Chord & FretFolk · axis — Guitar
What is the Folk · axis progression?
The Folk · axis progression is G → D → Em → C (I – V – vi – IV), in the key of G. Read as harmonic function it moves tonic → dominant → tonic → subdominant, cycling as a vamp with no full cadence. Play one chord per bar and let it loop.
Play any song you love and it does this: leaves home, takes a walk, and at the right moment somebody yells "come back!". This progression is that route, road sign by road sign: G (I, home) → D (V, time to come back) → Em (vi, home) → C (IV, the stroll). Hit play and follow with your finger on the names — when you reach the chord marked "time to come back", notice your own body waiting for G — the home chord.
Guitar
Its six strings spread across a wide neck, so each chord has room to ring, and one player can be the rhythm and the harmony at the same time. Folk, country and Celtic songs are built on the acoustic guitar; in reggae it chops the off-beat, and Hawaiian slack-key is its own gentle guitar tradition. Its home chord G keeps its lowest note on G and rings 3 open strings.
Circle of Fifths — See the key's diatonic chords and its secondary dominants · open in Chord & Fret
Save this progression in Chord & FretReharmonize — Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize the progression in a tap · use it in Chord & Fret
Learn each chord of the trip
This is one shape of G. In Chord & Fret, you open every position of all 4 chords in this progression along the neck — on any instrument, and hear each one. Open in Chord & Fret →
Metronome — Drill this change in time, with tap tempo and subdivisions · see it in Chord & Fret
There are many more ways to play this — and they all fit in the Chord & Fret app. Download it and enjoy.