Understanding which guitar chords go together is central to building an appreciation of musical theory, and can lead to some remarkable melodies and progressions that we all adore. At first it can be overwhelming; but don’t fret: this article can help make sense of it all!
Major
Starting out can be challenging; to help get things moving it can be beneficial to identify chord progressions that sound good together, usually within one key. Use these sequences as starting points before practicing them across keys so you become acquainted with interval movements.
C F G chord progression can work well in many songs in both keys of C and D. This straightforward progression works perfectly across key systems.
Learning these progressions will familiarize you with the key of C major and its related chords (C, F and G). They are used in countless songs and easy to play; once you know these chords you can move on to learning more complex progressions such as A-G-F-C which works great when soloing over either A or D major major keys.
Minor
This chord progression is an iconic one in rock music. Perhaps most notably used in Stairway to Heaven, its use can also be found elsewhere in countless songs.
These chords are in C minor (relative to the major scale we started with). Again, it would be advantageous to use a capo and transpose this chord progression into other keys if desired – for your own style and taste!
Remember, roman numerals on the left side of this diagram indicate which chords belong to which scale degrees. By learning all the chords in this group, you’ll have some great starting points for learning more advanced chords as well. Furthermore, taking this chord progression one step further by replacing minor seventh with dominant seventh or sus chord can add extra flavor – similar to how the well-known i-iv-v-i blues progression works!
Dominant
Dominant chords are among the most frequent and essential chords in music, often used together and played as part of a circle of fifths progression (G to C to E to A), or can even work well alone or between other chords. Being unstable, their primary goal is usually resolution into their tonic chord, making them particularly effective at creating tension or relief within songs.
There are various dominant guitar chords, but the easiest one is known as a drop 3 voicing. This technique involves taking the third highest note in a closed dominant seventh chord and dropping it an octave lower, creating the root voicing, 1st inversion and 3rd inversion as shown below in black, blue and green notes respectively. You can extend this chord even further by including ninth, eleventh and thirteenth notes to create what are known as augmented chords.
Viola
Understanding guitar chord progressions can add new life and energy to your guitar playing, improvisation, and songwriting. To best learn them, practicing them while listening to songs will help develop your ear and timing skills.
The viola can produce two-note chords, more commonly referred to as double stops. These chords combine notes on adjacent strings for maximum effect; their sizes may range from minor seconds up to major tenths; this technique is widely employed in string writing virtuoso performances.
The viola section typically plays chords divisi (notes shared out between instruments). However, it can also be used to voice chords within the usual range of string choir instruments – violin 1, violin 2 violin 3, viola 1, viola 2, cello and double bass – though four-note chords should not be voiced due to creating range issues and strain on violinists; rather cello or second viola should be utilized to ensure more balanced and richer sounds are created by these chords.