200 useful chord phrases in C major

We've spent two full months of this blog exploring the basics of chord writing in rock music so you can create your own chord progressions (or chord phrases, as I like to call them). Personally, I love this stuff! There are so many hidden symmetries to discover, so many subtle relationships between notes that you can play with.

But... I know not everyone wants to master the intricacies of chords. Or even if you want to learn it all, you might have to write a song by tomorrow, with no time to learn even the basics.

All right, then. Here is your cheat sheet: 200 ready-to-rock chord phrases in C major. They'll work perfectly well in any other major key if you transpose them accordingly (or just use the transpose button on your electronic keyboard!).

Wherever you need a phrase of music, just drop in one of these chord phrases. (One key tip: Use repetition; that is, use some of the chord phrases more than once. It helps your song hang together.)

By the way, these chord phrases are not random; they're in a sort of functional order. So don't just pick from the beginning of the list. Use dice or something to choose at random from the entire list.

1. C - - -
2. C Csus4 C Csus4
3. C - Am -
4. C Am C Am
5. Am - - -
6. C - F C
7. C Am F C
8. C E♭ F C
9. C Dm F C
10. C D7 Fm C
11. C Em F C
12. C G F C
13. C B♭ F C
14. C F Dm C
15. C Em Dm C
16. C G Dm C
17. C G F Am
18. Am - F C
19. Am Dm F C
20. Am - Dm C
21. Am - F Am
22. Am F C Am
23. Am G F C
24. Am Em F C
25. Am G F Am
26. C - G C
27. C/G G C -
28. C Am G C
29. C G G7 C
30. C - B♭ C
31. Am - G C
32. Am - G Am
33. C F G C
34. C Dm G C
35. C E♭ B♭ C
36. C F B♭ C
37. C F G Am
38. C F E7 Am
39. C Dm G Am
40. Am F G C
41. Am Dm G C
42. Am F G Am
43. Am F E Am
44. C - F -
45. C Am F -
46. C Am C F
47. C - Dm -
48. C - Dm F
49. C E♭ F A♭
50. C A♭ F -
51. C Am F Dm
52. C G C F
53. C G Am F
54. C Em/B Am F
55. Am - F -
56. C G F -
57. C G Dm F
58. C Em F -
59. C Am E F
60. C Am G F
61. C B♭ F -
62. C E♭ B♭ F
63. C F G F
64. C F G A♭
65. C F B♭ F
66. C F B♭ A♭
67. C Dm G F
68. C Dm Em F
69. C F Em Dm
70. Am G F -
71. Am - Em F
72. Am C G F
73. C - G -
74. C Am G -
75. C - B♭ -
76. Am - G -
77. C F C G
78. C F Am G
79. C Dm Am G
80. C Em/B Am G
81. Am F C G
82. C F G -
83. C C/E F G
84. C Am F G
85. C E♭ F G
86. C F Dm G
87. C Dm F G
88. C D F G
89. C - F B♭
90. Am F G -
91. Am C F G
92. C G F G
93. C G/B F/A G
94. C B♭ F G
95. C B♭ F B♭
96. C B♭ A♭ B♭
97. C Em F G
98. Am Em F G
99. F - - -
100. F - Dm -
101. Dm - F -
102. F C F -
103. Dm C/E F -
104. F Am F -
105. Dm Am F -
106. F Am C F
107. F Dm C F
108. F C Dm -
109. F G C F
110. F G Am F
111. F - G F
112. F C G F
113. F Am G F
114. Dm C G F
115. F C B♭ F
116. F - C -
117. F Dm C -
118. F - Am -
119. F Am F C
120. F C F C
121. F C/E Dm7 C
122. F G F C
123. F Em F C
124. F B♭ F C
125. Dm - C -
126. F G C -
127. Dm G C -
128. F Dm G C
129. F G Am -
130. F B♭ C -
131. A♭ B♭ C -
132. F C G C
133. F C/G G C
134. F Am G C
135. F C G Am
136. F - G -
137. F Dm G -
138. F - B♭ -
139. Dm - G -
140. Dm7 - G7sus4 G7
141. F C F G
142. F Am F G
143. F Am Dm G
144. F Em F G
145. F Em Dm G
146. F C/E Dm G
147. Dm C/E F G
148. Dm Em F G
149. G - - -
150. G - G7 -
151. G - G7sus4 -
152. Gsus4 - G -
153. B♭ - - -
154. G - C G
155. G - Am G
156. G C Am G
157. G Am C/G G
158. Em Am C G
159. B♭ C B♭ -
160. G F C G
161. G Dm C G
162. G F Am G
163. G Dm Am G
164. G - F G
165. Em F G -
166. G F Dm G
167. G C F G
168. G Am F G
169. G - F -
170. Em - F -
171. B♭ - F -
172. G C G F
173. G Am G F
174. B♭ C G F
175. G C F -
176. G Am C F
177. G C Am F
178. G F C F
179. G C C7 F
180. B♭ C F -
181. B♭ F C F
182. G - C -
183. G - G7 C
184. B♭ - C -
185. G - Am -
186. G F G C
187. G F B♭ C
188. G A♭ G C
189. G A♭ B♭ C
190. G F G Am
191. G Dm G C
192. G Dm G Am
193. G C G C
194. G C G Am
195. G Am G C
196. E7 Am G C
197. B♭ F B♭ C
198. B♭ F G C
199. Em F G Am
200. Em F G C

Copyright note: These are commonly used chord phrases, so there are no copyright issues to keep you from using them to create an original song. But please don't copy the entire list and post it somewhere else online. Link back to this blog post instead. Thanks!