Chord progressions are simply the way chords want to move. Every musician uses them whether they know it or not. The trick is to recognize them and then use them in other situations and modify them slightly for an original sound.

For example, the Happy Birthday song played in the key of F progresses like this: F, C7, F, Bb, F, Cb, F

In the key of G it would progress G, D7, G, C, G, D7, G.

In other words, the song starts on the I chord (the tonic or root chord of whatever key you are playing it in), progresses to the V7 chord, back to the I chord, then to the IV chord, back to I, then V7, ending with I.

In Silent Night the chord progression would be I, V7, I, IV, I, IV, I, V7 I, V7, I.

We could go through song after song like that, and what you would find is that the most used chord is the I chord, followed by the V7 chord, and followed by the IV chord. Plus most songs start and end on the I chord. That in itself is valuable information, because you immediately know what the most likely chords are in any song, in any key. Most musicians don’t know that, unfortunately — and it’s not rocket science.

So start analyzing what chords occur in the songs you play. If you read music, notice the chords carefully — generally you can figure out the chord even if the chord name is not given simply by adding up all the notes vertically at any given point. For example, if you have a song with D and A in the bass clef, and C and F# in the treble clef, by adding those notes up you can determine you are playing a D7 chord.

Same idea when you are playing by ear. Look at your hands and figure out what chord you are playing by adding up the notes at any given point.

Soon you will learn that chord progression patterns emerge — time after time the same chords are used, and follow in the same order. Make a list of the songs with similar chord progressions — a great teacher in Hollywood I had years ago taught me that — and it has been worth a great deal to me. If I know the chords in “Blue Mood”, for example, follow the same pattern as in “Heart and Soul”, then I have just learned two song instead of one — and there are literally hundreds and hundreds of songs that follow almost exactly the same pattern.

The 12-Bar Blues chord progression forms the basis for THOUSANDS of songs in the blues, jazz, R&B, gospel, rock and other styles as well. Here is the pattern:
• 4 bars of the I chord
• 2 bars of the IV chord
• 2 bars of the I chord
• 1 bar of the V7 chord
• 1 bar of the IV chord
• 2 bars of the I chord
• Rinse and repeat as many times as desired.

Chord Progressions And How They Work from chordman on Vimeo.

If you need some help in this area, come on over to Chord Progressions & The Riffs & Runs That Flow Out Of Them.