i - III - VII - VI Chord Progression

Rock minor. Driving and anthemic.

Select a key below to see the progression transposed. Click any chord to open its diagram and fingering.

Choose key (root chord)

Chords in the key of Em:

EmGDC

Chord diagrams — click to open fingering

BPM

Synth sound

One chord per bar (4/4). Loops until you pause.

Natural minor scale in Em

Highlighted chords appear in this progression.

Emi
F#dimii°
GIII
Amiv
Bmv
CVI
DVII

Practice improvisation

Jam session: try soloing with the built-in progression player, or use a metronome to lock in your timing.

For a simple rule that usually sounds good, match the root of the scale to the key you chose above (Em): use E minor pentatonic. The notes line up with that tonal center so your lines feel connected to the chords. Borrowed or altered chords can add color, but this minor pentatonic is still a reliable starting point for practice.

E minor pentatonic, position 1

Root notes in blue; other scale tones in dark gray.

Open E minor pentatonic on the interactive fretboard

All keys at a glance

This progression works in all twelve keys — here are the chords for each.

i - III - VII - VI in natural keys
Key	i	III	VII	VI
Am	Am	C	G	F
Bm	Bm	D	A	G
Cm	Cm	Eb	Bb	Ab
Dm	Dm	F	C	Bb
Em	Em	G	D	C
Fm	Fm	Ab	Eb	Db
Gm	Gm	Bb	F	Eb

Show all 12 keys

i - III - VII - VI in enharmonic keys
Key	i	III	VII	VI
A#m/Bbm	BbmA#m	DbC#	AbG#	GbF#
C#m/Dbm	C#mDbm	E	B	A
D#m/Ebm	EbmD#m	GbF#	DbC#	B
F#m/Gbm	F#mGbm	A	E	D
G#m/Abm	AbmG#m	B	GbF#	E

Songs that use this progression

Zombie
Otherside

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