30 Rock & Pop Progressions You MUST Know

Knowledge is power, so learning the theory behind the creation of music is very valuable to both the writer and player. It is indeed true that many great guitarists and songwriters know very little about music theory, and for that reason I can confidently tell you that you will still get a great deal out of this course even if you skip this section. In fact, I want you to skip this section if it in anyway deters you from moving forward and learning all these fantastic progressions. However, I do encourage you to give it a try and watch this at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. If it doesn't make any sense at first, then you are in the same boat as the rest of us! It should leave you with more questions than answers, because the rest of the course will make it all fall into place. This theory primer is just that, a primer. It is the basics of what I feel you should know to get the most out of the course. As a teacher, I would be doing you a disservice by not including it, but at the same time, I don't want it to get in your way of enjoying the music. Regardless, DOWNLOAD THE ATTACHED GUIDES AND REFER TO THEM THROUGHOUT THE COURSE.

In this segment, I teach the major scale which outlines the notes in each of the 12 major keys. Then, I'll show you how chords are built on each degree of the scale. That teaches you all the chords that exist within a key, which is only seven. In this course, we are really only going to use six, because that is what the vast majority of rock and pop songs use. These six include three major chords and three minor chords. Numerically, they are I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi, which refers to the scale tone upon which each chord is constructed. Chords are written as Roman numerals, with uppercase signifying major chords and lowercase signifying minor chords. The way I like to look at these is the majors (primary chords of a key) I-IV-V and their corresponding relative minors vi-ii-iii. As we breakdown the chord progressions in the course, you will see why this makes sense. The sixth degree of any major chord is its "relative" minor, meaning that the majority of notes in each chord are the same (this is very obvious when fingering the chords on piano, but also visually evident on guitar - such as between C and Am). Therefore, it is common to substitute the I with the vi, and the IV with the ii, and the V with the iii.

I'll also teach you the lay of the land in terms of finding all your root notes on the guitar. This is important, especially for barre chords, since you need to place them on the right fret to get the desired chord. It's not complicated, just remember Before Christ and Elmer Fudd (watch the video for more on that!)

Theory is intimidating at first, but it can also be addictive once you realize how incredibly logical music composition is. It really is a marriage of art and science.

The I-vi progression uses two chords that are similar to one another in sound and often in fingering. The vi chord (minor chords are written in lower case roman numerals) is also referred to as the "relative minor" of the I chord (major chords are written with upper case roman numerals). Therefore, the change is subtle, so subtle that sometime the vi is used in place of the I (as you will see in other segments) rather than in conjunction with the I. Sometimes using the minor 7 chord (m7) in place of the minor makes the I-vi chord change easier to play in certain positions up the neck. When playing the I as a barre chord on the 5th string, you can easily get to the vi minor 7 without moving your hand, just a couple of fingers. Also, by varying the strumming pattern or even using your fingers to pluck the strings instead of strumming with the pick, you will add even more individuality to particular songs. Examples: Pretty Woman, Locomotion, My Sweet Lord, Matter of Trust, What's Going On

The I-IV progression is probably the most popular chord progression in western music. So many songs use these two major chords together. Use down and up strums to create more movement. Also, explore switching between playing the I-IV as open and barre chords (which are fingered in the same fret, making the barre form easy to remember and transpose). You can also play with tempos, and even divide the chord by playing the bass note on beat 1 and 3 and the rest of the chord on beats 2 and 4. It's not always about perfectly copying the original, but sometimes just capturing the overall feel and making the song your own. Examples: You Can't Always Get What You Want, I've Been Working on the Railroad, Amazing Grace, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, Domino, Angels of Harlem, Lady Madonna, Should I Stay or Should I Go, Feeling Alright, I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Start Me Up

Occasionally, a chord change will be delayed by changing the "quality" of a chord before actually advancing to a new chord. One can argue that each one is an independent chord in the progression (and that is perfectly correct), however, our ear hears the change to be comparitively subtle until we actually make a more distinctive change tonally to a chord with a new root. For example, while C, C major 7, and C dominant 7 are all different chords, our ear hears them all as some sort of C until we make a more obvious change, such as to the IV chord which is an F in the key of C. So, from the songwriter's point of view, it functions more as a way to delay the transition to the new chord. When trying to learn a song by ear, hearing this as a delayed change is helpful because it is then easier to identify the progression. Try holding the pick loosely and strumming with a light touch to give any ballad a nice feel. Accent the chord changes while laying back on the strumming. Experiment with a light touch and bring the romantic out in you! Examples: Something, Maybe I'm Amazed, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

One way to alter the I-IV chord and add interest is to substitute the I chord with its relative minor, the vi. We can take the vi-IV and put it in any key, as we can do with any progression. By doing so, we often find easier fingering positions and also move into a key that might better suit a particular singer's vocal range. Plus, the minor quality gives a bit of a darker quality, adding a new dimension. Using barre chords instead of open positions can make transposing keys easier, as well as give us a different sound. By adding some more interest in the strumming, we can really give an identity to a commonly used chord progression and capture the feel of the song. Examples: Eleanor Rigby, Listen to the Music, Rhiannon

Keeping with the idea of substituting chords, another way to create a variation of the I-IV is to play a I-ii (the ii is the relative minor of the IV). This gives us a nice step-wise sound since the chords are rooted only a whole step apart Using strum variations depending on the tempo will also add variety. Examples: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Ebony and Ivory, Don't Let Me Down, Groovin'