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Music, art & photography · course 92 of 105

Chord Progressions Songwriters Use

See which chords go together in a major key: the seven chords as Roman numerals, the progressions songs are built on, moving a song to a new key, and the four cadences.

4 modules

Try a question

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Runs in Claude (claude.ai, the Claude apps or Claude Code) with your own Claude account. A course opens there as soon as your payment goes through; nothing is shipped.

Preview

What it teaches

The seven chords of a major key (drilled in the 9 keys with up to four sharps or flats) and how songs use them: Roman numerals (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°), the four-chord song (I–V–vi–IV), the '50s progression, ii–V–I, three-chord songs, turning chords back into numerals, moving a progression to a new key, and the four cadences (authentic, plagal, half, deceptive). The AI asks 3 questions, places you, shows a short card per module, then gives you one key and one chord or progression at a time.

Not for minor keys, seventh chords, melody or lyrics.

How long

52 items. About 20-30 rounds for a player who knows the numerals up to about 50-60 for a beginner, plus a 12-item final: 2 sessions (estimate, not timed with a real student). The tutor gives a one-line save code at the end of each session.

The modules

4 modules, drilled one item at a time.

  1. M0

    The words

    The words: numerals, chords and cadences

  2. M1

    The seven chords of a key

    Which chord is this numeral

  3. M2

    Common progressions

    Spell a progression, and turn chords back into numerals

  4. M3

    Transposing and cadences

    Move a progression to a new key, and name the cadence

Before it teaches, it asks

  1. 1
    What do you play (guitar, piano, a DAW, nothing yet), and do you write songs or play other people’s?
  2. 2
    In C major, which chord is vi?
  3. 3
    Play I–V–vi–IV in D major. Which chords?

What’s exact, and what isn’t

Show

Straight from the course’s own notes.

Computed by script
Every chord key is spelled from the key’s major scale (one letter per note; whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half) and stacked in thirds; each chord’s quality comes from counting semitones and is re-checked a second way from its root. The script checks the I ii iii IV V vi vii° pattern holds in all 9 keys used, that every transposition equals moving every chord by the same number of semitones, and every hand-written answer; a test with errors planted in it on purpose was caught by the script.
Sourced
The numeral convention (one of several, the page says), the chord pattern, the four cadences, the named progressions and transposition, from Wikipedia; 15 short quotes matched word for word on the live pages 2026-10-11.
Honest limits
Major keys only, and only the 9 keys with up to four sharps or flats (C, G, D, A, E, F, Bb, Eb, Ab). Cadence names follow the common English ones; the sources' other names (perfect, imperfect = half, interrupted, Amen) are accepted, and “imperfect authentic” counts as authentic. Nothing about how a progression sounds, lyrics or melody.
Not in it yet
Minor keys, seventh chords, borrowed and secondary chords, keys with five or more sharps or flats, the twelve-bar blues bar by bar.