Diatonic Fourths · Exercises
Fmaj7 · Bbmaj7 · Em7b5 · Am7 · Dm7 · Gm7 · C7
Imaj7 · IVmaj7 · viiø7 · iii7 · vi7 · ii7 · V7 in the key of F
Adam assigns this to his students all the time. Each chord sits four steps up from the last, and every one of them belongs to F major. Watch the move from Bb to E: every other jump here is a plain perfect fourth, but that one is a half step wider, because the note that would make it plain is not in the key. That is the augmented fourth, and it is the reason this drill is worth doing exactly as written. Try it in every key you play in.
Four bars of diatonic fourths in the key of F, written Imaj7 · IVmaj7 · viiø7 · iii7 · vi7 · ii7 · V7 and played let it ring at around 72 beats per minute. The chord shapes are below, and you can hear the whole thing play (and slow it down) without an account.
Opens in the Progression Lab. No account, nothing to sign in to. Ten minutes of playback a day, and an hour with a free account.
What the chords are
This is Imaj7 · IVmaj7 · viiø7 · iii7 · vi7 · ii7 · V7 in the key of F. The degree of each chord is what makes the progression recognisable in any key, so the same four moves transpose anywhere once you know them by number.
- Fmaj7 Imaj7 in open position, frets 1 to 3, on 4 strings
- Bbmaj7 IVmaj7 up at the 1st fret, spanning to the 3rd, on 5 strings
- Em7b5 viiø7 at the 1st fret, on 4 strings
- Am7 iii7 in open position, frets 1 to 2, on 5 strings
- Dm7 vi7 in open position, frets 1 to 2, on 4 strings
- Gm7 ii7 up at the 3rd fret, spanning to the 5th, on all six strings
- C7 V7 up at the 3rd fret, spanning to the 5th, on 5 strings
How it should feel
- Strum
- Let it ring
- Groove
- None
- Tempo
- 72 bpm
- Key
- F
- Voicings
- Campfire
Big open grips and barres — the whole-hand chords everyone starts on.
The shapes
Low E on the left, high e on the right. 0 is an open string, × is one you do not play.
| Chord | E | A | D | G | B | e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fmaj7 | × | × | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bbmaj7 | × | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Em7b5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | × | × |
| Am7 | × | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dm7 | × | × | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Gm7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| C7 | × | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
More Exercises
- F · Gm · Am · Bb · C · Dm · Edim · F · Edim · Dm · C · Bb · Am · Gm I · ii · iii · IV · V · vi · vii° · I · vii° · vi · V · IV · iii · ii in F · Diatonic Chord Scale, Up and Back
- F · Gm · Am · Bb · C · Dm · Edim I · ii · iii · IV · V · vi · vii° in F · Diatonic Chord Scale (open chords)
- Fmaj7 · Gm7 · Am7 · Bbmaj7 · C7 · Dm7 · Em7b5 Imaj7 · ii7 · iii7 · IVmaj7 · V7 · vi7 · viiø7 in F · Diatonic Chord Scale (sevenths)
- Cmaj7 · Fmaj7 · Bm7b5 · Em7 · Am7 · Dm7 · G7 Imaj7 · IVmaj7 · viiø7 · iii7 · vi7 · ii7 · V7 in C · Diatonic Fourths
Posted . Part of a growing library of guitar chord progressions.