Chord Progressions

All things,chords,chord progressions,scales and modes,are related to the Major scale.It starts with the C major scale,with no sharps or flats.The notes of the C Major scale are below.Now,another way of calling these notes of the scale is by numbers instead of alphabetically.Some people refer to this as the "Nashville Number System"!The truth is,this has been being applied since classical music originated!A musician might say,Greg,we are going to play this tune,it is in the key of C Major,and the chord progression is just a 1,4,5.So i now know the key...C,and the chords involved in the song(1,4,5) C,F and G.How did i figure this out?Well,look below,the C Major scale...the C is the 1,the F is the 4,and the G is the 5.If you can just get a grip on this way of thinking,it will make the whole music theory thing make much better since to you,and you will begin to understand chords,chord construction,scales and the modes.O.K.,now that we have that out of the way,lets talk about chord progressions more.In Western music,the 1,4,5 is very popular.Another popular chord progression is called a 1,6,4,5.Lets see now,in the key of C Major,this would be the chords C,A,F and G.We simply added the 6 or A.And the A would be a minor chord,A minor.So we have C Major,A minor,F Major and G Major.Now with the chord progressions...1,4,5 and 1,6,4,5,you do not have to go exactly by that order!The 1,4,5,in a song may go 4,5 and then 1,or,F,G and then C.So,if you remember this and apply it to other keys,you will know the changes,or,chord progressions to a lot of pop songs.All the classic rock,folk,r&b,funk,old soul,etc,are written to these type chord progressions.So memorize your keys(the notes and order,for each key) and you will be playing lots of songs quicker and easier.

Major Scale.... C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8(1)
A...1,4,5 chord progression in the key of C is...C,F and G

The Other Keys
C... C,F and G
G...G,C and D
D...D,G and A
A...A,D and E
E...E,A and B
B...B,E and F#

More Chord Progressions...
1 The I-IV-V
o 1.1 Applying the I-IV-V
2 The I-vi-IV-V
3 The I-vi-V-I
4 The I-V-I-I
5 The ii-V-I
o 5.1 Applying the II-V-I
6 The Minor ii-V-I