EASY CHORD PROGRESSIONS

Chord playing is one of the most engaging, motivating and fun activites for piano
students. It’s a skill I introduce to my students in their very first month of lessons and
if you’re teaching a teenage beginner, I highly recommend chords as the first thing you
explore.

Just about all music (from baroque and classical to jazz, pop and rock) is based on
chords and yet explicit instruction around the chord-based nature of music – how it
works, the theory behind it and how to create chords and progressions – seldom enters
a traditional piano lesson.

The power of chords to assist students in the reading and performance of traditional
music, not to mention the deep theoretical understanding that a chord-based knowledge
of music brings to a musician is critical to a pianist’s sight-reading ability, understanding
of musical genres, ability to improvise and understanding of form and structure.

Chord-based teaching provides a bridge between written musical theory textbooks

and the practice of making music. It gives students a practical demonstration of, and
immersion in, the theory through a student’s real-world love and innate understanding
of popular music.

Put simply, this teaching approach connects students with the theory in a practical and
meaningful way, using musical structures they innately know and understand.

One of the best ways to get started with a chord-based approach in your teaching is to let
students explore simple, epic-sounding chord progressions, which is exactly what this
download provides.

Once you’ve taught students how to form major and minor chords (feel free to use my
approach at timtopham.com/chords if this is new to you), then they can start playing
the progressions on the following pages.

Make sure students use lots of pedal and keep a steady beat while they play (tempo and
meter are up to you and your student). You may like to add a drum beat and/or string
accompaniment either on a digital piano or using an app.

I guarantee your students will love this experience, and I bet you have fun too!

Happy teaching,

Tim.

Please note all progressions marked * credit Tom Donald Contemporary School of Piano.

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 1*

C B F C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 2*

C E F C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 3*

C A B C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 4*

C D E C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 5*

C Gm E B

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 6*

C F Fm C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 7*

C E C
FC C

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 8*

C E Am F

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 9*

Cm Fm B E E D

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 10

Dm D Dm D Dm B A A

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 11*

Cm B C
FC Cm

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 12*

E Bm E A E
E

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 13*

A D A
E A
Fm

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 14*

D E D
E C
Fm

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 15*

B A B
E B
B

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 16

Am A Am G Am F E E

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 17

Em E Em D Em C B B

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 18

C C Dm D
maj7 dim 7 dim

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 19*

B A B
G B
B

FOUR CHORD PROGRESSION 20*

C E C
DC D C

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 LONGER PROGRESSION 1

Am Dm Am E

F Dm E Am

LONGER PROGRESSION 2*

C D F C

Am F G Am

LONGER PROGRESSION 3*

C Gm F C

Cm Fm G Cm

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 LONGER PROGRESSION 4

Am F D
Am

E Am Dm F

F D
E Am

LONGER PROGRESSION 5

C G B
C B

F A
Fm A C G

Am G F G
C

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

 LONGER PROGRESSION 6

B Am A Gm
maj7 7 maj7 7

C F B E

G Fm F Em
maj7 7 maj7 7

A D G C

LONGER PROGRESSION 7

Am A G A
F A
G A

Am F G F
F F
G F

Am D G D
F D
G D

Am E Am E E E
sus4

© timtopham.com 2018 timtopham.com

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