Copyright-free chord progressions to practise with

2026-09-08

Every tune here is in the public domain. The progressions below are simplified practice skeletons worked out from the melody on this site — they are not copied from any particular score or arrangement, and they contain no melody or lyrics.

Press "Open in the player →" on any tune and it opens in the Text Chord Player with that progression loaded. Play the backing track and adjust the chords or the beat split by ear as you like.

Songs

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (4/4, C major)

The easiest starting point. This is the player's default progression. Open in the player →

C | F C | G7 C | G7 C |
C G7 | C G7 | C G7 | C G7 |
C | F C | G7 C | G7 C |

Mary Had a Little Lamb (4/4, C major)

Two bars of I, then a single move to V7 and back to I — the simplest shape there is. Open in the player →

C | C | G7 | C |
C | C | G7 | C |

London Bridge Is Falling Down (4/4, C major)

Different melody, but the practice skeleton is the same one as Mary Had a Little Lamb. Open in the player →

C | C | G7 | C |
C | C | G7 | C |

Famous as progressions, not as songs

The Pachelbel Canon progression (4/4, C major)

Eight chords you will recognise from countless pop songs. Opens with accompaniment "Pattern 2". Open in the player →

C G | Am Em | F C | F G |
C G | Am Em | F C | F G |

Adding your own

Walk through the melody and assign I, IV, V (and vi) by inspection — for nursery tunes and folk songs like these, that gets you most of the way immediately. As long as the song is public domain and you write a plain harmonisation yourself, it is yours to use freely. Avoid copying an elaborate arrangement from elsewhere; keep it to a practice skeleton.