Absolute Beginner's Guide To Chord Progressions

Hello everyone, thanks for taking some time to read my first lesson on Scales and Chord Progressions. I am writing this to help guitarists understand the basics of progressions so that they will be able to write better music. I was inspired to write this after forming a band in high school, but we had great trouble writing music because we had no knowledge of chords or how to write progressions. Now that I am a music student, I have learned a great deal about progressions, and wish to share what I have learned with everyone, I hope you enjoy the lesson and take away quite a bit from it.

1. Scales

Many people know about the "scale" do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do. Scales can be found in many different keys and modes, and across cultures scales can be very drastically different. But we will concentrate mostly inside Western music, which is based on a 7 tone scale (we get 8 notes to a scale because we double the first note).

For each note in the scale, it is assigned a "degree," for example; first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and octave. These degrees can also be written down with just the numbers of 1 through 8. Here is a list of all major scales in a diatonic key (scales starting on a "white" key)

(# = sharp, b = flat)

C Maj = C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
D Maj = D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#
E Maj = E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D#-E
F Maj = F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F
G Maj = G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G
A Maj = A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A
B Maj = B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#-B

1A) Intervals

An "interval" is any distance between 2 notes. Because this is another huge can of worms, I have decided to provide a link to a page on Wikipedia about intervals. This thoroughly explains intervals which I talk about later.

Ok, now that you have a general idea of what the actual scale is, let me define it a bit more in depth.

The scale degrees I spoke about earlier each have their own individual names per degree. For example, the first note of any scale is called the tonic. This is a very important note in the scale, because to give a musical piece a feeling of completion, you should always end on this note. Another important name you should know is the dominant, which is built off the 5th scale degree. In western music, the dominant almost always precedes tonic in a chord progression. Below is a list of the names of the scale degrees (it is best to remember the names for the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th scale degree, as they are used the most often in chord progressions).

1 - Tonic
2 - Supertonic (super = Latin for "above")
3 - Mediant
4 - Predominant (pre = Latin for "before")
5 - Dominant
6 - Submediant
7 - Leading Tone
8 - Octave or Tonic

Alright, now that you know a few critical basic things about the scale, let’s move on to what types of chords are based off each scale degree.

2. Chords

What exactly is a chord? Generally, a chord is a group of three notes called a triad, consisting of the tonic, Mediant, and dominant of any scale (the first, third, and 5th scale degrees). Often, musicians and composers add the leading tone of a scale on to a chord, making it consist of the 1-3-5-7 scale degrees. For now, let’s just look at triads in the scale in the key of C.

(o = diminished)

I = C - E - G - Major (Perfect)
ii = D - F - A - Minor
iii = E - G - B - Minor
IV = F - A - C - Major (Perfect)
V = G - B - D - Major (Perfect)
vi = A - C - E - Minor
viio = B - D - F - Diminished

Notice how some chords are major, and some are minor. For the major chords: I, IV, and V, are referred to as perfect chords. In any major scale, the I, IV, and V chords will always be referred to as Perfect chords. Why am I referring to these with roman numerals? That is how it has been done for hundreds of years. Notice that an Uppercase Roman Numeral ( I ) means major, and a lowercase roman numeral ( i ) means minor, BE very careful which one you write, as each offer drastically different sounds.

Musicians refer to the first note of the chord as the "root." A triad is built off the root by adding a 3rd above the root, and then a 5th. A major triad is adding a major 3rd above the root, and a perfect fifth. The root can be any note of the scale, and it can also be "inverted," meaning that the third, or fifth of the scale can be the lowest note in a chord (ex, C-E-G inverted is either E-G-C, or G-C-E, I will talk about inversions in a later lesson). A minor triad is a triad in which a root has a minor 3rd, and a Perfect 5th above it. A minor third is simply a major third lowered one half step (ex E - Eb, C#-C, F-E, C-B). So in any minor chord, it is simply the major chord, but lower the 3rd by a half step.

Notice in both major and minor chords, the Fifth is always perfect. That is why the third is the MOST critical note in a chord. If you had just a Root, Fifth, and the octave, the chord is ambiguous as to whether it is major or minor (however, these are not completely useless, e.g. power chords). You can also add the 7th to the chord, making it V7, which is used frequently in chord progressions.

Notice in the viio triad of the major scale, it is diminished, meaning that both the 3rd and 5th above the root have been lowered 1 half-step. This chord is a very dark sounding chord, and requires special rules to resolve back to tonic.

3. Chord Progressions

Whew, finally, time to talk chord progressions! First, we take a look at the absolute most basic "phrase"

The Basic Phrase = I - V7 - I.

That is the basic phrase, the tonic chord, moving to the dominant chord, moving back to the tonic chord. For each chord, we can label each "area" that the chord is in. For the I chord, musicians refer to it as the "tonic area," which is an area that contains notes of the tonic chord. For the V chord, musicians refer to it as the "Dominant" area, which contains notes of the five chord. When arriving back on tonic, that is referred to as the "tonic closure." Let’s take the key of C, and examine its basic phrase.

Cmaj - Gmaj7 - Cmaj

In order to build this cadence, you look at the C Major Scale, figure out what chords are built off the 1st and 5th Scale Degrees, and then write them out like above. We have just built our basic phrase.

Cadences:

A "cadence" is a way of ending the phrase. In the basic phrase, a V7 - I, is referred to as an "Authentic Cadence." It is called this because in an Authentic Cadence, it implies closure of the music, and a feeling that the phrase is concluded. Other types of cadences include the "Half-Cadence," which is written as (any-chord) - V, then starting your basic phrase over again. This is neat because it allows you to prolong your music from ending, or even can transition from part to part.

4. Expanding The Basic Phrase

In most music, while a I - V7 - I progression is very common, using just three chords can get very boring, in which the topic of "expansion" is then introduced, in which you "expand" or add more chords to each area of the phrase. The purpose of these expansions is to prolong reaching the tonic closure.

4a. The Predominant Area

First, we are going to add a completely new area to our basic phrase called the "Predominant" area (abbr. "PD"). The PD area typically contains the Perfect IV chord, which is built off the fourth scale degree of the major scale. As the name suggests, the PD chord "precedes" the Dominant chord, so our progression will now look like this:

I - IV - V7 - I

In the Key of C Major:

Cmaj - Fmaj - Gmaj7 - Cmaj

Basic Phrase Substitutes:

In some cases, a composer may not want to use certain chords at the different areas, and it is possible to substitute a different chord instead of using a IV, or V7.

In the predominant area, instead of writing IV in our progression, we could put in a ii, or ii7, making our progression:

I - ii (or ii7) - V7 - I

In the dominant area, instead of writing V7, it is common to write viio, or viio7, making our progression

I - IV - viio7 - I

Exercise: Write out some sample progressions using these substitutes, and play them on your guitar, piano, etc.

5. Specific Area Expansions

Tonic Expansion:

First, we will talk about methods of expanding of only the Tonic Area, note: these expansions for the Tonic area apply only to the first tonic area, not the tonic closure; you will almost always close on the I chord.

Here is a listing of different ways you can expand the Tonic Area by adding more chords into the Tonic Area:

I - viio7 - I
I - V7 - I
I - IV - I
I - vi
I - iii* (Note: you can only sub. a iii chord if you are moving to IV)
I - IV - V - I
I - ii - V - I

Using any of these expansions, this is how our phrase now looks:

(any above expansions) - IV - V7 - I

Predominant Expansion:

ii6 - IV6
IV - ii7

Then insert these chords into the predominant area, similar to how it was done in the tonic area.

Dominant Expansion:

V7 - viio7*
V7 - viio*

*note: when you use a vii chord, you should move to the Tonic chord

Tonic Closure:

For this area, it is not really "expandable," rather it only has 1 substitute, the minor vi chord. This introduces a new type of cadence, the "Deceptive" Cadence, which is pretty much (any chord) - vi . It is called a deceptive cadence because it "deceives" the listener into thinking that the phrase has ended.

Now, using the above expansions, I will write a series of progressions utilizing my expansions:

(deceptive cadence)
I - IV - V - I - IV7 - ii7 - V7 - vi
tonic----------- Predom.---- Dom- Ton.

(Half-Cadence)
I - viio7 - I - ii7 - V7
ton.----------- PD-- Dom.--

(Authentic Cadence)
I - iii - IV - ii7 - V7 - I
ton------ Predom.-- Dom.- Ton.

Although this is just the beginning, with just this basic knowledge of chords and progressions, you can make a ton of music with what you have just learned. I hope that you take away a great deal of musical knowledge from this lesson, and that you will be able to apply what you have learned to your music.

-Publius

Comments

[doodoo62]

You have obviously worked very hard on this. a great lesson, its absolutley amazing how much you can learn from a beginers lesson nice one.

[dimebag7]

great job, it might be the last time

[Malakian=God]

Holy crap this is going to take a while to get my head around. Nice article!

[Max_Backman]

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

[SethMegadefan]

Excellent beginner's article. Teaches you everything a beginner needs. Everything. Excellent.

[Sid Watts]

Thank you for the excellent article. Giving it a "10"

[Publius]

you don't get 8 notes in a scales, you don't double the note

I do believe in the scale of c major: c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c, if you notice, the tonic is repeated at the octave, so there are 7 notes with the tonic repeated at the octave.

[RMC06]

Yeah Max_Backman.He's probably one of those 2 year people that think they know everything.

Let?s take the key of C, and examine its basic phrase.

Cmaj - Gmaj7 - Cmaj

um, thats not right. its a G7, or Gdom7 and not a Gmaj7 there. you were trying to say it was a major chord with a dominant seventh, but you wrote a major chord with a major seventh. be careful how you write your chord names.

[slashs_snakepit]

cool article dude.. very well written.. 10 stars def..

[ukdudeinuk]

There are only 7 notes in a diatonic scale, but for beginners it is helpful to see the octave like he has it, so they understand better that you can go on and on with the scale.

[Edkohl420]

Great article, I wish I wasn't at work right now so I could apply what I learned and make a song.

[TwistedLogic]

Good stuff, this is exactly the kind of thing I need to learn as write my own riffs and tunes. Thanks.

[sempri_fi]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

there is 8 notes in a scale ask one of your friends who knows piano, they'll tell you that the root is played twice(once as a root and once as an octive)
so stop being an ignorant bastard and learn some theory
~jacob

[TravisWongPG]

There are 8 notes in a scale. If you play your basic scale of C (starting on the 5th string, 3rd fret) and play the scale, you MUST finish on C an octave higher. There may be only 7 individual notes, but you must play.

[TravisWongPG]

must play 8*

[livefortoday]

This lesson is just great! I have read so many theories on chord progressions but I had never heard of the "area's"... they really work pretty easy

[HavokStrife]

You know, I've been playing for like 3 or 4 years and I haven't touched this shit because every other lesson I tried to read up until may as well been written in Greek. My playing level is so much higher than my knowledge it's ridiculous. I guess I'll finally be writing with more than the same four or five chords now, thanks man!

[blocky]

Excellent article

[Guitardude19]

Well I enjoyed doing some much needed revision! I havent touched this side of the theory in about 6 months... Good article, helps a lot! My theory is above my playing ability.... Is that a good thing?

[joms]

now i learned....

[MANSKIRT-MAN138]

this is the best article I've read yet. Definately helped me learn a lot more, and is awfully handy when you're jamming.

[Atreideslegend]

apart from some very slight mistakes this is probably the most comprehemsive article on this site. It is fluently written, in depth and well linked to other sources of information, thanx for the effort u put in to bring us this

[auranos]

Excellent article. I really learned a ton. My playing ability and "intuition" are decent, but my theory knowledge is junk. Thanks for the education! 10/10 stars.

[PuggyRox]

A little hard to understand in some places(could be just that im tired though) but excellent effort and brilliant article.
Just the sort of article i need at the moment, thanks!

[Blackbullet]

Great lesson, I already know all this stuff- but I have trouble explaining it to begginners without confusing them totally before I even get started :p
You explained it really clearly and fluently, 5 stars!(or 10 or whatever)

[C3_Rocka]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

you can't eat bleach.

[TwistedLogic]

There are differnt kinds of scales; some have five notes like pentatonic, some have 6 like the whole tone and some have 8 like hte whole-half (also half-whole)diminished scale. Stop being a bugger. The guy did a nice job on the article

[ledzep1991]

Max_Backman :
you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...


i hope you die, this was a ver good article, helped me alot

[blackmetalrose7]

great article, i learned a ton especially since theory is really hard for me.

[woodmeista]

you can't eat bleach.

Hahaha.

Only thing wrong with this is its called absolute beginners guide and a lot of more intermediate players would do well to read it. Nice work

[Gman400]

Great article, helped a lot and you obviously spent a lot of time writing it. 10 stars. Oh yeah, not that this needs any further explanation but he pretty much made it clear that there were only 7 different notes but the octive is there to and is included.

[vanceboy]

Max_Backman :
you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

Someone's going through PMS...

[hellblazer_666]

It's a good article for beginers but I'm sure that the term "Predominant" is more often referred to as "Subdominant" but they mean roughly exactly the same thing so who cares.

[cap'nkirk]

ukdudeinuk wrote:

There are only 7 notes in a diatonic scale, but for beginners it is helpful to see the octave like he has it, so they understand better that you can go on and on with the scale.

well, you techinically play 8 notes, the root and it's unison.

[Guyduc]

There seems to be a confusion about the difference between what a scale is and how to play a scale. A scale is only 7 notes, but some choose to add the octavem, making it 8 notes. When playing a scale, the octave is played out of comfort and out of tradition, rather than out of theory. Theoretically, scale=7 notes. Practically, scale=8 notes.

[Horvat]

Yep. You only play the 8th note to bring what is called 'closure' to the piece - it ends the piece back on the starting note, making it sound complete, but its not necessary to play it every time. Sometimes leaving out it out can leave the song/piece being played 'hanging', whcih is a good way to build excitement in a song, or to end a song.

[Martyrion]

Not that happy with the title. This is hardly for beginners, at least, much of this is very intermediate. But the article is great!

[Axeslayer55]

Great Article, pretty well put together, besides the mistakes mentioned.

[workstar]

I just learn't more reading this than 3 months of expensive guitar lessons. Very easy to read. Great article!

[Lydian_Mode]

a bit long, but you know what you're talking about. excellent!

[Erc]

Very good article! Excellent!

[el duderino]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

although its just a matter of preference, most people write a major scale with 8 notes like he did. So i suggest you don't comment on things you know nothing about.

[its_sublime07]

amazing article man, good job

[its_sublime07]

and stop your bitching, that whole 7 or 8 note thing is absolutely no big deal, i mean come on, its not gonna confuse anyone because anyone who knows about scales knows what you mean. so remember, if you act like a bitch, ur gonna get slapped like one.

[Rosencrantz]

even if your not a begginer this is an excellent refresher; well worder and concise etc.

[TyphoidSpider]

Couldn't have put it better myself. For serious. I've learnt a ton from this site and it helps a lot. Thanks Publius and (mostly) every one else. Group Hug!

[antz007]

ah the gentic code of music, As roman once said ' those who have the fortunes of Knowing the code '

[mookie_baylock]

nice article, im just gonna have to re-read it many times to comprehend it completely...

[gtr-boy]

this is really good but i bought a book not too long ago and its very much like this but better its called Elementary Rudiments of Music by Barbara Wharram its helped me so much and ive become such a bettter player

[Craigo]

I was expecting complete shit. A great article for newbies and ignorant experienced all around UG. 10/10, best lesson I've seen in... ever.

[meinsane]

great job

[GRUNGEGOD]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

You're a certified dumbass. There are always 8 notes to one position of the scale, eight more on the next position...etc.

[Mad Adam]

good stuff dude. for someone who cant afford theory books this is well worth printing. nice one

[GuitarJenks]

you basically took a few chapters of a theory book and condensed them into an essay that makes complete sense is extremely help to a lot of people. Well done.

[Skywalker_90]

Huh???

[Archaon]

This is a very useful lesson, probably one of the most useful for the songwriters here. Although I already knew most of this already, it's great to see articles like this. Good job.

[SikkiNixx]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

Theres actually more chance of him/her surviving "eating" bleach... would just leave a mess of your insides.

[westo]

oh my god... i get it

[westo]

wait i have a question for anyone...

Can you just make any chord a seventh or are there rules to that??? por favor responde err wutever

[Bugzap69]

Great Post. The fact that you get the real players to repond and some other wankers to respond is a real testamount Keep up with the post. Screw the rest of em

[Bugzap69]

Sorry. I didn't Post that last comment. Mistake of the Mouse. I guess I'm compelled to post something now.

[Bugzap69]

To Westo
Yeah you can make a seventh out of any chord by playing the note that is in the 7th interval of that chord. You will have to study music theory to understand it though and describing it on a message board is extremely difficult. Best of Luck. Any questions, I can try and help [e-mail]

[IceAgeHeatWave]

excellent article...really cleared it up a lot for me

[GuitarJunkie]

welp...this just summed up the last month of my music theory class...haha, awesome lesson

[bradhudson]

all of you quit ur bitching, this is an amazing article. you can play a scale however you want to, with or without the octave.
props man and thank you.

[Jbetter_thanu]

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

[Jbetter_thanu]

Jbetter_thanu wrote:

Max_Backman wrote:

you don't get 8 notes in a scale, you don't double the note... there's 7 notes, eat bleach and die...

[Jbetter_thanu]

OMG i cant work this!!! delete my previous posts! plz

[paul87]

good article, you obviously know what you're doing, though I already knew all that

[Mr. Clean]

Not exactly up to par with your previous work, "The Federalist Papers" -but a good, sound article nonetheless. "10"

[lpstudio05]

I never understood it like that before. Thanks so much dude.

[westhebest]

sheesh... i agree wit skywalker_90... mebe if i could hear the chords id get it. im not gettin it in my head and i doubt many other beginners could

[nothing2gein]

Very Helpful Lesson....thx

[randyrhoads#1]

I bet that stupid max guy feels real stupid. I mean some of the greatest guitarists in the world come on this site and he just made a huge ass of himself!!! lol real funny

[Daniel Pearce]

Really needed it - thanx

[tuba_girl2]

very good article, and by 8 notes in a scale they meant the 8th note as an octave of the first note u idiots. hmm...

[gtr4life]

wow, great article. im just starting to teach myself guitar but whenever someone explained scales they were vague and it just confused me, so i moved onto something else. this article was specific and helps a ton. thanks

[December_Dawn]

What's this? Is this about guitar? Gosh... If yes then definitely I won't be able to play guitar cuz I don't understand a damn thing about this article.

[Publius]

December_Dawn :
What's this? Is this about guitar? Gosh... If yes then definitely I won't be able to play guitar cuz I don't understand a damn thing about this article.

Hmm..if you looked at the title, I do believe it says "guide to chord progressions," idk, I kinda meant this as a guide for the theory behind chord progressions, not exactly the technique on how to play them.

I guess I am at fault because I just assume that anyone who reads this knows the voicings for say, the basic open CAGED chords, and maybe their add 7 spellings. So I guess if you can't played the basic CAGED chords, then you are not that much of a guitarist are you?

[pinkzep52]

That sucked like a ***** on saturday night!

So i give it a 10/10

[Ja'mir]

This is excsllent and so easy to read and understand. I hope we get more from you, you have a great way of explainng the most difficult things to me. Excellent job!!!!! Thanks

[sicformyage]

this is a really good article. one of the basic things about being a jam guitarist is a 1-4-5 progression. if you don't know that that a regular blues jam can get confusing.

[cheesenuts]

this is really good easy to understand. thanks for the help