Guitar Chord Progressions Chart

I just know some theory, I'm not a pro. I've found that sometimes after I post on a question like this people either correct me or take it farther, so maybe that will happen.

I'm assuming that neither one of you reads music or you'd probably know this already. You need to know what key he is playing in. I'd probably do two things - record the riff so you can practice without needing your bassist in the flesh playing over and over, and I'd write down what he's playing. You can find keyboard charts that will tell you the actual notes. So, he's playing 1st string 3rd fret which is G, or whatever. You can disregard technique - hammer-ons and offs and slides and up and down triplets and the like. You just need the framework of his riff, for now. Probably he's playing some variation of 12 bar blues, which is <I>- low, low, <IV>medium, medium, <V>high, <I>low. You need to know which frets the I, IV and V parts are starting on.

There's a pretty good chance that he's starting on the root of his scales - he's playing a scale even if he doesn't understand that in depth. That means that the first note of his riff is the name of the key, but it's just likely, not certain. Next thing to know, in theory, is what scale it is - major, minor, etc. Or even a mode.

In reality you don't necessarily need to go that deep. Your basic chords come from scales. You can play the first note, third and fifth and have your basic chord in any key. You can add the seventh and you'll get the seventh sound. So, if you write down what he's playing and just play the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of his basic framework you should be at, or near, a harmonious chord and you can take it from there. Then you'll need to do the same for the changes, when he changes frets you'll need to start on a different root.

Understand what I'm saying - he is going from here..........to there, which is a scale. ABCDEFG and to A. That he goes up, down, slide, hammer, trill, up, up, down, etc. Is technique. You should be able to get his notes and see a fundamental pattern in there, which is the basic scale, and then base your chords on that. If you start on his first note thinking it's the root and it just sounds out of key then it is out of key and that's not the root. Try it again with the next ~real~ note.

Anyway, aside from just stabbing at the piano hoping you get lucky that's at least an idea of how to go about it......

Assuming we're in a major key:

I - IV - V - I is the most common chord progression.
Sometimes they substitute the IV for a ii (the third/fifth from ii is the same as first/third from IV): I - ii - V - I.

Generally, you work your way backwards from I, the last chord, in a series of fifths. So I - vi - ii - V - I is what you get when you add one more chord. If you add another, you get I - iii - vi - ii - V - I and so on.

Hi Tyler

Here is a good site for sweeps and arpeggios

Http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/arpeggi...

and as for scales

Http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_...