The very foundation of country music is in essence quite simple. It’s not about fancy chord changes or unusual intervals. It’s about telling a story. Which is why country music, more often than not, relies on true-and-tested chord progressions with just enough tension and release to keep the story moving forward.
Before looking at specific country chord progressions, we’ll first have a look at the characteristics of country music. This will help you understand where the typical country sound comes from. This is useful if you want to write either pure country songs, or add elements of country to your music.
Finally we’ll look at how you can hire a musician at Musiversal and bring your music to life. With the Unlimited subscription you have access to over 100 unique instruments. Many of which are commonly used in country music, such as guitar, drums, double bass, lapsteel, fiddle, various percussion and brass.
Join the waitlist today!
Why does country music sound so different from ordinary pop or rock music if they all use the same simple chords? A lot of contemporary country music only uses typical rock instruments, too.
There are a few key characteristics in country music that are almost always featured in a country song. A song that contains only one or maybe two of these characteristics feels country-influenced, but not quite like “real” country. We’ll take a look at an example of this.
The main characteristics of country music are:
Essentially, you only need a guitar, or another stringed instrument like, steel guitar, banjo or mandolin, and vocals to create a country song. This is actually an important point. When writing country music, keep it simple to begin with. Make sure the song works with only the most essential parts of the song before you start writing for different instruments.
Here’s a quick example of an album version of the song “Homegrown” by Zac Brown Band and a live acoustic version of the same song. The song works just with the stringed instrument, personal lyrics and vocal harmonies. The drums and electric guitar are just added for a specific flavor, but not to make it more country.
Next is the song “Mexican Cowboy” by Willie Watson. This is as much country music as anything. All we have is a man, his banjo and personal storytelling.
Now let’s look at Avicii's “Hey Brother”. There’s a lot of country influence in this song. The vocal twang and vocal harmonies, the backbeat strumming pattern, lyrical content. However, few people would call this a country song, even though it’s heavily influenced by the genre. Compare it to Dan Tyminski’s own version of the song. This is a much more traditional country sounding. It's interesting how little had to change from the original for it to sound 100% country. It’a matter of instrumentation. Specifically bass and drums.
In traditional country music, the root note of a chord is commonly played on beats 1 and 3 while the chords and harmony are often played on beats 2 and 4. The double bass tends to play up and down the scales in a manner similar to what we hear in blues or jazz. Listen to the difference the double bass makes in Tyminski’s Hey Brother compared to Avicii’s.
More contemporary country music, however, is not too dissimilar from modern rock music with sustained and distorted power chords. The role of the bass and guitar tends to be similar to rock music. In these cases, vocal harmonies, twang and storytelling becomes even more essential for it to stand out as country music.
Drums tend to favor the backbeat and emphasize beats 2 and 4 or play a high energy train beat, also known as the rockabilly shuffle. A great example of how these drums movement and energy can be heard in Lainey Wilson’s “Wildflowers and Wild Horses”.
One reason country music is so popular is because country musicians have mastered the art of melodic storytelling. Many country songs are melodic masterpieces with catchy hooks and memorable lyrics.
Further down in the article, we’ll look at examples of country songs that only use two chords while being one of the most memorable country songs ever written.
Another important aspect of country music are the themes. Country music is not about status, showing off or portraying yourself to be bigger and better than you are. It’s the opposite actually. It’s the everyday life that matters in country music. The themes are often about coming home, falling in love, experiencing heartbreak and loss.
When you’re writing lyrics to a country song, keep it truthful and grounded.
The chords, the melodies and the instruments in country music all support the overall theme of the song. We’ll have a look at commonly used country instruments and discuss their role in the music.
When you write a song you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. The same chord progressions are used over and over again by artists across different genres. Use a foundation that works, then add your own personality to it through melodies and instrumentation.
We’ll start by looking at different versions of the classical I - IV - V chord progression. The reason these three chords are so popular and used across so many different genres is because they provide a harmonically stable foundation. That makes it easier to write melodies and interesting rhythms when the chords and harmony is locked in and familiar.
The songs below have different variations of the same 3 chords.
Chord progression: I - IV - V
Chord progression: I - V - IV - I The next three songs all more or less revolve around only two chords.
Chord progression: I - V
Chord progression: I - V. At times we get a VI and VII chord, but for the most part it’s just two chords playing.
By flipping the chord progression around we get one of the most famous country songs of all time:
Chord progression: V - IV - I
Here’s another version of only using three chords to make a powerful chord progression. This time, however, we alternate between the I chord and the IV and V, making it less directional as the I - IV - V country chord progression.
This is one of the most popular chord progressions across all types of popular music. It’s a selection of chords that can be looped over and over again. The most common minor chord in country music is the minor vi.
It’s a chord that shares two of the same notes with the tonic, so while it doesn’t feel quite as resolved as the tonic, it feels closely connected to it, but with a minor vibe instead of major.
Because of the similarities between the Major I and the minor vi, Swift can seamlessly replace the Major I for the minor vi in the verse. This is a good trick to make the I chord feel much more prominent when we later get to it in the chorus.
This is a great country chord progression when you don’t want to rush to the tension too quickly. The minor vi is the relative minor of the tonic in a major scale, which is why they work so well together and blend so naturally.
Here's another good time to analyze what makes country music unique. Compare the two versions of “I Will Always Love You”. They contain the same chord progressions and the same lyrics.
Pay attention to build ups, how different parts connect, the instruments used, and overall mood of each song, singing style, etc.
Here’s a good time to analyze what makes country music unique. Compare the two versions of “I Will Always Love You”. They contain the same chord progressions and the same lyrics.
Pay attention to vocal harmonies, build ups, how different parts connect, the instruments used, and overall mood of each song, singing style, etc.
Here the bass note on 1 and 3 and the guitar strums on 2 and 4 are particularly noticeable.
This chord progression starts with a big leap from I - VII but then in step-motion descends down to the V. This progression and downward movement has a bluesy vibe to it, which works really well in country music.
The ii chord is called the secondary dominant. It’s often used to prepare for a dominant chord, which in this case is the V7. By using it here, the upcoming tension in the V7 is introduced early because the minor ii contains the 7th and 5th of the Major V. The 7th is the leading tone which has a very strong pull to the root.
The secondary dominant is often used to replace the minor vi in the I - V - vi - IV progression that we looked at earlier. We’ll look closer at precisely this in our final country chord progression. Specifically, we’ll look at how Taylor Swift has used it.
This is one of Taylor Swift’s magic chord progressions. It uses the minor ii chord instead of the minor vi. To some ears this makes the progression more somber and darker.
People online have identified 21 songs from Swift’s catalog to follow this exact chord progression. Here are a few of her country song that do:
These songs were specifically highlighted for the purpose of staying relevant to country music. But listen to her other songs in different genres that use this exact chord progression. It’ll be a good way to learn how to apply it in different situations. She’s used it in her folk songs as well as her pop songs.
When you’re working on a song, it’s important to know how different instruments tend to be used in country music. Understanding how an instrument fits into a song will help you explain your musical vision to Musiversal session musicians.
Both acoustic and electric guitar are used in country music. The guitar is used both for melodic lead parts as well as rhythm and harmony. Contemporary country leans more on a rock sound in style and performance, whereas traditional country guitar focuses more on rhythm.
For a more traditional sound, or for the bluegrass style of music, the double bass plays an important role. When using a double bass, you want to write it with a lot of movement, similar to bass in jazz.
The bass can create forward movement and energy.
.webp)
Modern country drums are in many ways similar to rock drums. That means they’re big sounding and shape the overall sound and dynamics of the music.
Traditional country and bluegrass drumming either provides energy or a steady beat. Playing drums with brushes is a good way of achieving a typical country sound.
The banjo is an instrument that’s instantly recognizable and is to many of us synonymous with country music. Its role in country is often to provide movement and drive through arpeggios.
The mandolin is a small but powerful string instrument. It has 8 strings in total making the sound very rich. It can be both plucked and strummed.
The sound of a steel guitar is synonymous with country music. It can be both a melodic instrument or provide harmonic support. Its sound quality lends itself perfectly to both joyful tunes and songs about longing and heartbreak.
The fiddle is a hallmark in country music and folk music around the world. It has a particular ability to add energy and emotion to any song. While it can provide some harmony, it’s generally considered a melodic instrument in the context of country music.
Below are very different but characteristic uses of the fiddle in country music.
The harmonica in country music is great at providing a mournful quality. Because the harmonica first appeared in blues, the bluesy quality is often kept even when it’s used in country music.
In Sing Me Back Home by Don Williams we hear the harmonica used for texture and counter melodies.
With our Unlimited subscription you have the unique opportunity to record instruments to your music that you would otherwise not have access to. We have phenomenal double bassists, lap steel players, violinists, percussionists and much more ready to take your music to the next level.
As we’ve seen, country music may be simple but it’s not easy. In order for the meaning, emotion and message to come across the music must be performed, not just played. Our entire roster is carefully selected and possess the ability and skill to take your ideas and songs and elevate them.
If you are unsure what your song needs in terms of structure or instrumentation you’ll also have access to pre production and songwriting sessions with our Unlimited subscription. After recording you can get it mixed and mastered by our wonderful production team who have mixed award winning music.
Sign up for the waiting list today!
Discover a curated collection of articles across topics in Music Theory, Production, Gear, Songwriting, and Marketing.
Elevate your music creation with expert insights and comprehensive resources.
