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. While you may instantly think Jazz, the ii-V-I progression is very common in classic country music.

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 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 E:

E = I
F#m = ii
B = 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: E
Chords: E, F#m, B
Time Signature: 4/4
BPM: 60

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