Harmony
Chord Progression
- Definition
- A chord progression is an ordered sequence of chords played across a section of a song, forming its harmonic framework.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Songwriting stage
- writing
In practice
Progressions give a verse, chorus, or bridge its underlying motion and mood. A songwriter might use a simple, repeating progression through an entire verse to create stability, or change the progression in the chorus to signal a lift in energy. Because listeners absorb patterns quickly, many familiar-sounding progressions recur across genres, acting as dependable frameworks a writer can personalize with melody, lyrics, and arrangement.
Learning a few common progressions in a key is one of the fastest ways for a beginner to start writing complete sections. From there, small changes, like reordering chords, holding one longer, or inserting a borrowed chord, let a writer develop a personal harmonic voice.
Example
A chorus built on I - V - vi - IV in the key of G major repeats for every chorus of a song, while the verse uses a quieter vi - IV - I - V arrangement of the same four chords to feel more reflective before the chorus arrives.