List of chord progressions

The following is a list of commonly used chord progressions in music.

List of musical chord progressions

Name	Image	Sound	# of chords	Quality
50s progression	A 50s progression in C: I-vi-IV-VI.	Play	4	M
I–IV–♭VII–IV	in C: I–IV–♭VII–IV.	Play	3	M
ii–V–I with tritone substitution (♭II7 instead of V7)	in C: ii-♭II-I	Play	3	M
♭III+ as dominant substitute	in C: ii-♭III+-I	Play	3	M
viio7/V-V-I	viio7/V-V-I, common in ragtime	Play	3	M
Andalusian cadence	Andalusian cadence: iv-III-♭II-I.	Play	4	PD
Backdoor progression (front door is V7)	Backdoor progression in C: ii-♭VII I.	Play	3	M
Bird changes	Bird Blues in Bb: I viiø-III7 vi-II7 v-I7, IV7 iv-♭VII7 iii-VI7 ♭iii-♭VI7, ii V7 I-VI7 ii-V.	Play	?	M
Chromatic descending 5-6 sequence	Chromatic descending 5-6 sequence in A: I-V-♭VII-IV.	Play	4	M
Circle progression	Circle progression [excerpt] in C: vi-ii-V-I.	Play	4	M
Coltrane changes	Coltrane changes in C: I-V/♭VI ♭VI-V/III III-V I.	Play	6	M
Eight-bar blues	I-V-IV-IV-I-V-I-V	Play	3	M
Folia	Later Folia: i V i ♭VII ♭III ♭VII i V i V i ♭VII ♭III ♭VII i-V i.	Play	4	m
ii–V–I progression	ii-V-I turnaround in C: ii-V I.	Play	3	M
Irregular resolution	Irregular resolution Type I: Two common tones, two note moves by half step motion: V7-III7.	Play	2	M
Montgomery-Ward bridge	Montgomery-Ward bridge in C: I-IV ii-V.	Play	4	M
Omnibus progression	Omnibus progression.	Play	?	M
Pachelbel's Canon	Pachelbel's Canon: I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V.	Play	5	M
Passamezzo antico	Passamezzo antico: i VII i V III VII i-V i.	Play	4	m
Passamezzo moderno	Passamezzo moderno in C: I IV I V I IV I-V I.	Play	3	M
I–V–vi–IV progression	I-V-vi-IV chord progression in C: I-V vi-IV.	Play	4	M
Ragtime progression	Ragtime progression in C: V/V/V/V V/V/V V/V V.	Play	5	M
Rhythm changes	Rhythm changes in C: V/V/V/V-V/V/V-V/V-V I.	Play	?	M
Romanesca	Romanesca: III VII i V III VII i-V i.	Play	3	M
Sixteen-bar blues	I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I	Play	3	M
Stomp progression	IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-I7 IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-I7 IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-V7/V/V V7/V-V7 I7	Play	6	M
Twelve-bar blues	Twelve-bar blues in C: I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I.	Play	3	M
Turnaround (music)	I-vi7-ii-V7 turnaround in C: I-vi-ii-V I.	Play	4	M
♭VII–V7 cadence	♭VII-V cadence: ♭VII-V-I.	Play   Play	2-3	M
V–IV–I turnaround	V-IV-I turnaround in C: V-IV I.	Play	3	M
I ♭VII ♭IV ♭VII	I ♭VII ♭IV ♭VII in C.	Play	3	B

Further reading

• R., Ken (2012). DOG EAR Tritone Substitution for Jazz Guitar, Amazon Digital Services, Inc., ASIN: B008FRWNIW.

See also

• List of musical intervals
• List of pitch intervals
• List of musical scales and modes
• Cadence (music)