Common chord progressions -- a list?

[Bob]

Anyone have some?

Something like.... I IV V I    but more.  More elaborate, more variations.


I V I

ii V I

III VI ii V I


That type of thing.

[Bob]

https://www.8notes.com/school/theory/common_chord_progressions.asp

Decent site for the "ladder" of chord progressions.


And the wikipedia entry...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_progression

Boo on wikipedia.  I'm not impressed with that entry at all.  It's a lot of pop.


The ladder again.. in major and minor.
https://www.alcorn.edu/musictheory/Version2/theory1/Progres.htm


Hmmm.... I'm not finding what I want by googling.  Lot of pop garbage.

[keypeg]

Sorry, too soon - I'm only on chapter 4 of this book https://www.singers.com/groups/Frederick-Horwood/ and since the author expects audiation while writing it will take a while.  Seriously though, work one's way through theory seems the way to go.

[Bob]

Or how about...

Chord progressions from your music.  List them here.  Not so theoretical then.  Chord progressions from an actual piece of piano literature.

Why not?  You're working on it.  Just post them here.

[Bob]

I don't want to buy another book.  I suppose I could just check my own books, but I'm lazy.

I've already searched and found what I'm looking for.  But I'm looking for more too.

Maybe there's more buried in this site somewhere too.

[Bob]

Someone must have some more.  There must be a list somewhere.

I'm not liking the list I have so much.  Something the theory profs put together.  Too simple.  Too few.  And then they start modulating them, and that's not quite what I'm lookng for. 

Hmmm.... I need more chormatics.  I suppose I could add that myself.

And different voicings....

And minor.   Haha.

I thought this old list I have was better than it is.  Darn them!

[keypeg]

Ok, I'm confused about something.  Do people create lists and work on or with lists?

[Bob]

I have a teacher-made list. 

If people post their own chord progressions -- real ones -- that's what I'm looking for.  "Real" as in 'following the rules.'  If it's I IV V IV I, that's no good.  Well, still useful for practice I suppose, but I'd rather have somethign that progresses.

[Bob]

Another that sounds nice.  I don't why I haven't seen this written out before.  I must have somewhere.  I know I've heard it for sure.

Circle of fifths in a diatonic scale.  I'm not sure what the viio is doing, but it still sounds ok.  To me at least.  It's not progressing, I don't think.

I  IV  viio iii vi ii V  I

And that gets all the chords of the key, without going stright up and down, and it proresses mostly.

Is there a name for that non-functional viio chord?  Going to iii instead of I?  It's almost a resolution to I, but the root isn't there for I.  Close though.  Maybe that's why it's not so bad?  Not quite a regression?

[Bob]

People must not be that interested in chord progressions. 

I might go find some myself soon.  Pull some off hymns maybe and use those.

[keyofc]

1-6-2-5-1  (6 and 2 minor)

1

[keyofc]

I'm running out of battery power -
I will try posting more next time.

I like the chord progressions that use the Maor 3 chord instead of a iii chord.

[squinchy]

The progression in Heart and Soul seems to come up a lot:

I-vi-IV-V

Too bad there isn't a "Portable Conductor" widget for car radios: I hear so many distinctively classical/baroque progressions on the radio (classical channels) but can't figure out what they are.

Cycles of secondary dominants sometimes come up, but these aren't the really exciting ones that I keep hearing.

I - V7/IV - IV - V7/IV/IV (add the minor seventh, contract, add seventh again, etc)

[romagister]

I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V7
found in Pachelbel's Canon, and many many other pieces... fits well descending scales.

[jgallag]

Many of these chord progressions are just "manifestations" of the rules of basic theory. Obviously, following the circle of fifths is always acceptable. The viio going to iii is sounds okay because (theoretically in C) the B is a common tone between the chord, the D resolves up to E, the F resolves down to E, and the Ab resolves down to G. That said, you find the viio more common before the i chord. It is a common substitution for the V7. There is also the "deceptive cadence" where V goes to vi instead of I or V goes to VI instead of i. You said you were looking for more chromaticism. Why don't you insert a secondary dominant before one of the chords in your progressions? For example, I-IV-V7-I becomes I(7)-IV-II7(V7/V)-V7-I. For something real tricky, you could use the German sixth/Dominant 7 idea. A German sixth is a decoration on a five chord. In C major, it would be Ab-C-Eb-F#. The Ab resolves to G, the C stays put, the Eb becomes D, and the F# becomes G. However, look at the notes, and spell them like this: Ab-C-Eb-Gb. It is now the V7 of Db. You can go back and forth with these, turning Ge6 chords into Dom7s and the other way around. Also remember that dim7 can be respelled. Dim7 of C is B, D, F, Ab, and Dim7 of Eb is D, F, Ab, Cb. Same pitches, but a different resolution entirely. Another beauty in minor keys is the insertion of the Neapolitan, the bII in place of ii(half-dim). Proceeds directly to the V7.

Just some ideas on creating mayhem in your music.

[Bob]

I think I'm looking for something simple and basic.  And I've figured out it's not just the chord progression I was looking for, although they're still good. 

I've found the circle of fifths very useful.
I IV viio iii vi ii V I

And just going up and down scales.  I up to to I and back down to I.

[jgallag]

Simple, okay, I can do this:

i-VII-VI-V7-i for minor keys is very common
i-VI-bII-V7-i
I-ii7-V7-vi-IV-ii7-V7-I a little more interesting
i-IV-VII-III-i-IV-VIIsus-VII-i from Aqua's Barbie Girl
I-vi-V-V-ii-V-I6-vi-ii6/5-I6-bVII-V-I from Prima Donna (Phantom of the Opera)
I-iii-IV-V-I
I-vi-iii-vi-ii-ii6/4-ii6-V-I from Simple Gifts

There are a couple to fool around with.

You say it's not just the chord progression you're looking for. What would you like, then?

[Bob]

I need to be more fluent with chords.  Part of it is knowing a chord in any voicing, any inversion, etc.  without having to put much thought into it.  It's something along those lines.

Chord progressions are important too.  I guess I'm just looking in a different direction now.

[jgallag]

Then take a theory class at your local college. I've completed all of the general theory for my degree, the chord symbols and all that stuff. Next year I take Form and Analysis and Analysis of Music Since 1900, which look at a broader picture.

[Bob]

I've been through college, taken all the theory classes.  I need fluency.  All that was just an introduction.  And profs don't always know or tell me the things I want/need to know.  I want chords ingrained and I don't want to think about them much. 

[jgallag]

Geez, that stinks. Normally one expects to get something out of those. Where did you go to college?

[Bob]

I think they're all that way.  Just an introduction.  There wasn't much for drill and they test you with paper and pencil, so there's plenty of time to think.  That doesn't make it automatic enough for being really useful while playing.

[schartmanovich]

You're wasting your time. You'd be better off just paying attention to voice-leading and the degree of relatedness between chords in that respect. This way you're not restricted to a traditional tonal idiom and you learn to appreciate WHY there are such things as harmonic paradigms.

[Bob]

I've been doing a chord routine.  It's been going well.  I'm much more comfortable in all the normal keys.

[nanabush]

I love messing around with chords.  Came up with a few cool ones

in C major;   ii - V6/4 - ii7 - VIIb6/4 - ii# - now into G minor

...much cleaner to notate it in D dorian; also much easier just not trying to notate it.

I really like mixing major 7ths;
one thing I'd do would be;  Gb major 7th --> Bb 6/4 with F on top --> F major --> etc.

or:  Fmaj7 -->Ebmaj7 --> Dbmaj7... gives a really dreamy feel.

Chords built on 4ths/5ths also fascinate me, but I wish I was quick at writing them down.  I get some pretty crazy ideas, but once I've played through them, they've already left me 

[keyofc]

Bob,
How's your chords ?

Did you gain more fluency?

If so - what did you do?

I want to work on more too.

I've been playing with cds and that has been a help.

[Bob]

Yes.  I haven't pushed it lately though.  There are different directions I want to go with it.

Everyday I've been going through all the major and minor scales, saying the name of the chord as I play them.  Play up and down the scales in root, first, and second positions.

And instead of going through as a scale, do them as a circle of fifths in the scale -- I VI viio, iii, vi, ii, V, I.  That hits all the chords, but mixes them up.  And it's an actual progression.

That's more for the brain. 

Other directions I wanted to go in were having different voicings.  I'm blanking on the rest.


But after a couple years it's definitely helped.  I want them where I don't have to think at all about the chord.  I'll just know it.  It's getting more and more like that.

[keyofc]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your post!

Great to hear that !


There are so many different voicings for one chord -
so I think they are a  more challenging -

Like trying to rephrase the same message -
Good luck!

I'm working on them too.

[Bob]

Part it too is just working the bugs out in my mind.  And being able to speak the chords names while I'm playing them -- I found that helps to staying focused with this stuff.  My brain will misfire and identify the wrong chord still sometimes -- I play the right one, I understand what I'm playing, but I'll still say the wrong chord or quality of the chord maybe 5% of the time depending on how fast I'm going.  It's a heck of a lot better than it was two years ago.  I know that.   There's still something more I want to do with them, but I'm not sure what it is.

One day I had things sorted out for chords.  Different directions to go in.  I need to rethink of that stuff.

[kookaburra]

I need to be more fluent with chords.  Part of it is knowing a chord in any voicing, any inversion, etc.  without having to put much thought into it.  It's something along those lines.

I am looking for exactly the same thing!

[schartmanovich]

Many of these chord progressions are just "manifestations" of the rules of basic theory. Obviously, following the circle of fifths is always acceptable. The viio going to iii is sounds okay because (theoretically in C) the B is a common tone between the chord, the D resolves up to E, the F resolves down to E, and the Ab resolves down to G. That said, you find the viio more common before the i chord. It is a common substitution for the V7. There is also the "deceptive cadence" where V goes to vi instead of I or V goes to VI instead of i. You said you were looking for more chromaticism. Why don't you insert a secondary dominant before one of the chords in your progressions? For example, I-IV-V7-I becomes I(7)-IV-II7(V7/V)-V7-I. For something real tricky, you could use the German sixth/Dominant 7 idea. A German sixth is a decoration on a five chord. In C major, it would be Ab-C-Eb-F#. The Ab resolves to G, the C stays put, the Eb becomes D, and the F# becomes G. However, look at the notes, and spell them like this: Ab-C-Eb-Gb. It is now the V7 of Db. You can go back and forth with these, turning Ge6 chords into Dom7s and the other way around. Also remember that dim7 can be respelled. Dim7 of C is B, D, F, Ab, and Dim7 of Eb is D, F, Ab, Cb. Same pitches, but a different resolution entirely. Another beauty in minor keys is the insertion of the Neapolitan, the bII in place of ii(half-dim). Proceeds directly to the V7.

Just some ideas on creating mayhem in your music.

You've given them so many ideas but I don't think they realize it ...

Another useful trick is to expands tonic, pre-dominant, or dominant regions. For example, II7-"I6"-II6/5 simply prolongs the pre-dominant II chord. If you do this while keeping the ordering of tonic-predominant-dominant-tonic you can come up with lots of cool things. Example, with prolongational chord in brackets:

I - (IV6) - I6 - II7 - (I6) - II6/5 - V4/2 - I6 - (VIIo6/5) - I - (V6/5 of VI) - VI (with 5-6 motion making a IV6) - Ger6 - V 6/4 - V7 - I

[nmitchell076]

I don't know if you can access this (since it comes from my University's website), but here is a chord progression sheet from my University's basic keyboard theory class. 
Every morning I choose one progression from the Theory 111 sheet, and one progression from the Theory 211 sheet, and I play those progressions in all Major and minor keys.  Just doing two a day (but changing them every day) will do wanders and will prevent you from getting burnt out on progressions by just trying to ram all of em you can think of into one session.

MUS 111 sheet
MUS 211 sheet

[fleetfingers]

Thank you nmitchell076! I was able to access those pages and I am going to study them.

I have a question which will probably sound dumb. My piano teachers as a child and teenager did not teach me much theory, and I've been trying to learn things from books and online. Since I never took theory classes and I don't have conversations with anyone in my real life about music theory, I don't know how to verbalize chord names. If I see a Roman numeral "I" I know what that means, but how would I say it in conversation? A "one" chord? How about "vi" and others? If I'm talking to someone and want to explain the chord progression I-V-I, do I say, "one, five, one"? I have been learning how to read and write some basic symbols but don't know how to say them. Does that make sense? Any help? I am too embarrassed to ask someone in real life, because I should know. 

[Bob]

You could say a "one chord" "two chord" etc.

Or...
tonic for I
supertonic, ii
mediant, iii
subdominant, IV
dominant, V
submediant, vi
leading tone chord, viio

So yes, "one, five, one" sounds normal to me.

[nmitchell076]

You could say a "one chord" "two chord" etc.

Or...
tonic for I
supertonic, ii
mediant, iii
subdominant, IV
dominant, V
submediant, vi
leading tone chord, viio

So yes, "one, five, one" sounds normal to me.

Although primarily I, V, I will work, you would probably want to at least familliarize yourself with Tonic (I), Dominant (V, and, very occasionally viio), and at least Pre-dominant (ii, IV, vi, and others that lead from the tonic to the dominant)

[john f]

Hello.  I have not been on this forum for a long time until tonight. I was just reading this very interesting thread. I know some theory, but not as much as you guy's.  I too learned theory by reading music books and studying on my own.  Hard to get an English speaking teacher here in Thailand.  I have a question that maybe you guy's can help me with and also give me some direction for study. I play some classical and a lot of none classical. At present I am trying to play some of David Lanz music. My question is this, when the score has the left hand part written out but you don't want to play it for one reason or the other and you want to do your own thing with chords. How do you know which chord the composer intends for each measure?  I have a general idea, however, not enough knowledge to get all of the chords worked out.  The Lanz number that I am working on now is "Return to the Heart".  Any help/direction would be appreciated.   John

[fleetfingers]

You could say a "one chord" "two chord" etc.

Or...
tonic for I
supertonic, ii
mediant, iii
subdominant, IV
dominant, V
submediant, vi
leading tone chord, viio

So yes, "one, five, one" sounds normal to me.

Thank you! 

[Bob]

My question is this, when the score has the left hand part written out but you don't want to play it for one reason or the other and you want to do your own thing with chords. How do you know which chord the composer intends for each measure?  I have a general idea, however, not enough knowledge to get all of the chords worked out.  The Lanz number that I am working on now is "Return to the Heart".  Any help/direction would be appreciated.   John

Maybe start a new thread.  You just analyze what's there.  Although there's also what the composer meant vs. what they actually wrote.  Chords don't have to be measure by measure either.  

Figure out what key it's in (key signature, look at the last chord). 

Figure out if it's using basic triads or sevenths or more extended chords.  Then figure out what they would be for each group of notes -- Get them back into root position so you can identify the chord.

[arturgajewski]

All you need is I-V-vi-IV