In order to keep time, we either need a drum track, or a metronome. Either will do.

There are plenty of free metronome apps for all smartphones.

As an alternative, there are also plenty of free metronome applications on the web.

If you have a pedal, like a Digitech Trio or SDrum, you can use that also.

NOTE: We are going to use the L Method to find the Major and Minor Chords in the key you choose.

If you do not know which Chords are Major and Minor in a scale, or are not familiar with the L Method, please check out my tutorial

here: How To Know Which Chords are Major in a Key

before continuing with this tutorial.

The only Music Theory we need is to know the Major and Minor Chords for our selected Scale.

In this example, we're going to choose C Major, so there are no sharps or flats in the scale.

we're trying to keep it as simple as possible. The Major Scale structure is

1. Major
2. Minor
3. Minor
4. Major
5. Major
6. Minor
7. Diminished

So, for our example, the chords we will use are:

1. C Major
2. D Minor
3. E Minor
4. F Major
5. G Major
6. A Minor
7. B Diminished

This simply means that we will be using the number position of the chord in the scale.

C Major is 1, D Minor is 2, and so on.

1. C Major (I)
2. D Minor (ii)
3. E Minor (iii)
4. F Major (IV)
5. G Major (V)
6. A Minor (vi)
7. B Diminished (vii)

For the sake of simplicity, I am not going to include the Diminished chord at all in this tutorial.

In music, there is a time signature between the Clef and the Staff. The most common is 4/4 Time, aka "common time".

Common Time consists of 4 beats per measure, and the quarter note equals one beat.

It's usually counted off: 1-2-3-4, where the 1 is the 1st beat of the measure.

If we count off the following: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4, that means we have 2 measures of music.

In our first rule, we need 4 measures, so we count: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4

We simply start on the 1 Chord, which simply means the Name of the Scale that you chose.

We chose the C Major Scale, and the 1 Chord is C Major, thus our song will start with C Major.

For reference, here are the chords of the C Major Scale.

1. C Major (I) (We start here)
2. D Minor (ii)
3. E Minor (iii)
4. F Major (IV)
5. G Major (V)
6. A Minor (vi)
7. B Diminished (vii)

It's really that simple.

1. C Major (I)
2. D Minor (ii)
3. E Minor (iii)
4. F Major (IV) (We end here)
5. G Major (V) (or here)
6. A Minor (vi)
7. B Diminished (vii)

We finish the 4th measure with either the IV Chord (in our case, the F Major Chord)

or the V Chord (in our case, the G Major Chord)

As long as you start on the I, and end with the IV or V, you can pick any random chord in the scale,

without the Diminished (vii), and you will have a nice sounding Chord Progression.

Try it yourself: Start with the C Major, then pick any other chord for the second measure.

Pick another chord for the third measure. On the fourth measure, we use either the IV or V.

You can play this progression over and over, like a loop. To finish the song, simply play the I Chord.

There it is, you have a great sounding progression.

As stated earlier, you can play this progression over and over again, like a loop.

The only thing we haven't talked about was ending your song/progression.

You can play your progression as many times as you like. Set the progression in a loop.

The only unwritten rule there is, is that you end your song on the one chord.

You usually just strum the one chord once to end the song, and let it ring out and fade.

You'll hear that in most songs. Other songs continue the progression with a gradual fade out.

If you're playing alone, or live, simply strum (or appegiate) the 1 chord, to end your song.

If you're recording, you might want to try the progression fade out.

You have your 4 measures, where you start on the 1 Chord, and you finish with the 4th or 5th Chord.

You simply go back to the 1 chord and start the progression again.

Another option is to play your progression once, then substitute the middle chords, to create a different sound.

You can expand on this progression, and play it 2 times. The first with one set of middle chords (2nd and 3rd measure),

then simply change the 2nd and 3rd measure to some other chords. After that you simply play your first 4 measures,

and alternate between the 2 sets of 4 measures.

You do not need a have on chord per measure. As stated earlier, 4/4 time has 4 beats per measure.

You can put a chord on the first 2 beats, and change to another for the next 2 beats.

You can also do 1 beat, then 3 beats of another, and visa versa.

As long as you are using the chords within the Key, it will sound good.

The above 3 rules, aren't really rules. They are suggestions for learning how to write your first song.

Some people believe you are either born with song writing ability, but that's not the case.

You can change keys in a song. You can even use "borrowed" chords from another scale.

There are NO RULES.

This was a simple tutorial to get you started writing your own chord progressions.

Writing your own chord progressions is easy when using the above rules, but know that you are not limited to these rules.

They are suggestions that work well when creating your own progressions. As the painter Bob Ross said "It's your world."

Have fun writing your own progressions, and playing a solo over them, or writing lyrics for them.

That's when your creative side will begin to give you more and more ideas.

And, yes, you can use the Diminished Chord as the last Chord, since it needs to be resolved to the I chord.