Simplifying Chord Progressions

Alright then. If you're struggling to follow a four-chord progression, a helpful approach is to simplify it.

Two Chord Progression

• Try reducing the progression by half:
  • Focus on a two-chord progression to maintain clarity and ease.

Example:

Let's play the first two chords of the last example:

• C to A minor.

If we loop those around, we can explore playing the chord tones of these:

Chord Tones

This is really interesting because we've got a lot of tones in common. In fact, two of the three tones will feature in both chords. There's only one note that changes between these, which is pretty cool!

Here we go: 1, 2, 3, 4.
There's our C major, A minor.

Embellishing the Progression

Something simple we can do:

• Two of the chord tones in common: C and E are present in both chords.
• This sounds reminiscent of an indie rock intro.

To add some flair, I embellished those tones with a note that's not a chord tone on either side, and then resolved it back.

Playing the Basics

Let's go back and just play the chord tones of these chords:
1, 2, 3.

You could spend all day experimenting with just those two chords and playing the chord tones in various positions. It's great fun!

Musical Potential

You'll quickly see that even simple ideas can start to sound really musical. That could be an intro to a song you might start writing at that point, who knows?

Encouragement to Get Creative

Have fun with it anyway! Get creative.

• Don't worry about making mistakes.
  • Mistakes will happen, whether you're working on improvisation or anything else on the guitar.

This is a good thing; it means you're pushing yourself.

As long as you recognize it and understand what you did, you can hopefully avoid doing it again.

But most importantly, just have fun with it. It's really enjoyable!