Circle progressions are useful because they show us the general flow of chords in a song. From one chord to the next, we can see where things are going. And while each pattern may be unique, one rule always holds true—every song has a definite sense of movement and direction.

In other words, good music always moves forward with purpose. Sometimes, it marches at a brisk pace. And at other times, it might move at a leisurely stroll. But it never just wanders around aimlessly. From start to finish, music really knows where it’s headed. And that’s because each song begins and ends in the very same place—the tonic (I).

And why not? It is, after all, number one … literally. In any key, the tonic (I) is the star of the show, the big cheese, the boss. Which we can easily see with Color Music. As the chords follow the outline of a melody—moving away from, and then back toward, the tonic—a song goes through cycles of tension and release. And this creates a yin-yang motion that propels the music forward.

Together, the melody and progression follow the same path. In fact, they work hand-in-hand, like partners on a common journey. Moving in harmony, they stick together … always sharing the same destination—the tonic chord (I). It just sounds right.

The only question now is, “what’s next?” I mean, once we know these basic patterns, how do we turn them into bigger and better songs. Playing a few notes over a couple of measures is nice. But how do we go from a few measures to entire songs?

Well, the answer, my friends, is what we’ll look at next….

In our last song, “Pachelbel’s Canon,” we added even more chords to a progression to create some very cool sounds. By rearranging the major scale pattern, we ended up with something beautiful. And it’s a simple trick, really. All we did was take a few major and minor chords, switch them around a bit, and voilà! Like magic, we made something totally new out of an old, familiar pattern.

Of course, this isn’t magic at all … and nothing about it is random. Like everything else in music, there’s a simple logic to things. And with Color Music, we can see exactly what we’re doing. As it turns out, the colored notes reveal the natural flow between chords. Seriously … it’s sweet.

For example, can yousee how each measure of “Pachelbel’s Canon” passes between two, closely-related chords? Well, this kind of movement is really common in songs. In fact, if we go a little further, we can even rearrange all the chords … so that each one follows the color wheel sequence from the circle of fifths. Like a pleasant stroll through the color spectrum, this progression is pure bliss.

In the key of C, for example, notice how the root notes of each chord are rearranged in a circle-of-fifths pattern. because it has such a smooth flow, this kind of “circle progression” shows up in music all the time.

By cycling through these chords again and again, we can create some very cool progressions. And, of course, musicians have many other options to choose from. But a general “formula” for chord movement tends to look like this:

Jumping around between these different chords, we can move in a variety of ways. But this general “roadmap” shows us how songs typically lead toward the tonic chord (I)—from left to right. Eventually, we always return to the tonic (I) … our home sweet home.

To get a feel for the movement of chords in each key, try playing through the following progressions. Starting at each separate tonic (I), we can easily bounce from one chord to the next … gradually making our way back to the same tonic chord (I). As you play, try hitting each chord with both your left and right hands. After a little practice, you’ll be well on your way to building bigger and better songs.

When we say the primary chords (I, IV, V) are popular, we ain’t kidding. They show up all the time in music. And while a lot of simple folk and pop songs use these triads, the most common example of a primary chord progression is what musicians call the “12-bar blues.” Without a doubt, you’ve heard of this, right? It’s played by repeating the same three chords over 12 measures. In a nutshell, it looks like this:

People call this “the blues” because it goes really well with the “blues scale.” And by adding a seventh chord here and there, we can create a tense, “bluesy” sound that feels like warm gravy poured directly onto the brain. In the key of C, for example, a blues progression and melody sound something like this:

Just like usual, we start at the tonic (I) chord. Then we make a short visit to our friend, the subdominant (IV) chord. After a couple of measures, we return to the tonic (I) … before passing through the dominant (V), again to the subdominant (IV), and finally home to the tonic (I) chord. Like a pleasant walk through the neighborhood, we eventually end up at home where we began.

The blues progression is so popular because it just sounds good. And it can be repeated as many times as you want. Once you make it through the first 12 measures, feel free to keep going … looping back through the same cycle over and over again.

By mixing it up a little—occasionally playing a seventh chord or tweaking the melody a bit—this progression makes for hours of fun. Using only those basic primary chords, we can play some very cool music. But of course, we have many more options, too. All we have to do is add a few chords to a song….

In music, primary chords are so popular it’s almost a cliché. In fact, a lot of musicians live on a simple diet of just those three chords—the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V). Like a nice plate of rice and beans, we can serve these three triads up in a variety of ways … and the dish is always tasty.

For example, imagine a hot meal of burritos, tacos, or enchiladas. Each recipe is awesome. But really, they’re all made from the same ingredients. By rearranging the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) chords in different ways, we can create all sorts of songs that sound new and interesting. It’s pretty cool. The ingredients are the same, but the final product is totally different.

To see what I mean, check out the next classic song. Using the same, old primary chords, we can easily play a tune that everyone needs to know … “Happy Birthday.” As you move through each measure, try getting a feel for the chord progression. And after a little practice, you’ll be ready to perform it at your next birthday party. (Get out the balloons and confetti.)

Oh, yeah … and do you notice anything special about this song? That’s right—it has a 3/4 time signature. Which means we play it as a kind of waltz. Feel free to count out the beats in each measure to hear how it sounds. With three quarter-note beats per measure, this song goes something like this:

Also, the first two notes at the very beginning are called “pick-up notes.” We don’t actually count them as part of a real measure. Instead, they’re played before the first downbeat of the first measure. To hear it for yourself, play through this song a couple of times. And the result will sound great. With another chord progression—and a new time signature—under our belts, we’re starting to get really good … fast.

You’ve got to admit, the flow between the tonic chord (I) and the dominant chord (V) is nice. And that’s because the movement from one triad to the next is like a short visit with a good friend. But after a while it’s fun to with hang out with other friends, too. So musicians like to mix it up a bit—adding even more chords to their songs.

In music, the next most popular choice is definitely the subdominant chord (IV)—because it’s closely related to both the tonic (I) and dominant (V) in the circle of fifths. Together, these three chords sound great. And since they’re the only major triads in a major scale progression, we can easily hear a special connection between them.

To see what I mean, try moving back and forth between the tonic (I), dominant (V), and subdominant (IV) triads. When they’re played one after another, it’s like music to our ears….

In fact, the flow from one chord to the next is so smooth that musicians sometimes call these triads the “primary chords” of any key. And they show up all the time in music. For example, turn on the radio and listen. Nearly every song in rock, folk, country, jazz, rap, and classical music is based on these three simple chords. It’s amazing!

To see how they work, let’s again look at that classic tune, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Mozart. We already know this song has a great melody. But when we add those three simple chords of C major (I), F major (IV), and G major (V), it totally shines.

Before playing, try moving your left hand between these three chords a few times. That way, your muscles will remember where to move as you make your way through the song. And remember that the less you move your hand, the less likely you’ll be to hit a wrong note. So some of the chords are played as simple inversions.

Don’t worry about taking it one measure at a time. If you make a mistake, just go back and play those notes again—it’s all good. By adding another chord to the mix, we need a little more focus. But the result is worth it. Because the variety is good for our ears and our music stays fresh.

After you’ve rocked out a bit, try playing these same three chords in each key. Like a group of superstars, the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) chords sound great together. What can I say? The “primary chords” are just cool.

After playing through each major scale progression, you might have noticed something cool. For some crazy reason, Mother Nature totally loves us. Instead of throwing us some curveball, she decided to make things easy. When it comes to chord progressions, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Because they’re really just based on the same, old scale patterns we already know by heart.

In fact, we can even chop up and rearrange the chords in a progression to create new and interesting patterns … just like we did with the notes in a melody. As long as we favor the tonic chord (I), everything will sound nice. And that’s because the tonic chord (I) in a progression is like the tonic note (1) of a scale. It plays a central function in any particular key. The other chords simply play supporting roles in between.

You might even think of the tonic chord (I) as a strong and constant center of gravity. Like the center of its own little solar system, it creates a pull between the other chords … giving any progression a real sense of movement and direction. As we move away from and then back toward the tonic, we create a feeling of tension and release. And this back-and-forth motion between activity and relaxation brings our music to life.

In almost any song we play, the goal is to get back to our home—the tonic chord (I). All of the other chords in the progression exist as part of a roadmap to deliver us to our destination. The route can be simple (through just a chord or two) … or it can be complex (involving lots and lots of chords). But in the end, we always want to return to the tonic (I). Our “home sweet home.”

To see what I mean, let’s play a few simple chord progressions, shall we? Starting with the basic “I–V” pattern….

It’s fun to add chords to a song. Because each one helps “fatten out” the melody and propel the music forward. But at some point, you may be wondering how we decide on which chords to use. In other words, do we just randomly throw chords into a song … or is there some logic to things?

For example, in the song “London Bridge,” why do we play those particular chords—C major, D minor, and G major? As all the cool kids say, what is up with that? Well, the answer is simple. Because just like the melody of this song, its chord progression is also based on the C major scale.

To see what I mean, check it out: Our song “London Bridge” was written in the key of C. So each note in this melody comes from the C major scale. The pattern of notes has simply been chopped up and rearranged into something that sounds nice. And if you look closely, each chord is also built from that same basic pattern of notes.

That’s right, the root notes of the C major chord, D minor chord, and G major chord all come from the same C major scale. In that order, these triads are built from the tonic (1) note, major second (2) note, and dominant fifth (5) note.

We can also see that the notes in each of these chords come from the C major scale. For example, C major includes notes C–E–G … while D minor includes D–F–A. And of course, our friend G major has notes G–B–D. By combining these three triads in the key of C, we come up with a pleasant chord progression that makes the song “London Bridge” sound really nice.

In fact, if we go one step further, we can build a chord on every note of the C major scale … and come up with a cool pattern of both major and minor triads:

As we move through each of these chords—one after another—the result sounds a lot like the old, familiar C major scale … but on steroids. Just like the separate notes that make up the major scale pattern of 1  2  34  5  6  78, this pattern of chords sounds awesome. Each chord naturally leads to the next, like a path of stepping-stones that gives life and movement to this progression.

So in some strange twist of fate, we find that chord patterns are actually the same as note patterns. Like a one-trick pony, Mother Nature simply recycles the same, old scales we’ve already learned into the chord progressions musicians use to create songs. It’s amazing!

In a way, this might seem a bit disappointing … since it’s all the same stuff that we’ve seen before. But it’s also very exciting—because it means that we don’t have to learn a whole new bag of tricks. All we need to do is build on what we already know. And with Color Music, it’s a total cakewalk.

Musicians are always creating cool, new sounds by using different chord patterns in a song. Together with scales and melodies, chords and progressions are like the nuts and bolts of music. All we have to do is combine these patterns, and we really start to see the payoff of everything we’ve learned so far.

You see, it works like this: We started off with just 12 notes spaced at basic intervals. (You remember those good, old days.) Then using simple patterns, we built a few basic scales (like the major scale). Then from those scales, it was easy to make nice little melodies … and then a few chords after that. Then, by putting all these patterns together, we’ve been able to play entire songs.

And, of course, all of this has been easy to see using Color Music. It’s kind of like that famous picture showing the evolution of man. We start out with the basics … and end up with total excellence.

But, of course, making music is a little more than just throwing a few note patterns together. I mean, notes, scales, melodies, and chords aren’t exactly like the ingredients of a recipe … that we simply toss into a dish and stir. It turns out, there’s more of a method to the madness. And a lot of it has to do with chord progressions….

The nice thing about seventh chords is that they have just four notes … which means they’re as easy to play as our old friends, the basic triads. And while you’ll sometimes see different types of seventh chords in music, the most common one is definitely the dominant seventh chord.

For some reason, notes “1-3-5-b7” just sound good together. Like peanut butter and jelly, the major chord and the minor-seventh note combine to create something great. That one extra note adds enough tension to make things sound more interesting and fun.

To get a feel for how the dominant-seventh chord is used in a song, try playing the next piece. Again, it’s that classic melody “London Bridge”—where most of the chords are basic major and minor triads. But notice how the G chord is (an inverted)dominant G7, which adds extra flavor. In fact, I’d even say it sounds positively delicious.

In most of the music you’ll play, each chord will have only three notes. The average song includes only basic major triads and minor triads. And occasionally, you might see a few augmented triads and diminished chords. But for the most part, musicians keep it simple … and they stick with the major chords and minor chords we know and love.

But every once in a while (especially in jazz music), you might also see bigger, fancier chords. And these larger groups of notes are called “extended” chords.

Extended chords are nice because they make things more interesting. They might not be used quite as often, but they sound pretty cool. So they’re definitely good to know. We play extended chords by taking basic triads and “extending” them … that is, by adding more notes on top.

For example, do you remember how we first played the C major triad? We built that chord by hitting every other note of the C major scale. Well, if we were keep going (adding a seventh note to the group), we’d come up with what’s called the “C major seventh” chord. Get it?

(We could also build even bigger chords by adding more and more notes—like “ninth” chords … “eleventh” chords … and “thirteenth” chords. But because seventh chords sound better and are easier to play, those bigger chords are much less common.)

Anyway … by adding seventh chords to our toolbox, we suddenly have way more options. For example, check out the “C majorseventh,” “C dominant seventh,” and “C minor seventh” chords below. Like their cousins, the basic triads, these seventh chords include just a few notes … and each one is easy to play. You can tell them all apart by their different intervals and special name labels:

Just like before, musicians label each chord with special little symbols … to tell each one apart: And again, there isn’t a standard set of chord symbols in music. So you might see a few different labels from time to time. For example, check out the following chord labels. Each one is pretty common … but they all mean the same thing:

With four notes each (instead of three), these chords are a little more work for our fingers. But with some practice, that’s no problem. In fact, they’re all easy to play once you try them a few times. And because the dominant seventh chord is especially popular in music, let’s check it out in each key. That way, our fingers will get stronger … and we can take on the next few songs….