Chord & FretFolk · axis — Ukulele
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.
Good music works like a good walk: you leave, get a little lost on purpose, and come back. The map of this one: G (I, home) → D (V, time to come back) → Em (vi, home) → C (IV, the stroll). Press play and follow along — at the "time to come back" chord, notice the physical urge to hear G again — the home chord.
Ukulele
Its fourth string is tuned higher than you would expect, so a chord's notes bunch close together instead of spreading from low to high, giving that clear, chiming sound. This is where the ukulele truly belongs: the Hawaiian vamp — a short back-and-forth of chords — is its native language, and its airy strum sits perfectly in folk sing-alongs, easygoing reggae and gentle country. Its home chord G keeps its lowest note on D and rings 1 open string.
Circle of Fifths — See the key's diatonic chords and its secondary dominants · try it 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
Want this in any key, no math? In the Chord & Fret app you drag and the whole neck rewrites itself — App Store and Google Play.