120 useful chord phrases in C minor

Yesterday we gave you 200 chord progressions — or chord phrases — in C major. Today it's C minor's turn. And the minor key always gets the short stick. There are only 120 chord phrases in this list. But don't worry — with a little ingenuity you can invent plenty more.

1. Cm - - -
2. Cm - E♭ -
3. Cm - Fm Cm
4. Cm A♭ Fm Cm
5. Cm E♭ Fm Cm
6. Cm Gm Fm Cm
7. Cm B♭ Fm Cm
8. Cm Gm A♭ Cm
9. Cm B♭ A♭ Cm
10. Cm B♭ A♭ E♭
11. E♭ - - -
12. E♭ - Fm Cm
13. E♭ - A♭ Cm
14. E♭ B♭ Fm Cm
15. E♭ B♭ A♭ Cm
16. Cm - Gm Cm
17. Cm - G7 Cm
18. Cm - B♭ Cm
19. Cm - B♭ E♭
20. E♭ - G Cm
21. E♭ - B♭ Cm
22. Cm - Fm -
23. Cm A♭ Fm -
24. Cm E♭ Fm -
25. Cm - A♭ -
26. Cm E♭ A♭ -
27. Cm Gm Cm Fm
28. Cm B♭ Cm Fm
29. E♭ B♭ Cm Fm
30. Cm Gm Fm -
31. Cm B♭ Fm -
32. Cm Gm A♭ -
33. Cm B♭ A♭ -
34. Cm E♭ B♭ A♭
35. Cm E♭ Gm Fm
36. Cm - Gm -
37. Cm - G -
38. Cm - B♭ -
39. Cm Fm Cm Gm
40. Cm A♭ E♭ Gm
41. Cm B♭ Cm Gm
42. E♭ B♭ Fm Gm
43. Cm Fm Gm -
44. Cm Fm B♭ -
45. Cm A♭ Gm -
46. Cm A♭ B♭ -
47. Cm E♭ Fm Gm
48. Cm E♭ Fm B♭
49. Cm E♭ A♭ Gm
50. Cm E♭ A♭ B♭
51. E♭ Fm Gm -
52. E♭ Fm A♭ Gm
53. Fm - - -
54. A♭ - - -
55. A♭ - Fm -
56. Fm Cm Fm -
57. A♭ E♭/G Fm -
58. Fm E♭ Em -
59. Fm Gm Cm Fm
60. Fm B♭ Cm Fm
61. A♭ A♭ Cm Fm
62. A♭ Gm Cm Fm
63. Fm Gm Fm -
64. Fm B♭ Fm -
65. Fm B♭ A♭ -
66. A♭ B♭ Fm -
67. A♭ B♭ A♭ Fm
68. Fm - Cm -
69. Fm A♭ Cm -
70. A♭ - Cm -
71. A♭ Fm Cm -
72. Fm - E♭ -
73. A♭ - E♭ -
74. A♭ E♭ Fm Cm
75. Fm E♭ Dm7-5 Cm
76. Fm Gm Fm Cm
77. Fm B♭ Fm Cm
78. A♭ B♭ Fm Cm
79. Fm Gm Cm -
80. Fm B♭ Cm -
81. A♭ B♭ Cm -
82. Fm B♭ Gm Cm
83. Fm - Gm -
84. Fm - B♭ -
85. A♭ - G -
86. A♭ - B♭ -
87. Fm Cm Fm Gm
88. Fm E♭/G A♭ B♭
89. Fm E♭ A♭ G
90. A♭ Cm A♭ B♭
91. Gm - - -
92. G - - -
93. Gm - G7 -
94. B♭ - - -
95. Gm - Cm Gm
96. B♭ Cm Gm -
97. Gm Fm Cm Gm
98. B♭ A♭ Cm Gm
99. Gm - Fm Gm
100. G - A♭ G
101. Gm A♭ Fm Gm
102. Gm - Fm -
103. Gm - A♭ -
104. B♭ - Fm -
105. B♭ - A♭ -
106. Gm Cm Gm Fm
107. B♭ Cm Gm Fm
108. B♭ Cm B♭ Fm
109. Gm Cm Fm -
110. B♭ Cm Fm -
111. B♭ Cm A♭ -
112. B♭ E♭ Fm -
113. Gm - Cm -
114. G - Cm -
115. B♭ - Cm -
116. Gm Fm Gm Cm
117. G A♭ B♭ Cm
118. Gm A♭ G7 Cm
119. Gm Fm B♭ Cm
120. B♭ Fm B♭ Cm

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!

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!

The descending bass line

As we mentioned yesterday, the use of alternate bass notes in rock songs is mostly limited to a few specific formulas. One of these formulas involves the bass line moving up or down the scale, step by step. The bass line is a secondary melody, after all, and you can give it a graceful and intentional shape.

Many chord progressions start on the tonic chord and then let the bass move down the scale. These examples will all sound familiar to your ear:

C G/B Am G
C G/B F/A G
C Em/B F/A G
C G/B Am Em/G F C/E Dm G
C E⁷/B Am C⁷/G F A⁷/E Dm G

When the bass line descends by half-steps, it might sound a little spooky, ominous, or mournful:

C G/B C⁷/B♭ F/A Fm/A♭ G

You can also start on the tonic and move up the scale:

C Dm7 C/E F

And if we reverse that last sequence of chords, we have a familiar elaboration of the [four] - [one] cadence. You hear this in the Beatles' "Let It Be," for example.

F C/E Dm7 C

Messing with "Hey Jude"

On Thursday I asked you to review the fadeout of the Beatles' "Hey Jude," which famously features the [seven]♭ chord. The full chord phrase is:
[one] - [seven]♭ - [four] - [one] -

That great singalong chant melody in "Hey Jude" does not include the subtonic 7♭note, so it wasn't the melody that drove the Beatles to use [seven]♭ instead of [five]. And the rest of the song uses [five] and the regular ionian chords. They pointedly switched to mixolydian chords just for the fadeout of "Hey Jude."

Try singing the "Hey Jude" chant with these alternate chords:
[one] - [five] - [four] - [one] -

You'll notice that those alternate chords work just as well with the melody, but they bring a very different feel to the phrase.

It's hard to remember how groundbreaking "Hey Jude" was in a time when rock hits were trimmed to a length of 3:15 or shorter to meet the demands of radio. Since then, lengthy repeating fadeouts have become a staple of rock music, but at the time it took the biggest stars in music to break the mold and give us a 6-minute-long song with a couple minutes of repetitive ecstatic chanting at the end.

I think the Beatles' choice of [seven]♭ instead of [five] for the fade might make the mood a little more mellow, to help you surrender to the trancey groove instead of becoming impatient with the repetition. It's just my theory, and we'll never if "Hey Jude" might have been just as successful with different chords. But sometimes it's just this kind of subtle thing that makes the different between a good song and a great song.

Three-chord rock: example chord phrases

Listed below are 24 examples of 4-bar, three-chord phrases in C major. Feel free, of course, to transpose them into other keys and to use them in your songs. No one owns a copyright on these commonly used chord phrases.

A chord phrase is a sequence of chords for a single musical phrase. You might also hear people use the equivalent terms chord progression or chord change.

Phrases can be various lengths. 4- or 8-bar phrases are typical in rock music, but, as I'll discuss in a future post, you can make your songs more interesting by using phrases of different lengths. It's only in the interest of keeping things simple that all of these examples are 4-bar phrases.

1. C | F | C | -
2. C | - | F | C
3. C | F | C | F
4. F | C | F | C
5. C | - | - | F
6. C | G | C | -
7. C | - | G | C
8. C | G | C | G
9. C | F | G | -
10. C | - | F | G
11. C | F | G | F
12. C | F | G | C
13. C | F | C | G
14. C | G | C | F
15. F | C | G | C
16. F | G | F | C
17. G | C | F | G
18. G | C | G | F
19. C - | F C | - - | F G
20. C - | F - | G - | F C
21. C G | F - | - G | C -
22. C F | C - | - F | C G
23. F C | G - | F G | C -
24. F - | C G | F - | G C
    

Optional assignments (a/k/a your "songwriting homework"):

• Create an alternate version of each phrase by substituting one or more chords borrowed from C minor.
• Try transposing all 24 of these phrases into C minor.
• Create an alternate version of each of the C minor phrases by substituting one more more chords borrowed from C major.
  
• Create one more variation of each of the 24 phrases by making some other change. You could substitute another chord that's not one of the three main chords, you could change the rhythm, change a bass note, play it backwards, add a seventh, or do something even more radical. It's your move!
  

After you complete all four optional assignments, you'll have a list of 120 chord phrases at your disposal. And obviously we're just scratching the surface of the possibilities of "three-chord rock." Even with this limited vocabulary, you can still stay a lot.