Harmonic progressions are a sequence or concatenation of four chords belonging to a specific key. These chords are not randomly put together; rather, they are the ones found on the I, which is the First degree chord (Tonic); on the VI, which is the Sixth degree chord; on the II, which is the Second degree chord; and on the V, which is the Fifth degree chord (Dominant) of the major scale, which serves as the reference scale for constructing our harmonic progression.
The basic structure of harmonic progressions remains the same:
1 – First degree chord (Tonic)
2 – Sixth degree chord
3 – Fourth degree chord – or – Second degree chord
4 – Fifth degree chord (Dominant)
To create a harmonic progression within a specific key, we need to consider four chords built on four degrees of the major scale.
Specifically, these chords are found on the first, second, fifth, and sixth chords. And they are played in the following sequence: 1st – 6th – 2nd – 5th.
Table of Harmonic Progressions
