What is the most common guitar chord progression used in song-writing?
The most common chord progression you see is typically the 1-4-5. This is a formula for music called the Nashville Number system. It’s really quite simple. It is based on the positions of the notes of musical scales. For example, the scale of G is: G A B C D E F# G Here is that scale with the position numbers of the notes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 G A B C D E F# G In the key of G this is what the Chords of the scale would be. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 G Am Bm C D Em F#dim G This is why you will see a song in the key of G having G, C, and D (or variations of those chords) played frequently. The chords in this progression will change depending on the key, but the 1-4-5 always stays the same. A 12-bar in the key of G could look like this. G (1) C (4) Gx2 (1) Cx2 (4) Gx2 (1) D (5) C (4) G (1) C (4) G (1) D (5) Hope this helps ya. Feel free to ask questions. I’m not always the best at explaining these things.
