There is no rule to making ‘good’ chord progressions, but there is a theory behind what makes certain chord changes sound good.

If you take a look at the chart to the right, you will see an outline of chords that sound good next to each other.  This chart is for Major chord progressions.  It utilizes Roman numeral notation.

Here’s a rundown of Roman numeral notation if you’re unfamiliar with it:

Major chord: I, II, III, etc.
Minor chord: i, ii, iii, etc.
Augmented chord: I+, II+, III+, etc.
Diminished chord: vi°, vii°, etc.
Half-diminished chord: viiØ7, etc.
Extended chords: ii7, V9, V13, etc.
Altered tones or chords: #iv, ii#7.

To the right is the same chart chart with the corresponding chords for the key of C Major included.

Here’s an example: If we start at the I chord (C Major), the chart tells us that any chord can follow.  Let’s pick the VI chord, which would be F Major.  According to the chart, F Major (the VI chord) can lead to either C Major (I), G Major (V), or B diminished (vii°).  Now, If we pick G Major (V), we have just created one of the most commonly used chord progressions:

I-IV-V:   C / / /   F / / /   G / / /.

Cadences

At the end of a phrase you can create what’s know as a cadence.  Essentially, you set up tension and then resolve it.  This gives the feeling of a ‘natural’ ending.  There are four main types of cadences: perfect cadence, plagal cadence, imperfect cadence, and interrupted cadence.

Perfect Cadence

A perfect cadence (V-I) is made by using the V chord to set up tension, which is then resolved by the I chord.  For simplicity, we will use the key of C Major for all of the following sections.  Here is an example of a perfect cadence:

V-I:   G / / /   C / / /.

Plagal Cadence

A weaker version of the perfect cadenceuses the IV chord instead, which is then (like a perfect cadence) resolved with the I chord.  Here is an example:

IV-I:   F / / /   C / / / 

Note: plagal cadences are not as effective as perfect cadences.  For this reason it is sometimes better to use one in the middle of a song, and then save the more effective and dramatic perfect cadence for the ending of a song.

Imperfect Cadence

If you ever end on a chord that isn’t the I chord, you are setting up unresolved tension.  Using an imperfect cadence, you can get to the V chord any number of ways:

 I-V:   C  / / /   G / / /
ii-V:   Dm / / /   G / / /
IV-V:   F  / / /   G / / /
vi-V:   Am / / /   G / / / 

Interrupted Cadence

An interrupted cadence uses the V chord to trick the listener into thinking that a perfect cadence is on the way.  What happens is the progression moves to any chord except the I chord:

V-IV:   G / / /   F  / / /
V-vi:   G / / /   Am / / /
V-ii:   G / / /   Dm / / /
V-V7:   G / / /   G7 / / / 

Conclusion

The most important rule is to remember is that in music, rules are more like guidelines.  With that said, feel free to break them and experiment with creating new and unique chord progressions — If it sounds good it works!

In conclusion, I hope my tutorial was both easy to understand and useful to you.  Please feel free to comment with any questions or comments.