Why you should learn the I-IV-V chord progression
Discover the formula used by many pop, alternative, indie, country, hymns, gospel, blues, rock, reggae, and more, which lets you play those songs by ear.
Playing by Ear, with Brad Mavin: 1-4-5 Chord Progressions
Want to play songs by ear? This video series shows you how, step-by-step. In the last episode Brad Mavin explained the Cycle of Keys (a.k.a. Circle of Fifths, Cycle of Fifths) and now he’ll extend that concept to “1-4-5” chord progressions, the...
Learn to Harmonize By Ear (DaveConservatoire.org)
Harmonization is the process of putting chords to a tune. Learn how to harmonize songs by ear yourself with this easy video tutorial and interactive app.
What is a chord progression?
A chord progression (or just “progression”) is a sequence of chords played one after another. If there are just two, it’s called a cadence rather than a progression. There are particular common chord progressions which are used again and again in...
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part two)
Here’s part two of Brad’s article on playing melodies and improvising by ear using the notes of a song’s chords. It’s part of our series on learning to play by ear. You should start with part one if you haven’t already read it! Welcome...
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part one)
This week in our playing-by-ear series guitar teacher Brad Mavin shares a process he uses for learning to play songs by ear on guitar. A fun exercise that I like to do with students is to play along with a popular four chord song. Identify the key and make music using...
The Sexy Secret of "One, Four, Five" (Lisa McCormick)
Being able to play by ear is one of the most desirable skills among musicians. But many people assume it’s a gift: you’ve either got it or you don’t. In this series so far I hope we’ve convinced you otherwise. You can learn to play by ear!...
Listen Close: "Pagan Poetry" by Björk
Find out what makes “Pagan Poetry” by Björk such a special track, and how you can use it to improve your musical listening skills through ear training.
Don’t get stuck writing ‘four-chord songs’
If you write songs, you’ve probably been faced with the troubling ‘blank page’ syndrome when choosing chords. Learn how to get unstuck and write better songs.
The most important four-chord progression: vi-IV-I-V
Did you know there is one four-chord progression used more than any other in pop and rock music? Find out what it is and how to use it to play songs by ear.
