20 Chord Progressions to Steal, and What Each One Is Good For

How to read the Roman numerals

Roman numerals name a chord by its position in the key, so the same progression works in any key. Upper case is major, lower case is minor. In C major: I is C, ii is D minor, iii is E minor, IV is F, V is G, vi is A minor. A flat in front (♭VII) means the root is lowered a half step: B♭ instead of B. A slash (V/vi) means "the dominant of vi", a chord borrowed to point at another chord.

That is all you need for the twenty below. Each card is quoted as it appears in the deck; the "Good for" line and the version in C are ours. If the borrowed chords (♭VI, ♭VII, iv) intrigue you, modal interchange explains where they come from.

Four-chord songs

The progressions a listener can predict after one bar. That is not a weakness: it means the melody and the lyric get all the attention.

• 01 Roman Numeral I - IV - V Build a progression using the classic major key chords. Forms the foundation of countless songs across genres. Good for: anything that has to be learned in one listen. Folk, punk, country, children's songs, the first song you write in a new genre. In C: C, F, G.
• 02 Roman Numeral I - V - vi - IV Compose with the "axis of awesome" four-chord pop progression. Widely used for its balanced emotional journey. Good for: the modern anthem. It starts home, leaves, gets sad, comes back hopeful. "Let It Be", "Don't Stop Believin'" and several hundred others. In C: C, G, Am, F.
• 03 Roman Numeral vi - IV - I - V Create using this popular progression (sometimes called "sensitive female progression"). Begins with relative minor for emotional quality. Good for: the same four chords, started on the minor one. Instantly more melancholic, and the chorus can land on the I as a release. In C: Am, F, C, G.
• 04 Roman Numeral I - iii - IV - V (50s Progression variation) Use this progression common in 50s pop, doo-wop, and beyond. Creates a bright, slightly nostalgic quality. Good for: nostalgia. The iii chord is the one that sounds like a slow dance in 1958. In C: C, Em, F, G.
• 05 Roman Numeral I - ii - iii - IV (Ascending Diatonic Bass) Use this ascending diatonic progression, often with stepwise bass motion. Creates a feeling of building or climbing. Good for: a verse that needs to climb. The bass walks up one step per chord; put the chorus at the top of the stairs. In C: C, Dm, Em, F.

Minor and modal loops

Loops that generate their own momentum, usually from a bass line that walks down. If you make electronic music, this section is where your next three tracks are.

• 06 Roman Numeral i - VII - VI - V (Natural Minor Descending) Create a minor key descending progression using natural minor scale chords. Creates a gradual release of tension. Good for: a minor loop that moves on its own. The descending bass line is the hook. "Hit the Road Jack", most flamenco, half of all film trailers. In A minor: Am, G, F, E.
• 07 Roman Numeral i - ♭VII - ♭VI - V (Andalusian Cadence - Minor) Use this classic descending progression common in Flamenco and rock/pop. Creates a dramatic, falling tension arc. Good for: the same descent with the major V at the end: more drama, a real cadence. This is the flamenco version. In A minor: Am, G, F, E7.
• 08 Roman Numeral i - ♭VI - ♭VII - i (Aeolian/Natural Minor Loop) Create a common loop in natural minor, often found in rock and pop. Creates a circular, hypnotic quality. Good for: a hypnotic loop that never quite resolves. Synthwave, doom, lo-fi. In A minor: Am, F, G, Am.
• 09 Roman Numeral i - ♭VI - ♭III - ♭VII (Minor Key Borrowed) Create using this common minor key progression with borrowed chords from the parallel major (Aeolian harmony). Good for: epic minor. Every chord is major except the first; the loop sounds bigger than the room it is played in. Video game and trailer territory. In A minor: Am, F, C, G.
• 10 Roman Numeral I - ♭VII - IV - I (Mixolydian Rock) Use this progression common in rock music that implies a Mixolydian modal feel. The ♭VII adds bluesy character. Good for: rock that wants to sound like it was written on a porch. The ♭VII is the bluesy chord that tells you the key has a flat seventh. "Sweet Child O' Mine" lives here. In D: D, C, G, D.
• 11 Roman Numeral I - ♭III - ♭VII - IV (Modal Interchange Rock) Implement this modal interchange progression common in rock, borrowing from parallel minor. Creates contrast and color. Good for: power chords. Two borrowed chords from the parallel minor give a major riff its teeth. In E: E, G, D, A.

Turnarounds and cadences

Short progressions whose job is arrival: back to the top of the form, or home at the end. Learn these and your sections will stop feeling like they were cut with scissors.

• 12 Roman Numeral ii - V - I (Major) Compose using the fundamental jazz progression in a major key. Can be elaborated with 7ths and extensions. Good for: jazz, obviously, but also any bridge that needs to sound like it knows where it is going. Add sevenths: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7. In C: Dm, G, C.
• 13 Roman Numeral I - vi - ii - V Use this common progression found in jazz "rhythm changes" and doo-wop progressions. Often loops or leads back to I. Good for: a turnaround: the four chords that bring a section back to the start. Doo-wop ("Blue Moon"), "Heart and Soul", the A section of rhythm changes. In C: C, Am, Dm, G.
• 14 Roman Numeral IV - iv - I (Minor Plagal Cadence) Implement this cadence featuring a major to minor subdominant resolution to tonic. Creates a bittersweet quality. Good for: an ending that hurts a little. The iv chord (F minor in C) is the bittersweet moment before home. The Beatles ended songs with it constantly. In C: F, Fm, C.
• 15 Roman Numeral Backdoor Progression (♭VII7 - I) Use the "backdoor" dominant approach to tonic (e.g., B♭7 to C major). Creates jazz-influenced resolution without the traditional V7 tension. Good for: resolving to the tonic without the obvious V. The ♭VII7 slides in from the side, hence "backdoor". Sophisticated pop, neo-soul, jazz ballads. In C: B♭7, C.
• 16 Roman Numeral Modal Cadence (e.g., IVMaj7 - IMaj7 in Lydian) Create a cadence that establishes a modal feel rather than traditional major/minor tonality. Examples include ♭VIIMaj7 - IMaj7 for Mixolydian; iimin7 - vmin7 - imin7 for Dorian. Good for: a cadence that sounds like a mode, not a key. IVmaj7 to Imaj7 in Lydian is the sound of dreaming; ♭VIImaj7 to Imaj7 in Mixolydian is the sound of a road trip. In C Lydian: Fmaj7, Cmaj7.

The advanced moves

Four progressions that reward a month of practice. The deck marks them Advanced or Expert; so do we.

• 17 Roman Numeral Tritone Substitution Progression Replace dominant chords with their tritone substitutes (e.g., use D♭7 instead of G7 to resolve to C). Creates chromatic bassline movement and altered color. Good for: a chromatic bassline for free. Swap G7 for D♭7 before C and the bass walks D♭ to C. Once you hear it you will hear it in every jazz standard's turnaround.
• 18 Roman Numeral I - V/vi - vi - V/IV - IV - V/V - V - I (Chain of Secondary Dominants) Create an extended progression using secondary dominants to approach vi, IV, and V. Creates forward harmonic momentum. Good for: forward motion in a long phrase. Each secondary dominant is a small "and then". Ragtime, musical theatre, Bach chorales, and a surprising amount of Motown.
• 19 Roman Numeral Jazz Blues Progression Use a standard Jazz Blues progression: | I7 | IV7 | I7 | I7 | IV7 | iv7 (or #iv°7) | I7 | vi7 | ii7 | V7 | I7 (ii7 V7) | I7 (VI7 ii7 V7) |. Create sophisticated harmonic movement. Good for: learning what jazz does to a blues. Twelve bars, the same form your ear knows, with a ii-V in the last four bars. Learn it in F first; every horn player did.
• 20 Roman Numeral Coltrane Changes (Giant Steps) Implement chord progressions based on major thirds relationships (e.g., B major to G major to E♭ major). Creates rapid harmonic movement through distant key centers. Good for: a week of practice and a lifetime of showing off. Keys a major third apart, each approached by its own V. "Giant Steps". Do not try this before the ii-V-I above feels boring.

For the harmony beyond these, five advanced chord progressions covers the Neapolitan sixth, the augmented sixth and secondary dominants in more depth.

Generate a random progression

The deck has 52 Roman numeral cards and 48 chord cards (Sus2, Maj7♯11, the Hendrix chord, polychords). The challenge generator pulls one at random from the public slice of the deck, and the studio pulls from all of them, filtered by genre and difficulty. A random progression plus a random tempo plus a random instrument is a brief; a brief plus twenty minutes is a sketch.