Tense progression 1 in D minor
Gm · G · Dm/A · A7
iv · IV · i · V7
Coiled and unresolved, a borrowed chord darkening the turn home, left hanging on the dominant
Tense chord progressions for guitar
Coiled, chromatic, refuses to settle. These progressions sound coiled and unresolved, usually sit in D minor, A minor, G minor and E minor and suit a tempo of around 132 BPM. Every chord has a guitar diagram for standard EADGBE tuning.
Generate a new tense progression
4 tense chord progressions to play now
Tense progression 2 in A minor
Am · Dm · A7 · Dm/A
i · iv · V7/iv · iv
Coiled and unresolved, a secondary dominant pulling into the next chord, left hanging on the dominant
Tense progression 3 in G minor
Cm · F/C · D7 · Gm
iv · VII · V7 · i
Coiled and unresolved
Tense progression 4 in E minor
Em · C · G7 · C
i · VI · V7/VI · VI
Coiled and unresolved, a secondary dominant pulling into the next chord, a deceptive turn away from home
A strum pattern for tense 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
Tense chord progressions for ukulele
More moods for guitar
- HappyBright major motion, front-porch energy
- 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
- PlayfulBouncy, skipping, a bit cheeky