New to the circle? Start with the circle of fifths for guitar. All you need here is the idea that a key's chords are neighbors on the ring: the major chords IV, I, V side by side, and the minors ii, vi, iii just inside them.
Read progressions as numbers, not letters
Roman numerals name a chord by its place in the key: I is the home chord, V is the chord a fifth above it. A progression written as numbers works in every key. Learn I–V–vi–IV once and you know it in all twelve.
Four progressions, in five keys
| Key | I–IV–V | I–V–vi–IV | I–vi–IV–V | ii–V–I |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C F G | C G Am F | C Am F G | Dm G C |
| G | G C D | G D Em C | G Em C D | Am D G |
| D | D G A | D A Bm G | D Bm G A | Em A D |
| A | A D E | A E F♯m D | A F♯m D E | Bm E A |
| E | E A B | E B C♯m A | E C♯m A B | F♯m B E |
I–IV–V: the backbone
Three neighboring majors on the circle: the home chord and the chords on either side of it. Blues, rock and folk lean on it. In G, it's G–C–D.
I–V–vi–IV: the pop loop
Home, one step clockwise, the relative minor, then one step counter-clockwise from home. It runs through a huge range of pop songs. Play G–D–Em–C and you've played it.
I–vi–IV–V: the doo-wop turnaround
The 1950s progression. The same four chords as the pop loop in a different order, which gives it a more resolving feel. In C: C–Am–F–G.
ii–V–I: the jazz cadence
This one walks the circle. Dm→G→C is two steps counter-clockwise, each chord a fifth below the last. Moves down by fifths sound settled because the circle puts closely related chords next to each other.
12-bar blues
I–IV–V stretched over twelve bars. In A it runs A A A A | D D A A | E D A E, using the three neighbors A, D and E.
How to practice them
- Pick one key from the table and play I–V–vi–IV as open or barre shapes.
- Rotate it one step around the circle and play the same numbers in the new key.
- Check the neck. Light up the key's scale on the fretboard and find where each chord's root sits, so the progression becomes a pattern on the neck, not four separate shapes.
Seeing the progression on the neck
This is where a lit fretboard earns its keep. In Fretkit, you choose a key and its scale lights up on the fretboard. The circle of fifths and chord library follow the same key, so a progression is a few taps away from a shape you can play.
Pick a key, watch the neck light up
Fretkit lights up scales and chords on a fretboard and connects them to an interactive circle of fifths. A tuner is built in too. Free to start, native for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Get Fretkit on the App StoreFrequently asked questions
What are the most common chord progressions on guitar?
I–IV–V, I–V–vi–IV, I–vi–IV–V, ii–V–I and the 12-bar blues. In G, the first four are G–C–D, G–D–Em–C, G–Em–C–D and Am–D–G.
How does the circle of fifths help?
A key's chords are neighbors on the ring, and strong moves like ii–V–I step around it in fifths, so the circle shows you which chords belong together.
How do I play a progression in another key?
Keep the numbers, swap the chords. I–V–vi–IV is C–G–Am–F in C and D–A–Bm–G in D. On the circle, that's rotating every chord by the same number of steps.