What are some common chord progressions?

[OliveCorduroy]

Hello all,

So last week I posted a thread asking what are some of the most popular minors keys, so along with that, I am curious what are some of the common chord progressions? I have been working on open chords as well barre chords and can make the changes fairly well; on average at about 60bpm but there so many chord change combinations in any key, that as much as I would like to work on all of the possible changes there are just too many using chords I through VII. The I-VI-IV-V is probably the most popular chord progression that I have seen based some the reasearch that I have done.So I am thinking that I need more chord progressions to practice and to make music. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
George

[JonPR]

OK... This is a much bigger question than your one about keys, but here goes...

1. The "circle progression".
This is where chord roots move in 5ths down or 4ths up. You can have a cycle through all 7 chords in a key, but one of the moves will be a dim5 or aug4. Still works though. It doesn't always start on I, usually on ii or vi.
ii - V - I - IV - vii - iii - vi - and back to ii.
The iii is often made major to make a cadence to the relative minor:
ii - V - I - IV - vii - III - vi - the last 3 are actually ii-V-i in the minor key.
Used (complete) in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon and I Will Survive (the last two start on the vi).
Parts of this sequence occur in almost every jazz standard.

If you maintain the perfect 5th/4th move then you potentially run through the whole chromatic scale. Dave Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way runs as follows:
Am7b5 D7 Gm7 C7 Cm7 F7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 Abm7 Db7 Gbmaj7 Bmaj7 F7alt B7 Bb7 E7.
There's a kind of glitch at the end, where a few other chords are inserted between the B and E, but all 12 notes are there as chord roots; the final E going naturally back to A.
The thing to notice is that the chord types can vary. Min7s are usually followed by dom7s, but they don't have to be.

2. The reverse circle.
This is common in rock, although it doesn't usually go beyond four chords. In a few famous instances it stretches to five. It's always major triads, nothing fancier. Hey Joe is the famous one:
C G D A E = bVI-bIII-bVII-IV-I
The same 5-chord sequence occurs in Here Comes the Sun and Take Me to the River (just in the bridge in each case).
As a 3-chord sequence (bVII-IV-I) it's known as a "double plagal cadence", and is almost as common in classic rock as the famous ii-V-I is in classic jazz.

3. The doo-wop progression.
So-called after it's proliferation in late 50s/early 60s pop:
I-vi-IV-V

4. The axis of awesome progression.
This may have another name, but I'm calling it after the Australian comedy trio who built a famous sketch on it.
I-V-vi-IV
This has become as common in contemporary rock (over the last few decades) as the doo-wop sequence was (for just a few years).

5. Canon in D.
Not especially common (in full), but a nice sequence all the same. (There's another comedy routine on this sequence.)
I - V - vi - iii - IV - I - IV - V
Streets of London (Ralph McTell) uses this sequence. Oasis's Don't Look Back in Anger is similar except for a major III chord (and IV-V-I, not IV-I-IV-V).

6. Descending bass.
Extremely common, at least in vintage pop/rock, but harmonized in various different ways. Compare the following (all in C or Am for comparison purposes):
C - G/B - Am - C/G - F - G - C - G (When a Man Loves a Woman)
C - Em/B - Am - C/G - F - Am/E - Dm - Dm/C (bass run up to) G - G/F - Em - G/D, and back to C (Whiter Shade of Pale)
C - G/B - Bb - F/A - Fm/Ab - C/G - D/F# - G - C (Make You Feel My Love)
Am - Am/G# - Am/G - Am/F# - F ... (My Funny Valentine)
Am - Cmaj7#5/G# - C/G - D/F# - F - Am/E (Stairway to Heaven)
Am - E/G# - G - D/F# - F - C/E - Dm - E (Hotel California)
Am - C/G - D/F#- F - Am/E... (House of the Rising Sun)
In classical theory, this kind of line is known as a "lament bass".

7. Line cliche.
The above bass descents are a kind of line cliche, but you can also get them as descending chord tones:
C - Cmaj7 - C7 - F - Fm - C...
(Descending line: C B Bb A Ab G)
There's also a less common ascending version:
C - Caug (or Eaug) - C6 - C7 - F...
Both these lines are common in minor keys too:
Am - Am(maj7) - Am7 - Am6 - Fmaj7 (see My Funny Valentine)
Am - F/A - Am6 - Am7

8. Andalusian cadence (minor key)
i - bVII - bVI - V
list of songs using it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...usian_cadences

9. Aeolian vamp.
The above sequence missing its major V, essentially:
i-bVII-bVI
Sometimes goes back to bVII on the way back to i.
As in All Along the Watchtower, Gimme Shelter, among others.

10. Dorian vamp.
i-IV, or i-ii.

11. Passamezzo moderno (aka Gregory Walker or quadro pavan):
|I - |IV - |I - |V - |I - |IV - |I V |I
"moderno" but dates from the Renaissance. Even so, this is so common in pop/rock/country/folk - often with slight tweaks - you might feel it hardly deserves a name. Beginner songwriters - start here! (although it's probably too obvious/boring even for beginners).

EDIT: extended the White Shade of Pale sequence to its clever 12-chord (6-bar) cycle.

[jseth]

As usual, JonPR has posted an extremely comprehensive reply!

I would add a question... Do you mean FOR GUITAR PLAYERS? If so, then the scope is slightly limited, but still plenty of options... most guitarists "bridle" heavily at the idea of playing in Eb or Ab, and even more accomplished players may gag at a piece in Db... so, for guitar, stick with the "common" open position starting points, like G, C, D, A, and expand from there.

Another question is, are you writing songs for OTHER people to sing? That would necessitate a different tack. The legendary Cole Porter wrote nearly all his famous songs in keys that were "singable" to most folks (C, Ab and Eb)... I remember reading that Ethel Merman was one of the people for whom he would write songs, and she had a limited vocal range (albeit STRONG!), so Cole got really good at composing melodies that weren't too wide-ranging for Ethel to sing - by doing so, he "included" a whole lot of the general singing populace with all those great songs, like "Night and Day, "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Begin the Beguine", et al...

(Note: I do realize that, with the use of a capo, a guitarist can play in any key while using common open chord shapes...)

[Llewlyn]

Originally Posted by OliveCorduroy

The I-VI-IV-V is probably the most popular chord progression that I have seen based some the reasearch that I have done.So I am thinking that I need more chord progressions to practice and to make music. Any thoughts?

I'd recommend practicing variations of the I-VI-IV-V. Chords can be grouped in classes (I'm adding the 7ths and you should play them w these):

the tonic chords: Imaj7, IIIm7 and VIm7
the sub-dominant chords: IIm7, IVmaj7
the dominant chords: V7, VIImin3b5

So, play the same chord pattern you've been playing but by substituting one or more chords with others of the same class.

For instance you can do:

I - VI - II - V <-- substituting the IV w the II

or

III - VI - II - VII

and so on.

...and add the 7ths

Ll.

[OliveCorduroy]

Wow...great feedback...at first I was totally overwhelmed but after taking some time to read and reread it all, I think I have digested a fair amount of it...I've tried playing some of them on my guitar and they sound nice but I feel like I am just scratching the surface...one thing I did wonder about was can any chord precede or follow another chord or do certain chords lead into another better than another chord?...or are there chords that don't or never precede or follow another chord?

[Llewlyn]

Originally Posted by OliveCorduroy

one thing I did wonder about was can any chord precede or follow another chord or do certain chords lead into another better than another chord?...or are there chords that don't or never precede or follow another chord?

Yep - welcome to the realm of musical theory.

Ll.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by OliveCorduroy

Wow...great feedback...at first I was totally overwhelmed but after taking some time to read and reread it all, I think I have digested a fair amount of it...I've tried playing some of them on my guitar and they sound nice but I feel like I am just scratching the surface...one thing I did wonder about was can any chord precede or follow another chord or do certain chords lead into another better than another chord?...or are there chords that don't or never precede or follow another chord?

As Llewlyn says, welcome to the world of music theory!

Just remember theory is only about "common practices" - not things you can or can't do, just things that most people like to do, that have been proved popular (among both composers and public, because of course it's a feedback loop). As is often said, theory describes, it doesn't prescribe.

What I posted were just the most common of those common practices (IME). If it's songwriting you're interested in (rather than academic study ), the best advice is to study your favourite songs, and listen out for effects you like. You can find reasonably reliable chord charts free online, as I'm sure you know.
And experiment yourself, naturally. Your ear is always right! If it sounds good, it's correct.

[KarlK]

Originally Posted by JonPR

OK... This is a much bigger question than your one about keys, but here goes...

Maybe we should start a thread here on AGF "Play" for the top 10 posts of all time.

This, JonPR, is in the running for that list, and, I daresay, for the top spot!

Thanks so much for your generous explanation.

I have copied and pasted this to a Word file on my own computer.

[1neeto]

I think one of the best places to start is by knowing all the major and minor keys. Every key has 3 major and 3 minor chords that fit. For example, in the key of G, you can play G, C, D, Em, Am, Bm. Keep in mind that every major has a relative minor, so all those chords also fit the Em key. G is a very popular key in guitar music, memorize those chords and play with them.

Also here's a good trick that will make you learn all the major and minor chords that belong on any key:
With your guitar find the note of the key you want to learn on the low E string. Let's use G again as an example. So fret the third fret on the low E string and there's your G. Now go directly below it to the third fret on the A string, and that's a C. Now go two frets up on that same A string so now you're fretting the fifth fret which is a D. So right there, G, C, D are your 3 Major chords in the key of G. Now how to find the minor chords that will also fit? Again start on that G note on the low E string. Now go back 3 frets, but of course you don't have 3 frets left so that means the open E is your note. Now move down to the open A string, and then fret the second fret on the A string which is a B. And there's your 3 minor chords that fit in the key of G. Em Am and Bm. You can do this method on any key, just fret the note on the low E string of the key you want to know the chords for and repeat the process.

[Hasbro]

One of the easiest tricks is staring right at us, but took me a long time to realize. Know all your 1,4,5. Then know the relative minors of those 1,4,5. You have 6 of the 7 diatonic chords, and a better sense of their relationships to one another

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Hasbro

One of the easiest tricks is staring right at us, but took me a long time to realize. Know all your 1,4,5. Then know the relative minors of those 1,4,5. You have 6 of the 7 diatonic chords, and a better sense of their relationships to one another

Yep. The circle of 5ths helps there:

Pick any quarter segment of the circle (three slices). The IV-I-V are in the outer circle (clockwise in that order) and the ii-vi-iii in the inner circle.

You can stay diatonic with those six chords in the quarter - or you can venture beyond in either direction. The further you get from those six, the more "out" the chords will sound, but that can still be a good effect.

The classical/jazz "circle progression" means root movements anti-clockwise, using 7th chords - this can potentially go the whole way round the circle, and (sticking to either the outer or inner circle, to maintain the root movement) you can vary whether the chords are major or minor, and whether the majors are maj7 or dom7: lots of fun! (Make them all min7s or dom7s and the circle keeps going. Make one of the majors a maj7 or 6 - following a dom7 - and it resolves there.)

The rock movement is the opposite way, with major triads, but never goes beyond 5 steps (Hey Joe). (If you know a 6-step sequence, let me know...)

[OliveCorduroy]

Wow!!...for the longest time I have tried to figure out the circle of fifths...but I could never find anything that made sense...but this I understand...thank you posting it...definitely something I see myself always referring back to...george