Country II-V-I Progression

Welcome to the "Country II-V-I Progression" lesson. This is part of a series of lessons that explore country harmony. The II-V-I progression has a sound that is uniquely identifiable when we move from the I chord to the II chord.

Not sure what II-V-I means? It's based on the Nashville Numbers system. A system that makes it easy to play charts in various keys. Each Roman numeral names a chord within the key that you are playing in. Uppercase numerals reference Major chords while lowercase numerals reference minor chords. If we were playing diatonically in the key of C it would look something like this:

I = C
ii = Dm
iii = Em
IV = F
V = G
vi = Am
vii = Bm

Since we are playing in the key of G:

G = I
A = II
D = V

While I am performing on an acoustic guitar, an electric would also be right at home for this lesson.

Gear: Seagull S6>AKG P220>Tascam 4X4HR>Pro Tools

Key: G
Chords: G, A, D
Time Signature: 6/8
BPM: 70

Scales: G Pentatonic Major (there are no scales used in the lesson but try this for soloing over the backing track)