Theory Lesson 6: The Diatonic Chord Progression

This lesson is for songwriters who'd like to know which chords go together in a key, people who'd like to know what a 1-4-5 chord progression is, and understanding what "key" a song is in.

Diatonic means a scale without any chromatic alterations. We will start with the Major Scale because it is the most common and easiest to learn.

First, write out the C Major Scale, then analyze from each tone of the scale, the corresponding chord.

C D E F G A B C

CEG = C Major or C
DFA = D minor or Dm
EGB = E minor or Em
FAC = F Major or F
GBD = G Major or G
ACE = A minor or Am
BDF = B diminished or Bdim

So the pattern of chords in a Major key is as follows:

Major, minor, minor, Major, Major, minor, diminished

The chord number in a key corresponds to the number of the scale the root note falls on.

C is the 1 chord
Dm is the 2 chord
Em is the 3 chord
F is the 4 chord
G is the 5 chord
A is the 6 chord
B is the 7 chord

Common chord progressions you might have heard about:

1-4-5, which would be C F G in the key of C

6-5-4, which would be Am G F in the key of C

2-5-1, which would be Dm G C in the key of C

1-6-2-5, which would be C Am Dm G in the key of C

Examples of songs in the key of C:

Let It Be by The Beatles
Send Me On My Way: Rusted Root
Stay With Me: Sam Smith
Don't Look Back In Anger: Oasis
Down On The Corner: CCR
Use Somebody: Kings Of Leon
Falling Slowly: Glen Hansard
LaBamba: Richie Valens
Dammit: Blink 182

Chords in G Major:

G Am Bm C D Em F#dim

Chords in A Major:

A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim

Видео Theory Lesson 6: The Diatonic Chord Progression канала Red Hook Guitar