Part 6: Let chords guide your first solo · Lesson 051 / 117
Strum a complete four-bar progression
Hear departure and return in C–F–G–C.
Add G to make C | F | G | C. Each chord lasts four beats. The final C is a return to the tonic chord in this deliberately clear C-major example.
First play one strum per bar. This gives you time to hear the chord's identity and prepare the next grip. Then try four quarter-note strums. Do not add eighth-note patterns until the chord changes stay in time.
The roots are C, F, G and C; the tonic remains C throughout. A changing chord does not automatically mean the music changes key every bar.
Listen once without playing. Point to the chord names as they pass. This is a valuable part of lead-guitar preparation: a soloist who can hear the form has somewhere to place a phrase.
Hear it
Cfgc
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
C(I) | F(IV) | G(V) | C(I). Four bars, sixteen beats, one chord per bar.
Try it, slowly
- Listen and point to each chord.
- Strum once per bar.
- Play quarter-note strums while naming the tonic separately from each chord root.
Check one idea
When F begins, has the tonic necessarily changed from C to F?
Show the explanation
No. In this progression F is IV within C major. F is the current chord root; C remains the intended tonic.
A good place to stop
You can keep the form and distinguish its changing chord roots from its tonic.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.