What is the most common guitar chord progression?

The most common guitar chord progression is I–V–vi–IV, known as the Pop Progression. In the key of G, this is G–D–Em–C. It's used in thousands of hit songs including Let It Be, No Woman No Cry, Don't Stop Believin', and countless others.

What is the I–IV–V chord progression?

The I–IV–V progression (also called the Blues or Rock progression) is the backbone of blues and rock music. In the key of A, it uses A–D–E chords. It appears in Johnny B. Goode, La Bamba, Wild Thing, and most blues songs.

What is the 50s chord progression?

The 50s progression is I–vi–IV–V. In C major, that's C–Am–F–G. It was ubiquitous in doo-wop and 1950s pop music, and is still widely used today in songs like Stand By Me and Earth Angel.

What is the Jazz ii–V–I progression?

The Jazz ii–V–I progression is the fundamental building block of jazz harmony. It creates strong harmonic movement: the ii chord (minor 7th) leads to the V chord (dominant 7th) which resolves to the I chord (major 7th). In C major: Dm7–G7–Cmaj7.

Chord Progression Builder

Pick a key, click chords to build a progression, and discover its name.

1Choose a Key

2Add Chords from C Major(click to add, up to 6)

Major Minor Uppercase = major, lowercase = minor

3Your Progression

Click chords above to start building your progression

How to use this tool

Choose the key your song is in (or experiment, start with C or G).
Click the diatonic chord buttons to add chords to your progression. Roman numerals show the scale degree (I = tonic, IV = subdominant, V = dominant).
The tool identifies the progression name and shows famous songs that use the same harmonic pattern.
Switch keys to instantly transpose the same progression, the Roman numeral pattern stays the same; only the chord names change.

All progressions shown are in the major scale (Ionian mode). Minor key progressions use the same chords, but the vi chord becomes the tonal centre.