Open chords, common progressions
and a field guide to pop styles
A one-page notebook for the acoustic guitar: the shapes you meet first, the four-chord loops that hold up most songs, and where the sounds on the radio came from.
Open and barre chords
Strings run low E to high e, left to right. × means don’t play the string, ○ means play it open. F and Bm are barre chords.
Progressions worth knowing
Roman numerals count chords from the key note, so one loop works in every key.
| Numerals | In C | In G | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
I – V – vi – IV | C – G – Am – F | G – D – Em – C | One of the most common pop progressions; works for ballads and anthems alike. |
vi – IV – I – V | Am – F – C – G | Em – C – G – D | The same four chords started on the minor; sounds more wistful. |
I – vi – IV – V | C – Am – F – G | G – Em – C – D | The “fifties” progression behind countless doo-wop songs. |
ii – V – I | Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 | Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7 | The core cadence of jazz standards. |
i – VII – VI – V | Am – G – F – E | Em – D – C – B7 | The Andalusian cadence, a descending line heard in flamenco. |
12-bar blues | C7 F7 C7 C7 · F7 F7 C7 C7 · G7 F7 C7 G7 | A7 D7 A7 A7 · D7 D7 A7 A7 · E7 D7 A7 E7 | Twelve bars of I, IV and V; the last bar “turns around” to the top. |
Strumming patterns
D is a down-strum, U an up-strum. Keep the strumming hand moving even when it misses the strings.
| Pattern | Count | Strum | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic 4/4 | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 | D · D · D · D | Steady down-strums on every beat. Start here. |
| Pop / folk 4/4 | 1 · 2 & · & 4 & | D · D U · U D U | Skip the down-strum on beat 3 but keep your hand moving. |
| Waltz 3/4 | 1 · 2 · 3 | bass · D · D | Pick the root on beat 1, strum on beats 2 and 3. |
| 6/8 arpeggio | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | pick one string per eighth note | Bass note, then climb and fall across the strings. |
Two traditional songs
Amazing Grace — 3/4, key of G, words by John Newton (1779). Use the waltz pattern.
G G7 C G
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
D
That saved a wretch like me!
G G7 C
I once was lost, but now am found,
G D G
Was blind, but now I see.House of the Rising Sun — traditional, 6/8 in A minor. One chord per bar, picked as arpeggios.
A field guide to pop styles
Where the main styles came from and what gives each its sound.
Pop
Short songs built on hooks, verse–chorus form and polished production; usually 3–4 minutes.
Rock
Grew out of rock and roll: electric guitar, bass and drums with a strong backbeat on 2 and 4.
Indie
Named for independent labels; jangly or lo-fi guitars and a do-it-yourself attitude.
R&B and soul
“Rhythm and blues” replaced older chart names in 1949; soul added gospel-rooted singing in the 1960s.
Funk
Everything locks onto the downbeat (“the one”): syncopated bass, choppy sixteenth-note guitar, horn stabs.
Disco
Four-on-the-floor kick drum around 120 BPM, octave bass lines, strings and horns.
Hip-hop
Rapping over looped breaks; classic boom-bap sits near 90 BPM, while trap uses 808 bass and fast hi-hats.
House and EDM
Drum-machine grooves at 118–130 BPM; “EDM” became the umbrella term for festival dance music in the 2010s.
Country
Fiddle, steel guitar and story-telling lyrics over simple I–IV–V harmony.
Folk
Voice and acoustic guitar first: open chords, fingerpicking and songs meant to be sung along.
Reggae
The guitar “skank” chops on the off-beats while the drums accent beat three (the one-drop).
K-pop
Idol groups, tight choreography and songs that switch genres from section to section.
Mandopop
Mandarin-language pop with roots in Shanghai shidaiqu; ballads remain its heart.
City pop
Glossy urban pop drawing on jazz, funk and soft rock.