Chord changes

In C: Simple melodies · Major scale · How chords are built · Diatonic chords · Chord changes · Melody and chords · Independence

A list of seven chords is not a song. A song is an order. This page is where you change from one chord to the next: pick a loop, play it in any key, and keep the changes in time. The tunes are the material — the same handful of loops, under songs you already know. The seven chords themselves are on Diatonic chords.

The magic fact: most pop songs reuse the same few progressions built from I ii iii IV V vi vii°. Master I–V–vi–IV and you already “know” Let It Be, With or Without You, and dozens more — only the key changes. Want drums + bass + guitar under you? Tools · Backing band (minus piano).

Loop a change

Song list

Grouped by the progression they share. Tap any song to load it into the player above.

Progressions are common musical patterns (not copyrightable); no melodies or lyrics are reproduced. Each song loads in its usual recorded key and tempo (tempos are approximate) — hit ↺ Original key to snap back after transposing, or just practice in whatever key and speed feels comfortable.

How to practice

  1. Start in C or G (fewest black keys) and slow the tempo down. Get the changes clean before speeding up.
  2. Right hand blocks first: play each chord as a block on the beat, then try broken chords (one note at a time) for a gentler feel.
  3. Add the left hand: play just the root of each chord low down while the right hand holds the chord.
  4. Loop it with the metronome on. The goal is to change chords in time without stopping.
  5. Transpose: once a song feels easy, switch the key and play the exact same progression somewhere new — that's the whole point of thinking in numerals.

Need the chord shapes, and the numeral for each one? Both are on Diatonic chords. The right-hand tunes are already on Simple melodies. The next page, Melody and chords, puts one of them on top of a left-hand root.