Music keys that go together how to#

Key or tonic is often where a song starts and the phrases end. Look at the next section for the chord names.ġ – The “key” of a song is based on what the center chord is.

Music keys that go together how to#

This section covers how to figure out which chords belong in a progression.

These progressions are almost always used as the basis for songwriting. These progressions have been around in Western music (USA and Europe) for hundreds and hundreds of years. These are where good musicians are able to figure out which chords go together. With some basic knowledge, we can look at harmonic progressions. Eb → G = 4 half steps.ĥ – A chord’s major or minor is shown by uppercase and lowercase letters.Ī G minor chord may be written as “g.” Progressions: What Guitar Chords Sound Good Together E → G = 3 half steps.Ĭ Minor would be: C – Eb – G. On a very basic level, major chords sound more complete or bright while minor chords sound more melancholy.Ī major chord is built on a major third (4 half steps) and then a minor third (3 half steps) on top.Ĭ Major would be: C – E – G. If we used a G7 chord, we’d have the notes: G – B – D – F.Ī C7 chord would use the notes: C – E – G – Bb.Īdding another note would make it a 9 chord. Some chords will go past three notes into adding a fourth one. If you have the notes, G – B – D in a chord, we’d call this a G chord. Therefore, a C chord is built on C – E- G.Ģ – Chords are named for their starting or lowest note. Then, we skip up a third again to get the next note, G. We skip up a third (or two more notes) to get the next note, E.

This means if the first note of the C chord is C. Played at the same time, these notes form a chord that has specific sounds depending on how it’s built.Ĭhords are an advanced topic, but there are some basic rules which guide 99% of chords in guitar music. What Is A Chord?Ī chord is a group of at least three different notes. However, if you just want to look at and try out some chords that work well together, go ahead and hop to the later section. I strongly encourage my students and you to learn about some of the ideas in this section. This section covers the basics of different chords and how they’re built. This may sound over what you understand, but don’t worry! The rest of the article deals with easy ways to understand these concepts and also practical ways to just use them. Use the progressions in any keys to figuring out what chords go together. Guitar chords that go together are related in what musicians call a harmonic progression. Knowing this, I figured there are many of you out there who’d like to learn more about this as well, so I decided to make this guide on what chords sound good together on guitar and why. This is why I’ve always tried to teach the importance and reasoning behind why certain guitar chords sound good when played in a single song. A lot of guitar students spend time learning how to play individual chords and learn the chords of songs, but they often fail to understand why the songwriters chose the chords they did.Īs a music teacher and guitar player for many years, I’ve seen this lack of knowledge prove limiting to many of my students.