MAKING MUSIC WITH MARSHALL Part Five

Song structures & chord progressions

Posted: 11 February 2020

So you're now a champ at chords, but how do you pull them together into a standout song?

Now you’ve got the fundamentals of rhythm, chords, notes and scales and even some more advanced chords nailed, it’s time to put it all together into a song. This is where chord progressions come into play.

Put simply, a chord progression is a series of chords played in sequence that all work around a key. Different chords of a key are commonly displayed as Roman numerals I, II, III, IV etc. and will overall set the tone and mood for your song. The difference between major and minor keys can take a progression from happy and upbeat to sad and melancholic. In this article we’ll explain how you find the chords in a key and discuss the most commonly used chord progressions in music.

To better understand how these chord progressions work, we’ve put together a chord chart.

Major keys

At first it looks daunting but is super simple to follow. In the chord chart here we’ve highlighted the most commonly used chord progression I-IV-V in black. So, using the chart, that I-IV-V in the key of C would be C major, F major and G major. Another example would be – The key of D in I-II-IV would be D major, E minor and G major.

Simply choose the key and follow along the chart to see what chords and if they are major or minor. Again, simply choose the key and follow along the chart.

Minor keys

This follows the same format as the one above, but minor keys often have a few more possibilites than major keys. Songs in a minor key sometimes switch to major and then back to minor to add some tonal variety or to shift the mood part way through. The same chord can even appear as both major and minor in the very same song.

Using this chart that I-IV-V in the key of C minor would be C minor, F minor and G minor. Another example would be – The key of D minor in I-II-IV would be D minor, E dim and G minor.

Want to spice things up a little bit? Try using major or minor 7^th chords (Covered in our previous article) for a more interesting progression.

By learning these charts above, you’re essentially learning every popular song ever! Don’t take our word for it, the popular I-V-VI-IV progression is used in ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ by Journey, Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ and ‘Let it Be’ by The Beatles to name a few.

Below are a few commonly used progressions in modern music. These examples are in the key of C Major, but try transposing them to any other key using the charts above.

MAKING MUSIC WITH MARSHALL Part Five

Song structures & chord progressions

Major keys

Minor keys

I-V-VI-IV

I-IV-V

I-VI-IV-V

VI-IV-I-V

More in this series...

Where next?

MAKING MUSIC WITH MARSHALL Part Five

Song structures & chord progressions

Major keys

Minor keys

I-V-VI-IV

I-IV-V

I-VI-IV-V

VI-IV-I-V

Want more like this?

More in this series...

Where next?