Chord progressions
A progression is a sequence of chords. These studies group related sequences by harmonic shape, so you can compare what changes when a chord moves, borrows a note, or resolves somewhere new.
Each page shows the chords, the scales that fit, and a link to hear and explore the study in Turnaround.
Explore by harmonic shape
- 12-Bar BluesI7–IV7–V7 over twelve bars
- 2-5-1 Progressionsii–V–I and the turnarounds built on it
- Three-Chord Songs (1-4-5)I, IV and V, and nothing else
- Four-Chord SongsI, V, vi and IV, in every rotation
- Minor Chord ProgressionsMinor tonic with ♭III, ♭VI and ♭VII
- Dorian ProgressionsA minor key with a major IV
- Borrowed ChordsMajor key, one chord from somewhere else
- Andalusian CadenceDescending flamenco line landing on a major V (harmonic-minor flavour). Dramatic and Spanish.
- Pachelbel's CanonThe 300-year-old eight-chord sequence reused in countless pop songs.
- Blue BossaThe jam-session Latin standard, smooth minor 7ths resolving through a minor ii–V.
- Rising SunThe full 'House of the Rising Sun' cycle: an arpeggiated minor climb with a Dorian IV, cadencing on a major V.