For those of you who don't know, a progression gets its name from the bass notes. So, the chord doesn't really tell you anything, it's the bass note that tells you where you are in a progression. Now, you can't just play any old chord, it has to sound good with your bass note. Finding the right chord is a whole lot of trial and error. Also most progressions in gospel music follow the circle of 5ths in reverse, which is the circle of 4ths. Here is an example of a progression used in gospel music. I'll do it in the key of C to make it easier to transpose to other keys:
First, the members of C:
C=1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7
6-2-5-1 (usually found in slow songs)
What i am about to show you is something that every gospel artist uses in at least one of their songs, either in part or in whole. I'll give you a few different versions of it so you can have a variety of ways to play it:
A / G-C-E (6) or A / G-B-C-E (6)
D / F#-C-E (2) or D / F#-C-E (2)
G / F-Bb-D (5) or G / F-A-Bb-D (5)
C / E-Bb-D (1) or C / E-Bb-D (1)
A / G-C-E (6) or A / G-B-C-E (6)
D / F#-A-C-E (2) or D / F#-A-C-E (2)
G / F-Bb-D (5) or G / F-A-Bb-D (5)
C / E-G-Bb-D (1) or C / E-G-Bb-D (1)
A / G-C-E (6) or A / G-B-C-E (6)
D / F#-B-D# (2) or D / F#-B-D# (2)
G / F-Bb-D (5) or G / F-A-Bb-D (5)
C / E-A-C# (1) or C / E-A-C# (1)
You see how this progression works off the circle of 4ths? A goes to D, which goes to G, which goes to C, etc.
Now, check this out: you can also form 2 separate, continuous little circles of 4ths from the big circle of 4ths. Sounds confusing huh? Let me illustrate it:
Circle 1:
A / G-C-E
D / F#-C-E or D / F#-B-D#
G / F-Bb-D
C / E-Bb-D or C / E-A-C#
F / Eb-Ab-C
Bb / D-Ab-C or Bb / D-G-B
Eb / Db-Gb-Bb
Ab / C-Gb-Bb or Ab / C-F-A
Db / Cb-E-Ab
Gb / Bb-E-Ab or Gb / Bb-Eb-G
B / A-D-F#
E / G#-D-F# or E / G#-C#-E#
(and you right back where you started)
Circle 2:
D / C-F-A
G / B-F-A or G / B-E-G#
C / Bb-Eb-G
F / A-Eb-G or F / A-D-F#
Bb / Ab-Db-F
Eb / G-Db-F or Eb / G-C-E
Ab / Gb-B-Db
Db / F-B-Db or Db / F-Bb-D
Gb / Fb-A-Db
Cb / Eb-A-Db or Cb / Eb-Ab-C
E / D-G-B
A / C#-G-B or A / C#-F#-A#
(and you right back where you started)
Now, look at these 2 circles of 4ths. They look similar, they use all the same notes, but each will sound different because they start different. The first circle starts with A going to D, but the second circle starts with D going to G. Can you see the difference? It's hard to see at first, but you'll get it.
