10 Guitar Chord Progressions Every Player Should Know

March 02, 2017 4 min read

A cool black leather guitar strap for every guitar player.

Want to be an expert guitar player? Are you ready to rock out to your favorite jams and even create your own unique music? Well, before you get to the top, you’ll have to start from the bottom.

Every guitar player has to start somewhere, right?

When you first start out, you will probably learn a few of the classic and easy chord progressions. Even all the greats have learned them.

Don’t worry, you will be learning the hard stuff too, soon enough.

But if you want to be the next Jimi Hendrix, you’ll need to master these guitar chord progressions before you take on the big stage.

We made a list of the top 10 chord progressions every guitar player should know.

Get ready to impress all the babes with your awesome new guitar playing skills.

Here are our favorite 10 guitar chord progressions we thought should be mandatory for any guitarist to learn:

The Most Common Chords

Some of the simplest and most common guitar chord progressions include the G Major chord, the C Major chord, and the D Major chord.

1. To play the G chord, put your fingers on the 3rd fret of the 6th E string, the 2nd fret of the A string, and the 3rd fret of the 1st E string.

2. To play the C chord, you will put your fingers on the 3rd fret of the A string, the 2nd fret of the D string, and the first fret of the B string. Do not include the top E string when you strum.

3. To play the D chord, you will put your fingers on the 2nd fret of the G string, the 3rd fret of the B string, and the second fret of the 1st E string. You will only strum these 3 strings when playing the D Major chord.

There are plenty of famous jams you can play just with these few chords!

Are you a Sublime fan? Well, guess what? Sublime’s song “What I Got” only uses the G and D chords.

Are you more of a fan of the classics? Use these easy chords to play John Denver’s “Leaving On a Jet Plane” at your next campfire.

Once you master all of these guitar chord progressions, you’ll be able to entertain all of your friends with their favorite tunes.

Or, if you’re feeling a spark of creativity, you can use these chords to make your own cool songs. That is exactly how every great musician starts out.

The Minor Guitar Chord Progressions

Now, let’s get to the minor chords. Some of the most common minor chords are the A Minor chord, the E Minor chord, and the D Minor chord.

4. To play the A Minor chord, place your fingers on the 2nd fret of the D string, the 2nd fret of the G string, and the 3rd fret of the B string. Strum all of the strings together.

5. To play the E Minor chord, put your fingers on the 2nd fret of the A string and the 2nd fret of the D string. Strum all of the strings.

6. To play the D Minor chord, put your fingers on the 2nd fret of the G string, the 3rd fret of the B string, and the 1st fret of the E string. Only strum from the D string and downward.

Is it your first time learning how to play the guitar? When you’re just a beginner, sometimes learning to play a new instrument, like the guitar, can be really tough.

It may seem frustrating, but don’t worry, you will get the hang of it. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

We can help you find the resources to make your learning experience a lot less difficult!

If you need more help getting these chords down, you can check out this app we love called Guitarist’s Reference for any questions you may have about anything guitar related. It’s an awesome app and super helpful, too.

The 7th Chord Progressions

These chords tend to be a bit trickier than the earlier ones we talked about.

There are many 7 guitar chord progressions, but the most important ones you should know are the C7 chord, the D7 chord, the A7 chord, and the E7 chord.

7. To play the C7 chord, place your fingers on the 3rd fret of the A string, the 2nd fret of the D string, the 2nd fret of the G string, and the 1st fret of the B string. Strum all of the strings except for the 6th E string.

8. To play the D7 chord, place your fingers on the 2nd fret of the G string, the 1st fret of the B string, and the 2nd fret of the 1st E string. Do not strum the 6th E and A strings, but strum all of the rest.

9. To play the A7 chord, put your fingers on the 2nd fret of the D string and the 2nd fret of the B string. Strum all of the strings except for the 6th E string.

10. To play the E7 chord, put your fingers on the 2nd fret of the A string and the 1st fret of the G string. Strum all of the strings together.

Keep up the practicing and start to learn some new great rock songs.

Don’t know which song you want to learn first? No worries. We’ve made a list of the best guitar tabs for beginners.

So now that you’ve got all of these chords down, you’ll be ready to jam out to some groovy tunes in no time.

Before you become a super rockstar, you have to accessorize your new guitar.

Anyone who’s anyone customizes their guitars. Even Taylor Swift rocks her guitar with our customized strap!

If you haven’t yet, get going with customizing your own guitar strap. After you’ve got all of your guitar swag, you’ll be truly ready to start rockin’ out.

So what are you waiting for? Get going, start practicing, and be the rockstar you’ve always wanted to be!>