The G7 Chord and "Borrowed" Chord Progressions

The new chord of the day is the G7 chord. Like the B7 chord, this one has some tension built into it. Unlike the B7 chord, it doesn't take 4 fingers to play even though the chord is made up of 4 different notes.

Here is a great chord progression and a couple of songs that use the G7 chord.

G         D        Em     G7       C        C         G    

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This chord progression is used by Green Day for the verses of the song, "When September Ends".

Before them, The Beatles used this progression a little differently for the verses of the song, "In My Life". In the Beatle's case, they played each chord for just two beats instead of four.

G    D    Em  G7  C    C    G    

[/ /] [/ /] [/ /] [/ /] [/ /] [/ /] [/ /]

Listen to the two songs and and compare the sound of the chord progression. See if you can hear the similarities and/ or the differences. Both songs use a chord we have yet to learn (Cm) over the second measure of C so, while not perfect, you will get the basic "flavor" of the songs. In this case the Beatles used this chord progression "first" but it is common practice to find new ways to use the same chords over and over by other groups and composers.