Guitar Lesson #3

Major Chord Progression

Remember last week when we looked at the chord progression for the G major scale? Review: how many unique (meaning they don’t appear twice) major chords are there in a major scale? Did you say three? Correct! They would be G, C, and D. Give it a strum.

E!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!---!-E-!---!-F#!-G-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!-B-!-C-!---!-D-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!-G-!---!-A-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

Now what if we moved into another scale, how would we figure out where they were? Simply shift the major scale up or down the neck of the guitar to find out. Lets consider the A major scale:

E!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!---!---!---!-F#!---!-G#!-A-!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!---!---!-C#!-D-!---!-E-!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!---!---!-A-!---!-C-!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

Give me a I, IV, and V

Yup, the major chords would be A, D, and then E. Guitarists realize that they don’t need to learn every note of every scale- they just need to learn the patterns. Considering that the root note is the first note and eighth note, and chords follow the same pattern- they also give a numeric name to where a chord falls in the shape. Consider the following.

E!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!---!---!---!-vi!---!vii!-I-!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!---!---!iii!-IV!---!-V-!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!---!---!-I-!---!-ii!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

They use Roman numerals to correspond with where that chord places in the major scale. Major chords are usually noted in capital letters, and minor chords in lowercase. Notice that the major chords are I, IV, and V. Learn that pattern well!

Familiar Open I, IV, V Chords

Going back to the open chords we learned last week, the following fit that I, IV, V major chord progression:

I IV V
---------
G C D
A D E
C F G
D G A
E A B

Give it a whirl. Even though the key changes, the relation from the I to the IV to the V chord will always remain the same. Another easy way to change the key, is to learn one chord progression and then use a capo to adjust the key of the song as necessary.

Blues Progression

Whether you plan on learning folk, funk, soul, rock and roll, or shred metal, most of our American musical heritage can be traced back to deep roots within the blues. Not to mention that every guitarist eventually learns the blues; so when in doubt, jam to the blues. Twelve bar blues is the most common form, so lets learn the following:

I / I / I / I /
IV / IV / I / I /
V / IV / I / V /

Just substitute your favorite I, IV, V chords into this progression. For example:

G / G / G / G /
C / C / G / G /
D / C / G / D /

Also try to jam the blues in the key of E, as this is the most audibly recognizable form of the blues.

E / E / E / E /
A / A / E / E /
B / A / E / B /

Keep Practicing!