| A knowledge of chord progressions will help you communicate and play with other musicians. |
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| It is a must for participating in any kind of jam session. |
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| Knowing the most commonly used chord progressions and forms allows for greater enjoyment and unity when playing with other musicians. |
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| Most songs use three or more chords though some songs exist that only use two chords. |
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| Often musicians will embellish chords by adding or removing notes and to provide further interest may vary the rhythm. |
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| One chord "structures" are uncommon but they do exist. |
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| For instance, Frere Jacques is a one-chord song because it can be played against a single major chord. |
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| The melody "Taps", traditionally used at American military funerals, and which is very evocative, consists only of the notes which comprise the C-major chord (C, E, G). |
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| One chord songs are rare on guitar. |
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| The most common chord progression is the I-IV-V. |
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| Note that Roman Numerals are used to describe these chord progressions. |
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| Many songs use only these three chords. |
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| If one views chords as a set of balancing scales with the root note and octave root at opposing ends it will be noted that the IV and V chords are at equal distance respectively to the root and octave root. |
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| Take for example the key of C major: |
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| C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C |
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| You will see that the G note (or chord) is a fifth above the root note. |
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| The note F is a fifth below the octave. |
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| This movement of a fifth is very pleasing to the human ear in its sense of balance and cohesion in relation to the root note. |
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| Another way to view chord progressions is that of a journey. |
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| In the sense that the root (or tonic) chord is the starting point and the octave root is at the end. |
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| All other points (chords) provide interest and variation with the fourth and the fifth chord occupying a special place on the journey due to them being half-way. |
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| Many chord progressions start at the tonic (I), moves away to somewhere else, only to come back to the tonic. |
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| You can play this progression with major chords or you can substitute minor chords for the IV or V. |
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