Chord & Progression Guides
The chord library tells you what each chord is. These guides show how chords work together — the progressions that power blues, jazz, rock and pop. Every guide has diagrams you can see and chords you can hear.
The I–IV–V Chord Progression
The three-chord backbone of blues, rock and pop — C, F and G, and why they resolve.
Read the guide ›The ii–V–I Progression
The heart of jazz: Dm7–G7–Cmaj7, roots moving in fifths, and smooth voice-leading.
Read the guide ›12-Bar Blues Chords
C7, F7, G7, the classic bar-by-bar pattern, and why the blues sevenths every chord.
Read the guide ›Major vs Minor Chords
The one-note difference that flips a chord’s whole mood — with C major vs C minor side by side.
Read the guide ›The Pop Progression (I–V–vi–IV)
C, G, Am, F — the four-chord loop behind countless modern songs, plus its vi–IV–I–V rotation.
Read the guide ›The 50s / Doo-Wop Progression
I–vi–IV–V: the sentimental sway of 1950s ballads, and how it differs from the modern pop loop.
Read the guide ›Dominant 7th vs Major 7th
C7 vs Cmaj7 — the flat-7 blues tension versus the natural-7 glow, one note apart.
Read the guide ›Sus2 vs Sus4 Chords
Suspended chords have no third — hear why they hang, and how they resolve.
Read the guide ›Diminished vs Augmented
One flats the fifth, one sharps it — tense vs dreamy, and why both feel unstable.
Read the guide ›