Why Chord Progressions Matter A chord progression is a sequence of chords. Great songwriters build entire songs on simple, powerful progressions. Learning the most common progressions speeds up your...

What Is the Circle of Fifths? The circle of fifths is a visual diagram that shows the relationships between the 12 musical keys. Each step around the circle represents a fifth interval (7 semitones)....

Understanding Modes Modes are scales derived from the major scale by starting on different scale degrees. The major scale has seven notes (C-D-E-F-G-A-B), and if you start on each note and go up an...

What Is a Key? A key is a group of notes that sound good together, based around a central note called the tonic or root. When a song is "in the key of C," it means all the chords and melodies are...

What Are Intervals? An interval is simply the distance between two notes. When you play any two notes on your guitar, you're playing an interval. Intervals are the building blocks of everything:...

Introduction to Chord Construction Every chord you've ever played is built from a simple formula. Once you understand how chords are constructed, you'll stop memorizing random finger positions and...