Hit N Mix Play 1 5 7 How To Play This

Examples include the verse and chorus of Say by John Mayer, the entirety of Magic by B.O.B, the entirety of Escape by Enrique Iglesias, the verse and chorus of Good Life by One Republic, and the intro riff of Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar.

Thankfully for the budding guitarist, many modern pop songs use just a few.

This article presents five of the most common chord progressions, and learning them will allow you to play hundreds of songs.

Note that the chord progressions will be presented in the key of C and in Roman numerals so that they can be easily transposed to other keys.

C - G - Am - F (I - V -vi - IV) This just might be the most popular chord progression in Western popular music.

There is an actual mathematical explanation as to why its such a pleasant progression.

The quick summary is that these four chords are opposites of each other.

The V chord is the opposite of I, the vi is the opposite of V, and the IV is the opposite of vi.

The contrast between them is what makes the progression sound so good.

Watch our video on Collide by Howie Day and learn this popular progression 2.

C - F - G (I - IV - V) Our second chord progression may be considered the foundation of classic rock n roll, modern rock, and pop music.

It is extremely common in songs from the 1960s to 1970s and traces its roots all the way back to the blues.

Playing these three chords in different variations will also give you some other common progressions.

A good example is the 12 bar blues which goes I - I - I - I - IV - IV - I - I - V - IV - I - V.

Another example is I - IV - V - IV which allows us to play songs like Louie Louie by Richard Berry and Wild Thing by The Troggs.

An example that uses the simple I - IV - V progression is the entirety of Stir it Up by Bob Marley.

Hit N Mix Play 1 5 7 How To Play This

We cover how to play this chord progression for the verse of Good Riddance by Green Day.

Take some time to play around with these three chords and youll be surprised by how many songs you can play by simply rearranging the order of the progression.

C - Am - F - G (I - vi - IV - V) Also known as the 1950s progression because it was very popular in that decade, this chord progression is associated with the mainstream popularity of the doo-wop genre at the time.

Popular songs that use this progression include the entirety of Stand By Me by Ben E.

King, the verse of Chain Gang by Sam Cooke, and the verse of Unchained Melody made popular by The Righteous Brothers.

Many modern pop songs also use the 50s progression, examples include the entirety of Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston, the chorus of What About Now by Daughtry, and funnily enough, the entirety of Friday by Rebecca Black.

Am - F - C - G, vi - IV - I - V Beginning with a minor chord, this progression tends to sound darker and sadder than the other four progressions.

Examples of songs that use this progression include the entirety of Cheap Thrills by Sia, the chorus of Africa by Toto, the entirety of Apologize by OneRepublic, and the chorus of Numb by Linkin Park.

Watch our video on Zombie by The Cranberries to learn this emotive progression.

C - F - Am - G, I - IV - vi - V Our final progression is very similar to progression number 4, the only difference is the I and vi chords have switched places.

What youll end up with is a similar sounding chord progression, just not as sad as the progression in number 4.