Bonus Progression: IV – I – V – I
The two-five-one progression is very popular in music from around the world and it is used in many parang songs:
It is important to know this progression as it will be used in many different parts of different songs. It is not usually a repetitive progression like the other ones but more of a progression that gets inserted in the middle of phrases in both verses and choruses.
The two five one progression will consist of grabbing these three chords and playing them consecutively, so in our D major example our three chords would be:
How to use the two five one?
First listen to this progression and get to know how it sounds for D major:
You will notice that these three chords go very well together. Let’s listen to an example in G major and E minor:
These groups of three can be used in many parts of a song. Normally we use them when we are returning back to the key of the song.
How it sounds when used in a song?
These G major and E minor samples are the ones being used in the famous Parang Rio Manzanare. Listen to them again but this time using the “aguinaldo” rhythm, you will start to see the pattern:
After listening to that audio, you probably start to recognize the song. Now let’s see how these two-five-one for both G major and E minor are applied to the real song:
After finishing this lesson you will be required to upload the audio of your cuatro playing the three basic progressions we studied and playing your two-five-one for your favorite key. Let’s then move on!
