Anthony Napolitano is a financial advisor and the owner and managing partner of Cornerstone Wealth Management, a firm he has helped lead since relocating from Los Angeles in 2007. Anthony Napolitano (Vegas) has built a practice centered on retirement income planning, tax-efficient wealth management, asset protection, estate planning, and annuities, overseeing more than $800 million in client assets. He holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses along with Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Certified in Long-Term Care credentials, and has appeared in financial education programming on ABC, NBC, and FOX. A graduate of California State University, Northridge, he also coaches other advisors on client communication and practice management. Away from the office, Mr. Napolitano enjoys spending time with his family and playing guitar, an interest that connects naturally to the basics of chord progressions.
Individuals learning to play the guitar must master the basics, which include familiarizing themselves with the different parts of the guitar, identifying the instrument’s six strings, playing simple melodies consisting of a few notes, and forming chords. As individuals advance in their knowledge, they can start to learn different chord progressions, which is a major step toward playing songs on the guitar.
A chord progression is a series of chords played in a set order. If the progression comes from an established song, it also includes a strum pattern.
A progression usually consists of three or more chords, but sometimes only two. “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac is a famous example of a song that consists almost entirely of the Fmaj7 and G chords, though the Am chord is used briefly following the first chorus.
To be clear, chord progressions exist independently of songs and can help amateur guitarists write their own pieces. Progressions are written as Roman numerals.
For instance, the pop progression, also known as the rock progression, is I-V-vi-IV. In the key of C, the progression would go C, G, Am, F, while the G version of the progression would go G, D, Em, C.
The tension, release, and overall movement of these two progressions sound very similar, but with a different home chord. “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well”, and “What’s My Age Again?” by Blink-182 are examples of the pop progression in action.
Other common chord progressions for amateur guitar players include the jazz chord progression (ii-V-I) and the blues chord progressions (I-IV-V), to name only a few.
About Anthony Napolitano
Anthony Napolitano is the owner and managing partner of Cornerstone Wealth Management, a Las Vegas financial advisory firm he has helped lead since relocating from Los Angeles in 2007. He holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses along with Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Certified in Long-Term Care credentials, and oversees more than $800 million in client assets. A graduate of California State University, Northridge, he also mentors other advisors and enjoys playing guitar and basketball outside of work.
