Learn how to master guitar chord progressions with our beginner’s guide. Learn basic chords, popular progressions, and start creating your own songs with ease
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Wherever you are on your guitar journey, whether seasoned pro or complete novice, adding a few iconic and beautiful chord progressions to your muscle memory is one of the best things you can do for your playing and song writing skills.
Are they basic? Yes. But combined, these humble chord progressions have sold tens of billions of dollars’ worth of records in the last fifty years.
Learn them, use them, and apply different strumming patterns. Most pop music is a rehash of the progressions below. Ditto classic rock. Tobias Forge’s entire career is built on his ear for classic chord progressions. And Opeth too.
Don’t be fooled by their simplicity; these chord progressions, in the right hands, are enough to keep you busy for the rest of your life.
Simple, Beautiful Chord Progressions For Beginners
Beautiful Chord Progressions
These progressions often evoke a sense of beauty and emotion in music.
Example: “Let It Be” by The Beatles uses C – G – Am – F
Minor Chord Progressions
Minor progressions often create a melancholic or introspective mood.
Example: “Zombie” by The Cranberries uses Em – C – G – D
Pop Chord Progressions
These progressions are common in pop music due to their catchy and upbeat nature.
Example: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey uses G – D – Em – C
Common Chord Progressions
These progressions are versatile and can be found in various genres.
Example: “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd uses D – C – G
Sad Chord Progressions
These progressions often evoke feelings of sadness or nostalgia.
Example: “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen uses C – Am – C – Am
Dark Chord Progressions
Dark progressions can create an ominous or intense atmosphere in music.
Example: “Enter Sandman” by Metallica uses Em – D – C – B
Getting Started With Chord Progressions
If you’re new to guitar or songwriting in general, the idea of writing chord progressions can seem daunting.
But it really needn’t be – not if you know some quick, simple chord progressions like the five most commonly used chord progressions in rock music, for instance.
Once you learn these, it’ll really open your eyes to the simplicity of some of the most iconic songs of all time.
Chord Progressions: The Building Blocks of Music
Once you learn a few classic chord progressions, get familiar with where they are on the neck, the notes they contain and switching between them, you can quickly start making your own songs.
And if that sounds too simple, too good to be true, I have news for you: writing songs is actually really simple – most classic songs are basically three or four chords.
In fact, learning some classic chord progressions, committing them to memory, and understanding how they work, is one of the fastest ways to not only improve your playing and sound ten times better, but it will also help you to better understand how songs – million-selling hit songs – are actually put together.
And when you know how to do that and you can record yourself, you can progress on to learning how to master your own music so that it sounds professional.
Use Film Scores For EPIC Chord Progressions
And you don’t even need to stick to metal or rock bands; there are plenty of amazing chord progressions you can use from film scores.
For instance, Time by Hans Zimmer goes like this: Am, Em, G, D. That’s literally it for the main bit. And that is super simple to play on guitar, either with open chords or with power chords.
With that progression in mind, you also now know what pentatonic scales will work over it too. With just four chords, you can and will be able to build out an entire song – even a longer, drawn-out proggier number.
The key is to have a foundation to build on, the chord progression. Once you have this, the sky’s the limit – you can figure out what key you’re in, add in more notes, expand out sections for solos and lead parts, and move things around to make the song’s parts more dynamic.
Getting Started With Chord Progressions
All you need to begin is a series of chords, once you have these you’re good to go with your composition.
And the best way to get started with chord progressions? Learn from the best, get some classic progressions logged in your muscle memory, get a feel for them, and then start adding your own spin on them.
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For me, this is one of the simplest and most useful things a relatively new guitarist can do – it’ll improve not only your overall playing, but also your knowledge of the fretboard, how things flow, and it will give you a better understanding of working in musical keys.
10 Beautiful Chord Progressions For Guitar
- D, A, C, and G
- D, C, and G
- C, Am, F, G
- C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am
- Am, F, C, G
- C, Am, F, G
- Dm, G, C, Am
- Em, C, Am, Bm
- Em, A, C, D, Em
- Em, D, C, G, D/F#
If you sit down and learn all of the chord progressions, you’ll not only get better at switching between chords but you’ll start to “feel” patterns and flows in how things fit together.
You can use open chords or power chords, or even individual notes – it really does matter.
Many songs start life as a series of open chord progressions and are then transposed into power chords or individual note runs for lead parts.
Guitar Chord Progressions
Need some more examples to get your creative juices flowing? Here’s a selection of great-sounding chord progressions for guitar that target different moods and tones.
Minor Chord Progressions in Rock and Metal
Minor Chord Progressions
Minor chord progressions are essential in creating emotional depth and intensity in music, particularly in rock and metal genres.
Importance in Rock and Metal
- Creates a darker, more intense atmosphere
- Expresses complex emotions like angst, melancholy, or introspection
- Provides contrast to major chord sections, adding dynamic range to songs
- Supports heavy riffs and solos typical in these genres
- Enhances the dramatic and often brooding lyrical themes
Bands Known for Using Minor Progressions
- Black Sabbath: Pioneers in using minor chords in heavy metal
- Metallica: Often uses minor progressions in their power ballads and heavier tracks
- Opeth: Combines minor progressions with complex arrangements in progressive death metal
- Radiohead: Utilizes minor chords to create atmospheric and emotionally charged rock
- Tool: Incorporates minor progressions in their progressive metal sound
- Alice In Chains: Known for their dark, minor-key grunge anthems
Actionable Tips for Songwriters
- Start with a minor chord progression to set a moody or intense tone for your song
- Experiment with alternating between minor and relative major progressions for dynamic contrast
- Use power chords (root and fifth) over minor progressions for a classic rock/metal sound
- Try adding a major chord at the end of a minor progression for an unexpected twist
- Incorporate suspended chords (sus2 or sus4) within your minor progression to add tension
- Use arpeggios of minor chords for intricate, melodic riffs
- Explore modal interchange by borrowing chords from parallel minor scales
- Practice transitioning between minor progressions and major choruses for emotional impact
Need an example of what this style of chord progression sounds like? The Beatles’ Let It Be uses Am – G – F – Am to an amazing effect. Although the opening part of the song starts with a C and then moves to a G.
But the most emotive bit? That’s Am – G – F – Am and the reason it is so emotional is because it uses Minor Chord progressions.
Popular Chord Progressions In Contemporary Music
Pop Chord Progressions
These progressions are common in pop music, known for their catchy and upbeat nature.
Example: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey uses G – D – Em – C
Common Chord Progressions
These versatile progressions are found across various genres and form the foundation of many songs.
Example: “Let It Be” by The Beatles uses C – G – Am – F
Sad Chord Progressions
These progressions often evoke feelings of sadness, melancholy, or nostalgia.
Example: “Hurt” by Johnny Cash uses Am – C – D – Am
Dark Chord Progressions
These progressions can create an ominous, intense, or mysterious atmosphere in music.
Example: “Enter Sandman” by Metallica uses Em – D – C – B
The key thing here is that, by knowing some basic chord progressions, you’ll get a deeper understanding of the relationship between notes, what the changes sound like, and why certain notes – like D, C, and G – sound great together.
And the best part about learning all of these progressions, or cherry-picking a few to focus on, is that you don’t need to learn any theory – things like keys or modes.
You can just work with the chords you have, expand them, move them around the neck and you’ll have more than enough to work with. Just ask Noel Gallagher, he’s made tens of millions of dollars doing just this.
Famous Two Chord Songs
Most new guitarists think that ALL songs need complex compositions. But this really isn’t the case. In fact, some of the best songs ever committed to tape are based around just two chords.
And that’s literally it – two chords!
All guitarists, regardless of how long they’ve been playing, can handle two chords. And this means that providing your strumming is on point, there’s no reason why you cannot start making your own music right away.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of some extremely well-known songs that are based around just two chords:
- Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen (B – E)
- Lively Up Yourself by Bob Marley (D – G)
- Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus (C – G)
- Jane Says by Jane’s Addiction (A – G)
- Something In The Way by Nirvana (D – F#m)
- Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke (D – G)
And if two chords are good enough for The Boss, it’s almost certainly good enough for you too, so don’t go thinking you need to be able to play like Steve Vai or Tosin Abasi before you can start working on your own, original compositions.
The world needs more stripped-down, solid rock music. Maybe you can help fill the current void?
