The Secrets to SMOOTH Chord Progressions

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Do your chord progressions ever sound choppy and disjointed, and you can't quite figure out how to make them flow better? Well, in this video, we're breaking down the chords and techniques you need to know to make your progressions as smooth as possible. This is level four in my seven-part how to make chord progression series. So, if you get confused on anything, check out the last three levels to make sure you're all caught up. But with all that out of the way, let's get started.

[00:00:23]But before we really get started, I have to explain a recurring concept that you're going to see being used in this level and beyond, and that is chromatic movement. Chromatic movement means to move a note, note inside of a chord or entire chord shapes in half-step movements to make the transition from chord to chord or note tootee have a smooth walking motion. And this is regardless of if the chord/note itself is in the scale you're playing in. So just keep a lookout for when I use chromatic movement in some of these subjects coming up. Now, the first thing you need to understand to make your progression smoother is voice leading.

[00:00:54]Voice leading is the concept that every note inside of a chord functions as its own voice. And as the chords change in a progression, each of those voices create their own unique melody across each string. Jazz players and composers rely on this way of thinking to guide certain notes up or down to create smoother transitions and build melodic movement inside of their progressions. And really just playing any chord progression is a form of voice leading with the reason being because you're already moving the notes around when going from chord to chord by default creating that melodic movement. We can just take it to the next level by being more purposeful with it. As a simple example of what voice leading can look like, I'm going to play a 251 once, but after that I'm going to play it five more times, singling out every string until I hit the fifth string. So you can hear the melody/v voice leading the progression creates on each one of them.

[00:01:42]>> [music] [music] >> Hey, hey, hey.

[00:02:05][music] >> [music] [music] >> Now, there are so many different ways you can approach voice leading on the guitar, but it can be extremely challenging to apply them all practically. So instead, we're just going to go over two pretty simple ways to look at it. The first way is by targeting a single note on the first chord in your progression and using specific chord shapes to lead said note in a certain direction. This can be done by moving the note up or down, typically in half and whole step intervals, or keeping it in the same spot on the fretboard throughout the progression.

[00:02:52]Let's say we're playing a 251, and we want the note on the B string inside the two chord to move lower throughout the progression. To achieve this, we want to use shapes that are extremely close to each other and share similar notes while still guiding the note on the B string down. Now, the easiest way to do that is by first using the zones I talked about in level two, taking advantage of the chord positions that are close to each other across the E and A strings. And secondly, by testing out different types of chords, using some of the shapes I showed you in level three to see which ones can create the note movement you're looking for. And here's an example of what a 251 could look like. Moving a note on the B string down a half step at a time.

[00:03:29]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> You can see how I chose certain shapes specifically to lower the targeted note that I started with inside the two chord by a half step every time I move to a new chord, creating that descending motion throughout the progression. A good way of thinking when it comes to choosing the right shapes is that it's like trying to find the right puzzle pieces, using trial and error to see which pieces fit together to get the sound and direction you want. [music] And now let's reverse the direction of that target note and have it progressively go higher after each chord.

[00:04:14][music] [music] You can see how this time I chose shapes on the two chord where the targeted note was lower on the fretboard than it was when we were descending the note. This was on purpose to make sure I had shapes for the other two chords that I could use to move the target note up within these smaller areas, which keeps the movement sounding tight and connected.

[00:04:45]And now, let's make it so the target note stays in the same spot throughout the progression. This is definitely the most common of the three movements as it's pretty easy to execute in any progression and it creates what's called a common tone, which just means a shared note between more than one chord in a progression. And this can help make very stable sounding transitions. [music] [music] >> [music] >> And here's all three motions played in a row.

[00:05:27][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> You can hear how each variation has their own unique motion an internal melody even though it's the same underlying progression. And I hope this goes without saying, but you can do similar motions to these with any chord progression. You just have to choose a string/target note inside the first chord of your progression and the direction you want to move it in. Figure out the shapes that fit that progression or the vibe you're going for and make sure that they are close enough together by taking advantage of the E and A string shapes in the zones I talked about earlier. Also, in the 251, I know I was moving the note up and down in half steps, but it may not be feasible or sound good musically for every chord progression with the shapes we've learned so far. Instead, it could be whole step jumps or further as well. As long as the targeted note is moving in your desired direction or staying stationary across the chords using the shapes you chose, you should be good to go. Now, the second approach to voice leading I want to show you is by cycling through different shapes inside of each individual chord. This is a little less analytical of an approach and basically just means to experiment using multiple shapes of the same type in their designated spots in the chord scale, which in turn moves the notes around in the chords, creating voice leading. For example, let's play a 4 3 2 1 and cycle through different shapes on each chord.

[00:07:17][music] [music] >> [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey.

[00:07:47][music] [music] >> [music] >> Now, that may have been a bit overkill, but it was just to show you how many possibilities there are in each chord using the shapes we learned back in level three. And I hope that gave you an overall pretty good idea of how voice leading can work. However, since there are so many combinations of chords you could use to create voice leading, I know it can be a lot to take in. That's why, in my opinion, it's better to just try out different combinations of shapes for each chord and see what feels right to create the smoothest transitions for each progression instead of sitting there stewing on every possibility because your ears are going to naturally pick up on what shapes and voicings you think sound best the more you make progressions and you'll end up creating cool melodies inside your chords without even realizing it. So, in summary, don't think too hard about voice leading. Just be aware it exists as a concept in case you want to purposely move your progression in a certain direction. and keep your chords and chord shapes as close as possible to make your progression sound smoother and less jumpy. But this is of course subjective depending on the style you're going for.

[00:08:58]And if you're wanting to develop your style and become an overall better guitarist, I recommend checking out my course, Guitar Accelerator. It's a huge library of lessons where I guide you through everything I know on guitar and how to apply it into your playing, put into an easy to follow road map that any guitarist can jump into, along with a supportive Discord community to ask questions and chill with other like-minded guitarists. or you can check out my Patreon where you'll get early access to every new video completely adree along with tabs for all of my arrangements. And you can check out both of those in the description below. All right, so there's one chord type I've mentioned throughout these first few levels that I haven't given much attention to, and that's diminished chords. I know it may seem like I've been avoiding talking about them, but it's because they're built a bit different than the other chords, and depending on the genre, they aren't used as much as the other types. They're another addition to the tension chord family, usually having a very mysterious and jazzy vibe to them. But unlike every other tension chord I've shown you, you're really not going to see a diminished of any kind on the five chord. And I'll explain this more in a second. There's technically three types of diminished chords with the first one being the regular diminished, but to be honest, it's kind of lame compared to the other two. So, the main two types you're going to see most often are the diminished 7th and half diminished, which is usually labeled as minor 7 flat 5. These chords can also be represented by degree symbols with the regular diminished and diminished seventh being the plain degree symbol and the halfd diminished being one with a line through it. Let's start by taking a look at half diminished. Half diminished chords are often used on the seven and function as a dominant which makes seven the second dominant function in the major chord scale next to five. And we still use it in the same way we normally use a dominant and that's to build tension before resolving to a tonic. Now, as an example, let's play a 471 and 276 using half diminished chords on the seven acting as a dominant in both. But before that, here are some common shapes for the half diminish chord.

[00:10:48][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> It can also be used in combination with other dominants like three or five to create even more tension. So let's play a four five seven one and then a 273 six with the half diminish still being on the seven in both [music] [music] [music] hey >> [music] [music] >> And one other way I really like to use them is as an outside chord on the flat 5, which is the note in between the four and five to add tension before leading into the four chord. So to show that, let's play a flat 5 4 3 6 with a half diminished on the flat 5. [music] >> [music] >> Now, the diminished seventh chord on the other hand is very unique in the ways that it can be used. The diminished seventh can be played on the seven just like the half diminished, but the main way you'll see it being used is to build tension and voice leading by playing it in between chords in the chord scale. So basically any empty spot in the chord scale can be filled by a diminished seventh chord to create a smooth but tensionfilled walk up the chords. And here's an example of how that looks going up the major chord scale on the A string.

[00:13:08]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey.

[00:13:32][music] >> [music] [music] >> Now, in chord progressions, I don't recommend diminished sevenths all the time because they can be pretty obnoxious when used too much. But there are a few great ways to use them with the most common being to place one in between two chords that are a whole step apart. For example, like walking up from one to two with a diminished seventh in between.

[00:14:10][music] [music] [music] Another way to use them is by placing one right before either the major or minor tonic to build some tension, replacing the spot in a progression where a dominant would typically be used. But this can also be done before any chord that has an open space a half step to the left of it, even if it's not a tonic. Let's play a 251, but replace the five with a diminished 7th before the one and a 4 3 6, but replace the three with a diminished 7th before the six.

[00:14:58]>> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey.

[00:15:15][music] >> [music] >> You could also use it in combination with other dominants like a 251 and a four five flat 66.

[00:15:43]Heat. [music] Hey, Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> And just like with the half diminished, it can be used on the flat 5 to lead into the four chord. But there's one other really unique trick that diminished seventh chords can do. I'm not going to get too deep into it, but the way the diminished seventh is structured makes them perfectly symmetrical. This means that if I choose a spot to play a diminished seventh and I move that chord shape up or down three frets, it's technically the same chord just with the notes inside rearranged a bit. This allows you to move the shape infinitely up or down the fretboard three frets at a time from where you played it to create a climbing or descending motion depending on which direction you're moving. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Now let's try this trick in some actual progressions with a one flat 2 two and a one flat 6 six. [music] Hey, [music] [music] [music] hey, hey. [music] >> [music] >> But this also means you can play the chord three, six, or more frets up or down from where you would have originally played it without actually having to play it in that original spot, and it can still resolve to where you want it to. For example, let's say I'm trying to resolve to the six, and I want to play a diminished seventh one fret below it. Well, instead, I can play it three frets up or down from the original spot of the chord without actually having to play it there, and it still works. [music] >> [music] [music] >> And by the way, everything I just showed you could do with diminished seventh chords can also be done with regular diminish chords if you choose to use those instead. Now, if we use all these tricks in combination with the techniques I showed earlier, we can get some really cool sounding tension in our progressions. So, as an example, here's a pretty lengthy progression using everything we just talked about for the diminished 7th. [music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Up to this point in the video, there's one more chord type I haven't talked about yet, and that is augmented chords.

[00:19:36]Just like diminish, dominant, and sus chords, they're very effective tension chords, and the chord symbols for these can also be seen as a plus. They're typically used on the five or three as an alternative to dominant chords. And as an example of that, let's play a 5 1, and 36, where the five and three are augmented chords.

[00:19:55][music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> They're also symmetrical just like diminished sevenths, but instead of being able to move a shape up or down three frets, froged chord chords. It's by moving a shape up or down four frets.

[00:20:34][music] [music] [music] Next up, let's talk about line cliches.

[00:20:52]Line cliché are a type of voice leading where you pick a note from inside of a chord and either repeatedly raise it or lower it a half step at a time while the rest of the chord stays the same. It's a super simple and effective way to add some voice leading and movement in a progression and has a pretty signature kind of nostalgic sound that you'll hear across many genres of music. The two places you'll typically use a line cliche is either on the major or minor tonic. The most common major line cliche starts on the one with a regular major chord, moving this note up one fret at a time. First, we play the major chord, then an augmented chord, then a major 6, and finally a dominant 7, with the most common place to move after that being a subdominant, then a dominant, and back to the major tonic. And for this example, I'm going to use four as the subdominant, and five is the dominant, but you can use others if you'd like.

[00:21:40]And as you're about to see, even though I said you're only changing one note in the chord, as long as you follow the chord types of the line cliche, you can use whatever shape/voicing for that chord, even if it does move some of the other notes around a bit. And here's how this major line cliche could look using a string shapes and then E string shapes. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The minor line cliche is a lot more mysterious and dark sounding than its major counterpart and has a chord I've literally only used for this progression to build tension and it's called the minor major 7th chord, also known as the James Bond chord. And instead of moving the note up like in the major version, we're going to move this note down starting with the regular minor chord, then the minor major 7, minor 7, and lastly the minor 6. And just like the major line cliche, it sounds best going to a subdominant, then a dominant, and back to the tonic, which in this case is the minor tonic. For this example, I'm going to use two as the subdominant and three as the dominant. And here's how that would look on both string shapes.

[00:23:07][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> There are also plenty of other ways to make line cliches, like changing the note that moves or its direction in the chord. It's just that these two are arguably the most common line cliches you'll see overall, and they're pretty easy to remember. And lastly, I want to show you a way to make your progressions sound even smoother than they already do. And that's by using something called embellishments. Embellishments are when you use techniques like hammer ons, pull-offs, or a combination of both in your chords. And if you've never heard of these, hammer ons are when you slam a finger down on a note after the initial pick or strum.

[00:24:11]Pull-offs are when you flick or snap your finger in a downward direction off a note after the initial pick or strum.

[00:24:20]And using a combo of both is done by slamming a finger down on a note and then quickly flicking it off in the same motion. [music] These can also be done with more than one finger on certain chords. [music] And sound really good when arpeggiating chords as well.

[00:24:53]Now, I'm going to rapid fire through a bunch of embellishments using the shapes we've covered so far and where they're compatible in the major chord scale, which basically just means where they can be played in your progressions. And this is by no means every possible chord embellishment. It's just the ones I think come the most in handy with the shapes we've learned. And as a heads up, a few of the embellishments are only using parts of full chords, which can change the fingering of the shapes.

[00:25:15]Let's start with embellishments you can use on major chords, which includes one extra major chord we haven't looked at yet, along with different shapes for major chords you already know.

[00:25:28][music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey.

[00:26:03][music] >> [music] [music] >> Now, let's do the minor embellishments.

[00:26:24]And there's going to be a few new shapes for chord types you already know.

[00:26:32]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Hey.

[00:27:24][music] Hey.

[00:27:31]>> [music] [music] [music] >> And lastly, let's take a look at the dominant, sus, diminished, and augmented embellishments.

[00:27:56]>> [music] [music] >> Hey, hey, hey. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey, hey, [music] hey.

[00:28:38][music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> And one other embellishment you can add to To make your transitions from chord to chord smoother is by sliding. Sliding is pretty self-explanatory. You play a chord and while pressing down, slide it up or down on the fretboard. Typically, this is done when you slide from one shape to another. For example, let's say you're playing the two and three and you plan on using the same minor 7th shape for both. Well, to transition from two to three, you could play two and then as you're playing it, slide the shape up to move to the three. And let's try that in the context of a 2 3 6 progression.

[00:29:39]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Another way to use this technique is to slide from nowhere. This means to play a chord shape a fret or more below or above where you'd usually play it, and as you're strumming, you quickly slide to the correct position. This creates a super smooth motion to transition into basically any chord you want. And the last way to use sliding is a little more situational than the others, and it's when you slide a single finger inside of a chord, typically the pinky, to change the voicing of the chord, similar to a hammer on or a pulloff. This can only really be done when the pinky can be slid one fret up or down in the chord to create the different voicing, [music] which makes it so there's only a small handful of chords you can do this with.

[00:30:31]And here's a few of them using the shapes we've learned, plus one bonus shape I haven't shown yet.

[00:30:37]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Hey, hey, hey. [music] [music] >> [music] >> And here's a few more examples using some of the embellishments we went over.

[00:31:25][music] >> [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey.

[00:31:52][music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] And that's the end of level four. So, as a quick recap, there's many different ways to make your progressions flow smoother. First and foremost, you should keep your chords close together by using E and A string shapes in zones. And after that, you could focus on voice leading. There were two ways I showed you can experiment with voice leading with the first being leading a targeted note throughout your progression up, down, or keeping it stationary on the fretboard. and the second being cycling through multiple shapes of the same type in their designated spots in the chord scale. Next is diminished chords.

[00:32:58]There's three types of diminished chords. Half diminished, diminished 7th, and regular diminished. Half diminished are mainly used on the seven functioning as a dominant. And regular diminished and diminished seventh chords can be used on the seven or in between chords to create chromatic movement in a multitude of different ways along with being able to move infinitely up or down three frets while remaining basically the same chord due to their structure.

[00:33:20]Augmented chords are also another great tension chord and are mainly used on the three and five, but you'll also see them on the one in a certain type of line cliche. And line cliches are another way to add movement and tension by moving a single note inside of a chord up or down repeatedly in half steps. There's two types of line cliches we covered with one being located on the major tonic, moving the note up, and the other being located on the minor tonic, moving the note down. And to add the cherry on top of everything, you can use combinations of the three embellishments we covered, hammerons, pull-offs, and slides to make your progressions as smooth as possible.

[00:33:54]I hope that gave you a good understanding of the different chords and techniques you can use to add movement to your progressions. And I'm going to say this in every level.

[00:34:01]Everything I've talked about in this video is just general guidelines. You should always be experimenting with the concepts I show you across the 12 keys to develop your own unique voice on the guitar. And again, if you want to up your guitar skills and support the channel, consider checking out Guitar Accelerator or my Patreon. And if you enjoyed this video, liking and subscribing would be much appreciated.

[00:34:21]As always, thanks for watching and I'll see you guys later.