is that all triads in the key are in certain relationships, each has its own status.
- Tonic triad (built from the 1st degree: in the key of C major, this is a C major chord) - the most stable. All the rest drawn towards it, we want to end the song on the tonic;
- Dominant (on the V degree) differs in that it wants to move into the tonic most strongly;
- Subdominant (on stage IV) tends to tonic less. She runs away from her. If you move from the tonic to the dominant through the subdominant, the entire guitar chord progression will seem more solid, stable;
Subdominant (on stage IV) tends to tonic less. She runs away from her. If you move from the tonic to the dominant through the subdominant, the entire guitar chord progression will seem more solid, stable.
- II - subdominant (this chord has two notes in common with IV);
- III - tonic and dominant (two common notes with both I and V);
- VI - tonic and subdominant (two common notes with both I and IV);
- VI - tonic and subdominant (two common notes with both I and IV).
If you play different combinations of triads and listen, you can catch how similar the gravitational force of certain functions is. But in general, all this is more of a theoretical value and is used only for the convenience of building guitar chord sequences.
How else can you write notes, intervals, triads and seventh chords? The old fashioned way: with the help of musical notation. Classical musicians do just that. But those who are just learning to play the guitar use tablature. They help to designate not only chord chains, but also the melody, and in general all the movements of the fingers along the fretboard. The top line is the thinnest string, the bottom line is the thickest. The numbers are the frets on which you need to put your fingers. Schematics are also used to learn chords. The bottom ruler is a thick string, the top one is thin. The vertical lines are the frets on the neck, and the dots are the places where you need to clamp.
Music notation, tablature and diagrams
20 examples of guitar chord progressions
Remember that each chain can be easily transferred to another key, and it will work fine there. We will denote them by numbers and letters in C major and A minor. These are parallel keys, in which all chords and notes are common, but arranged in different steps. If you turn to the piano keyboard, both C major and A minor will be located on the white keys. In general, these are the most used keys.
Major harmonic chains (on the example of C major)
Major harmonic chains (on the example of C major)
1-6-4-5 (C-Am-F-G). This one is called the "progression of the 50s", it was popular at that time. If you replace the fourth step with the second (do 1-6-2-5), you get a very similar movement. Such a replacement demonstrates the functionality of the steps: as we remember, the triad II is assigned a subdominant function.
1-5-6-4 (C-G-Am-F). A typical pop punk guitar chord progression, this combination was especially popular in the 90s. Here are the same triads as in the previous one, but they are in a different order.
1-5-6-3 (C-G-Am-Em). This variant is called "Pachelbel's progression", he used such a chain in his "Canon in D major". It also partially repeats the previous ones, but the last step is different here, it gives an unusual paint. If you replace it with a major triad, you get an interesting transition, gravitating into F. And then you can modulate or give the guitar chord progression an original direction.
1-4-5-5 (C-F-G-G). This is also a standard combination from the tonic through the subdominant to the dominant, but the last step lasts two beats. Such a move has a touch of rock and roll or country, as it was often used in these styles.
1-4-1-5 (C-F-C-G). We see here a mutual movement: harmony walks back and forth, from the tonic to the subdominant, back to the tonic, then to the dominant, and so on ad infinitum. Country colors are also felt here, but with a more comical touch.
6-1-5-4 (Am-C-G-F). If all previous guitar chord sequences sounded lively and cheerful, then this one has a more calm, thoughtful, meditative mood. It is built in such a way that it can work for both C major and A minor. After F, you can put a dot on both C and Am.
1-5-4-6 (C-G-F-Am). It can be considered as a shifted version of the chain discussed above. This form sounds strange. But it is much better: it is easier to come up with an unusual melody for it. And it also pulls us into some kind of development.
1-2-4-5 (C-Dm-F-G). Here we have the second step. The transition from I to II, oddly enough, sounds harsh, but at the same time, it and subsequent links create an upward movement. It builds up tension, and in the end, the dominant really asks to be resolved into the tonic.
1-4-6-5 (C-F-Am-G). This beautiful guitar chord progression sounds not only energetic, but also somewhat sublime. At a certain point, we fall into a minor, but then we climb out into an even brighter than F, dominant G major chord.
Stage
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Chord
C
Dm
Em
F
G
Am
Diagram
Rarely used
Minor harmonic chains (on the example of A minor)
1-4-5-5 (Am-Dm-E-E). In popular music, the harmonic minor E is more common than the natural Em. E has already become more familiar to our ears. The second reason why E major sits more confidently here is its G-sharp note, which is closer to A and thus gravitates more towards the tonic. And if you use the seventh chord E7, then there will be an additional gravity from D to E.
1-4-6-5 (Am-Dm-F-E). In this guitar chord progression, we arrive at the dominant through the sixth step. It performs a subdominant function, so we seem to play the subdominant twice, modifying it a little. Such a drawing is more interesting, it sounds assertive, bold, suitable for songs with a serious meaning. By the way, if you swap VI and IV places, the general mood will be preserved, but other colors will appear.
1-6-3-7 (Am-F-C-G). You can notice the absence of a dominant, but the harmonic gravity is still heard here, the guitar chord progression does not sound static. All this is due to the fact that the seventh step (G chord) performs the dominant function here. If you replace it with the dominant E (make 1-6-3-5), there will be a more concrete gravity and a more intense sound. Try it.
1-7-6-5 (Am-G-F-E). This is the downward movement of flamenco. It seems to go from tonic to dominant in tones and semitones, and then jumps through five steps. But this jump is from the dominant to the tonic, that is, with the highest gravity. Therefore, harmonic smoothness is maintained throughout the progression. An interesting, colorful and beautiful guitar chord progression, try to develop and transform it.
6-7-1-1 (F-G-Am-Am). Here, on the contrary, we observe an upward movement. And in this case, it is not very important what the tonic will be. We can equally beautifully come both in A-minor and in C-major. And if you play three repetitions of F-G-Am-Am, and do the fourth as F-G-C-C, you will have a harmonious flow from minor to parallel major. You can use this move to change the mood in a chorus or a drop.
1-7-3-5 (Am-G-C-E). The step from the seventh to the third step in this context sounds very lyrical and dramatic, and the jump to the fifth is quite abrupt. But the guitar chord progression doesn't fall apart, but gives rich colors. By the way, this is the case when you can use both E and Em. A minor triad gives more smoothness, while a major triad gives more assertiveness.
4-5-1-6 (Dm-E-Am-F). From the very beginning, the construction gives a feeling of incompleteness, because it starts with a subdominant and a dominant. But in the middle, it acquires a solid tonic foundation. The chord of the sixth step in this case looks like a kind of bridge between the measures. In general, this is a rather lyrical and beautiful guitar chord progression, although in a certain arrangement it can become powerful and daring.
1-5-6-4 (Am-E-F-Dm). Here, without any subdominant triads, we rush to the dominant, but by the end we come to the subdominant, which even seems to sound stable. So with the help of such a move, you can try to make a modulation from A minor to D minor, if the dramaturgy of the work requires it.
6-5-1-4 (F-E-Am-Dm). A similar guitar chord progression, but even weirder and edgier. Although here we see the traditional movement D - T. But then the drawing seems to suddenly stumble and make a jump to S, and the composition loses stability. Thus, there is a feeling of constant restless wandering.
1-4-7-3 (Am-Dm-G-C). This guitar chord progression sounds very upbeat and fun. Especially compared to the previous one. A pleasant major color appears due to two major triads and the replacement of the dominant by the third step, which, as we remember, has common notes with both the tonic triad and the dominant one. In this way, rigid gravity is softened and, moreover, takes on a major form.
Rarely used
Stage
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Chord
Am
C
Dm
E
F
G
Diagram
Used rarly
These are just a few guitar chord progressions, and that is just the basics. You can (and even need to) come up with your own chains.
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