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Music vocabulary · Music Theory and Harmony

Chord progression

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈkɔːrd prəˌɡreʃən/nounCore term

In music, chord progression means: A series of chords played one after another that forms the harmonic backbone of a song, often written with Roman numerals such as I–IV–V.

In Turkish: akor dizisi, akor yürüyüşü

How it is used

Songwriters, guitarists and theory teachers use it constantly. A progression can be simple, common or unusual; you write over a progression, loop it or reharmonise it. Roman numerals let musicians use the same progression in any key.

Example sentences

  1. Thousands of pop songs use the same I–V–vi–IV chord progression.

  2. Loop the chord progression for eight bars and try a few melodies over it.

Common collocations

  • common chord progression
  • write over a progression
  • loop a progression
  • two-five-one progression
  • chord progression in C
  • chordThree or more different notes played or sung at the same time. Chords give a piece its harmony and are named after their root note and type, such as C major or A minor.
  • harmonyThe sound of different notes heard together, and the way chords are built and connected. It also means a second vocal line sung above or below the melody.
  • cadenceA pair of chords that ends a musical phrase or section, giving a sense of rest or of a pause, like punctuation in a sentence.
  • keyThe group of notes and chords that a piece is mainly built on, centred on one home note. A song in the key of G major keeps returning to G as its point of rest.
  • triadA three-note chord built from a root note plus the notes a third and a fifth above it. The four types are major, minor, diminished and augmented.

More terms: Music Theory and Harmony

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