Chord Progression Generator

Pick a key and a style, press Generate for a variation, then Play to hear it with guitar chord shapes.

Progression · C major

I–V–vi–IV in C major: C G Am F. Pop, 4 bars, all chords from the key.

I, bar 1CC chord×321 
V, bar 2GG chord213 
vi, bar 3AmAm chord×231 
IV, bar 4FF chord××3211 
FirstCIC chord×321

Stopped. Four beats per chord, strum D D U D.

No capo needed: these are already the easiest shapes for this key.

Chords in this progression

Chords · tap to hear
  • ICtonic: home
  • VGdominant: pulls back to I
  • viAmsubmediant: the relative minor, a sadder home
  • IVFsubdominant: moves away from home
88bpm

How to use the generator

  • Key: any of the 12 major and 12 minor keys. Changing the key moves the same progression to the new key.
  • Style: a starting pattern. Pop is I–V–vi–IV; the table below lists every style.
  • Generate: picks another common progression in the style and swaps some inner chords for others that do the same job, so each press gives a new one. Borrowed chords (dashed bars) appear only in the minor-and-epic and rock styles and in minor keys; they are optional colour.
  • Play: loops the progression at the tempo on the bar below the tool, four beats per chord. Stage mode shows the current and next chord big enough to read from a music stand.

The address bar keeps the key, progression and tempo, so you can bookmark a progression or send it to a bandmate.

Reading the roman numerals

Each numeral is a step of the key's scale, and the chord built on it. Upper case is a major chord, lower case is minor, ° is diminished. In G major that gives I = G, ii = Am, iii = Bm, IV = C, V = D, vi = Em, vii° = F♯dim. The key of G major page shows these chords on the fretboard.

Minor keys count from their own scale, so the numerals change case: in A minor, i is Am, III is C, VI is F and VII is G.

Because the numerals describe the shape of the progression rather than the chords, I–V–vi–IV is G D Em C in G and A E F♯m D in A, the same sound a whole step higher. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths share most of their notes.

Borrowed chords

Most chords here come from the key's own seven. A few styles add a chord from the parallel key (same root, other mode), which is where a lot of rock and film-music colour comes from. In G major: ♭VII = F, ♭VI = E♭, ♭III = B♭ and the minor iv = Cm, all from G minor. In minor keys the common one goes the other way: the major V (B in E minor) from the harmonic minor, which pulls home harder than the minor v.

The 12-bar blues uses dominant 7th chords on I, IV and V. The 7th on I and IV is not in the major scale; that clash is the blues sound. Below the tool, every chord says what job it does and whether it is borrowed.

Common chord progressions by name

Most songs reuse a handful of progressions. The numerals work in any key; the chords here are in G major.

  • I–V–vi–IV (G D Em C): the famous four-chord pop loop: home, the pull of V, the relative minor for a sad turn, IV to lift back.
  • I–vi–IV–V (G Em C D): the 1950s doo-wop loop; ending on V makes every pass lead straight back to I.
  • vi–IV–I–V (Em C G D): the same four chords started on the minor vi, so the loop feels darker.
  • I–IV–V–I (G C D G): the three-chord core of folk, country and early rock: away, tension, home.
  • ii7–V7–Imaj7 (Am7 D7 Gmaj7): the jazz cadence: ii prepares V, V resolves to I, each root a fifth below the last.
  • 12-bar blues (G7 C7 D7): I7 for four bars, IV7 for two, I7 for two, then V7 IV7 I7 V7. Twelve bars on three dominant 7ths, the form behind most blues and a lot of rock and roll.

Writing your own progression

  1. Start and end on I (or i in a minor key) so the loop sounds finished.
  2. Put V (or V7) just before the return home; that is where the pull comes from.
  3. Fill the middle from IV, ii and vi, then try one borrowed chord, such as ♭VII, for colour. If it sounds wrong, swap it back for a chord from the key.

Then play it at a slow tempo, change the rhythm, and hum a melody over the loop. The progression only needs to support the tune.

Capo and easier shapes

If the progression lands on barre chords, the tool looks for a capo fret that turns most of them into open shapes, and the cards then show the shape you finger and the chord that sounds. Each capo fret has to earn its place, so it won't send you to capo 5 to save one chord. For a song you already know, the capo calculator does the same for any chord list.

Practise the changes slowly first: drop the tempo until every change lands on beat one, then speed up a few BPM at a time. The metronome has a speed trainer for that. DJs and medley players can check which keys mix on the Camelot wheel.

Every style at a glance

The starting pattern of each style before Generate varies it, with the chords in G major and E minor.

StyleMajor keyIn GMinor keyIn Em
PopI–V–vi–IVG D Em Ci–VI–III–VIIEm C G D
50s doo-wopI–vi–IV–VG Em C Di–VI–iv–VEm C Am B
Sadvi–IV–I–VEm C G Di–iv–VI–VEm Am C B
Minor and epicI–♭VI–♭VII–IG E♭ F Gi–VII–VI–VIIEm D C D
FolkI–IV–I–VG C G Di–VII–i–vEm D Em Bm
RockI–♭VII–IV–IG F C Gi–VI–VII–iEm C D Em
Jazz ii–V–Iii7–V7–Imaj7–Imaj7Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Gmaj7ii°–V7–i–iF♯dim B7 Em Em
Canon (8 bars)I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–VG D Em Bm C G C Di–v–VI–III–iv–i–iv–VEm Bm C G Am Em Am B
12-bar bluesI7–I7–I7–I7–IV7–IV7–I7–I7–V7–IV7–I7–V7G7 G7 G7 G7 C7 C7 G7 G7 D7 C7 G7 D7i–i–i–i–iv–iv–i–i–VI–V–i–VEm Em Em Em Am Am Em Em C B Em B

Chord progressions by key

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