Happy chord progressions for guitar

Bright major motion, front-porch energy. These progressions sound bright and forward-leaning, usually sit in C major, G major, D major and F major and suit a tempo of around 120 BPM. Every chord has a guitar diagram for standard EADGBE tuning.

Generate a new happy progression

4 happy chord progressions to play now

A strum pattern for happy songs

One bar of eighth notes. Down arrows are downstrokes, up arrows upstrokes, dots are misses: keep your hand moving through them.

↓ · ↓ · ↓ ↑ ↓ ·
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

How to use these progressions

Play each chord for the length shown, repeat the loop, and hum or sing over it until a melody turns up. The Roman numerals under each progression name the chords by their place in the key, so the same pattern works in any key: open it in the generator and change the key to suit your voice. Chord progressions are not covered by copyright, so anything you write over them is yours.

Same mood on ukulele

Happy chord progressions for ukulele

More moods for guitar

• SadMinor-led, slow to resolve
• RomanticWarm, tender, close-slow-dance
• EnergeticForward motion, driving strum
• ChillLaid-back, hammock-and-porch
• MysteriousModal shadows, minor sevenths
• NostalgicOld-time, folk-song familiarity
• DreamyFloating, soft-edged, unresolved
• TriumphantBroad, major, arms-in-the-air
• TenseCoiled, chromatic, refuses to settle
• PlayfulBouncy, skipping, a bit cheeky