Exploring Pop Music Chord Progressions

Today we're going to take a look at seven of the most common chord progressions that you'll find, particularly in pop music. We're going to have a look at how they sound, why they sound the way they do and generally give you a good set of examples of songs that use this chord progression to make it easier to hear it in other examples. So let's start with probably the chord progression that you guys are all thinking of right now which is the famous four chords of pop music, sometimes called the axis progression because it was famously made into a musical joke by the Axis of Awesome. My life is brilliant, my love is pure, I saw an angel of that I'm sure. That's just two songs that are similar. Forever young, I wanna be forever young. I won't hesitate no more, no more. So just there you've already heard a whole bunch of examples of songs using this progression, particularly in music. I would say after the from the 1980s onward it became increasingly popular to use this chord progression and perhaps that popularity peaked around the late 2000s early 2010s it's hard to say exactly I feel like it's less common today actually than it was 10 years ago but There's loads and loads of songs that use this progression and it's just a really great progression to to loop which is why it's used so often. Often when it's used in a song it will be looped for an extensive period of time, potentially for the entire song. Why it works so well in my opinion is we start with the the root chord Then we move away, as far away as we can really from that root chord, we move to the fifth chord of the key That introduces tension and motion. We now need to go somewhere. We can't just stay here So if we wanted to wrap things up, we'd go back To one and now we sound completed done But that would be a bit boring. So rather than going back to one After the five chord we go to six which offers a different type of resolution not a full resolution. And then rather than staying here because once again that would be boring we now introduce a bit more tension. by going to the IV chord. Now the IV chord, much like the V chord, doesn't necessarily feel resolved. It doesn't want to stay here. So we need to go back somewhere and that puts us back to the I chord. When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me As I was there I remember it all too well Take on me Never mind, I'll find someone like you I wish Just a small time there Living in a lonely world Can you feel the love tonight? It's never gonna end Let it go, let it go I can't hear more Let it go, let it go The next chord progression we're going to talk about is actually a very closely related chord progression to that first progression we talked about. This is 6-4-1-5 and why it's closely related is, as you may have noticed, it's actually the exact same chord progression as the first one but starting with the sixth chord instead. It sort of becomes like a minor version, a minor key version of that famous four chord progression. If you're going to San Francisco, to grad.com, come on. And actually in that Axis of Awesome skit, that famous video, they use the fact that these two chord progressions are related to Segway into the other progression to sort of make their list of songs even longer This chord progression sort of works for the same reasons that the other chord progression that we looked at works. It's just a great balance of tension and release that allows it to continue looping around indefinitely if you want it to. I personally prefer this one over the first one. I feel like this has a slight... it's kind of more dramatic in a way. But yeah, like we were saying, the first chord... A minor in this instance is providing a point of rest. The IV chord introduces some tension, the I chord resolves that tension, but rather than remaining resolved we then go to our most tense chord, the dominant chord, which forces the chord progression to continue. So we wind up in this perfectly looped chord progression that can just keep going around if it needs to as long as possible. The next chord progression actually has an established name. It's rare that chord progressions have a well-recognized name really but this one does. It's the Andalusian Cadence. Now the Andalusian Cadence is a chord progression associated, or originally at least, with flamenco music from Spain which is why it has the name Andalusian Cadence. Andalusia being the southern region of Spain. But of course it's not just used in Flamenco music, it's used in a whole range of other styles of music and what is great about this chord progression is it just has that sense of descending. It's a clear descending progression starting on the I chord in the minor key, the b7 chord, b6 chord and then the V chord and we're getting the major version of the V chord which helps us then pull back up to the one to continue the loop i love the colorful and the way that sunlight plays upon her hair so I do, I do, I think about today at night It's all the right to think about the girl you love And hold her tight, so happy together As I walk along I wonder What went wrong with my love That was so strong The next chord progression is actually very similar to the Andalusian cadence, it's just the last chord that has differed. So we're still starting on the minor one chord, going to the flat seven, going to the flat six, but rather than then going to the five chord, going back up to the flat seven. I like to call this chord progression the Aeolian Vamp. because it, in these three chords, effectively paints us into that Aeolian colour, the natural minor. And it has a less directional sound, I would say, than the Andalusian cadence, because we're not getting that V chord. The V chord undeniably wants us to go back home. But by avoiding that V chord... We remain in a sort of floatier space where we don't necessarily have to go home if we don't want to. We could have had it all In the days of darkness In the morning You had my heart Here we are He found wherever he went Now I've been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord, oh Lord Would you love to cut me off? Because I can't... This next chord progression is sometimes called the Doo-Wop Changes or the 50s chord progression. It starts on the I chord, goes to the VI chord, to the IV chord and to the V chord. And it's called the Doo-Wop Changes or the 50s chord progression because it was very common in 50s Doo-Wop music. You can imagine It fits that style really well doesn't it? But it's used in the whole range of styles as you'll see in a minute. Why this chord progression is so effective I think is it's just a perfect little journey away from the tonic back to the tonic. So we start on our tonic chord of one. Then we move to the sixth chord which is still a resolved sound. It doesn't sound like we now have to move anywhere. So the first two chords are sort of just different types of feeling resolved but then the four chord, the subdominant, introduces a bit of tension and then the five chord, the dominant, introduces a load more tension which forces us back round to the beginning to continue the loop. Now sometimes this chord progression is wrongly referred to as the Blue Moon chord progression. Blue Moon being a famous song which supposedly uses this chord progression but it actually doesn't. The Blue Moon uses the two chord rather than the four chord which is a very very similar progression. D minor in this instance would be our two chord. which is very similar to our IV chord which would be F. They're only one note different. They both serve a subdominant function in the key so both the Blue Moon progression and the Doo-Wop progression are very similar but it's important to remember that they're not Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine? Happy next to the tree, I'm a son of Rachel, I'm the Jesus of Siberia, from the border, none of the other, I'm standing... Generally speaking the three most important chords of the key are the tonic chord 1 The IV chord, the subdominant chord, and the V chord of the key which is the dominant chord. With just those three chords you can create a whole sense of motion. The tonic is our home, the subdominant is a place away from the home but not yearning necessarily to return immediately back, but then the V really does want to go back, it's a point of tension. So the combination of these three chords gives us three different shades of tension allowing for that sense of movement. So there are loads of songs written just using those three chords and loads of chord progressions based on just those three chords. One I want to show you now is a chord progression that starts on the one chord, moves to the five chord, then goes down to four, then back up to five. Very major scale sounding. They're all major key, all major chords. Sounds very upbeat doesn't it, very happy. But yet once again this chord progression is used in a whole range of styles and can just serve as a really simple but effective bed to keep us in that major scale sound. My name is Nicole. I live on the... Second floor, Wonderland, that is Wonderland Time to read, time to read Yes, I'm ready to release, it's time to release The things she cared to bring In the night, boss Me for you, you come around The last chord progression I want to talk about is what I would call the Mixolydian Vamp. It's a chord progression where we basically just through the means of three chords basically get painted into that Mixolydian sound. So we start on the root chord in this example F then we go to the flat version of the seven chord which is E flat. We then go to the four chord B flat and then we go back to one. And this is enough to give us that Mixolydian sound because Mixolydian is exactly the same as the major scale but with the flat seven degree. So the first chord establishes our home base, the root of the key F. The second chord immediately gives us that Mixolydian sound by introducing the flat seven. Then the Bb gives us another place to go to. and then we return back home. It also has a very satisfying sound because between the b7, the 4 and the 1 we're moving by the same interval, a fourth or a fifth depending on your point of view. So effectively you could imagine it as moving around the circle of fifths. These chords are very closely related and I think it results in a very sort of epic Step around, say Petersburg, try to go in full time for change. It's a woman of the world. Your kind of looks, you're made for us We crave a different kind of body We want to have a good day Stayin'home Let's go Thank you as always goes to everybody who's posted on Patreon. ...including an extra special thanks going to these wonderful...

That's just two songs that are similar. Forever young, I wanna be forever young. I won't hesitate no more, no more.

So just there you've already heard a whole bunch of examples of songs using this progression, particularly in music. I would say after the from the 1980s onward it became increasingly popular to use this chord progression and perhaps that popularity peaked around the late 2000s early 2010s it's hard to say exactly I feel like it's less common today actually than it was 10 years ago but There's loads and loads of songs that use this progression and it's just a really great progression to to loop which is why it's used so often. Often when it's used in a song it will be looped for an extensive period of time, potentially for the entire song. Why it works so well in my opinion is we start with the the root chord Then we move away, as far away as we can really from that root chord, we move to the fifth chord of the key That introduces tension and motion.

We now need to go somewhere. We can't just stay here So if we wanted to wrap things up, we'd go back To one and now we sound completed done But that would be a bit boring. So rather than going back to one After the five chord we go to six which offers a different type of resolution not a full resolution.

And then rather than staying here because once again that would be boring we now introduce a bit more tension. by going to the IV chord. Now the IV chord, much like the V chord, doesn't necessarily feel resolved.

It doesn't want to stay here. So we need to go back somewhere and that puts us back to the I chord. When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me As I was there I remember it all too well Take on me Never mind, I'll find someone like you I wish Just a small time there Living in a lonely world Can you feel the love tonight?

It's never gonna end Let it go, let it go I can't hear more Let it go, let it go The next chord progression we're going to talk about is actually a very closely related chord progression to that first progression we talked about. This is 6-4-1-5 and why it's closely related is, as you may have noticed, it's actually the exact same chord progression as the first one but starting with the sixth chord instead. It sort of becomes like a minor version, a minor key version of that famous four chord progression.

If you're going to San Francisco, to grad.com, come on. And actually in that Axis of Awesome skit, that famous video, they use the fact that these two chord progressions are related to Segway into the other progression to sort of make their list of songs even longer This chord progression sort of works for the same reasons that the other chord progression that we looked at works. It's just a great balance of tension and release that allows it to continue looping around indefinitely if you want it to. I personally prefer this one over the first one.

I feel like this has a slight... it's kind of more dramatic in a way. But yeah, like we were saying, the first chord...

A minor in this instance is providing a point of rest. The IV chord introduces some tension, the I chord resolves that tension, but rather than remaining resolved we then go to our most tense chord, the dominant chord, which forces the chord progression to continue. So we wind up in this perfectly looped chord progression that can just keep going around if it needs to as long as possible. The next chord progression actually has an established name.

It's rare that chord progressions have a well-recognized name really but this one does. It's the Andalusian Cadence. Now the Andalusian Cadence is a chord progression associated, or originally at least, with flamenco music from Spain which is why it has the name Andalusian Cadence.

Andalusia being the southern region of Spain. But of course it's not just used in Flamenco music, it's used in a whole range of other styles of music and what is great about this chord progression is it just has that sense of descending. It's a clear descending progression starting on the I chord in the minor key, the b7 chord, b6 chord and then the V chord and we're getting the major version of the V chord which helps us then pull back up to the one to continue the loop i love the colorful and the way that sunlight plays upon her hair so I do, I do, I think about today at night It's all the right to think about the girl you love And hold her tight, so happy together As I walk along I wonder What went wrong with my love That was so strong The next chord progression is actually very similar to the Andalusian cadence, it's just the last chord that has differed. So we're still starting on the minor one chord, going to the flat seven, going to the flat six, but rather than then going to the five chord, going back up to the flat seven. I like to call this chord progression the Aeolian Vamp.

because it, in these three chords, effectively paints us into that Aeolian colour, the natural minor. And it has a less directional sound, I would say, than the Andalusian cadence, because we're not getting that V chord. The V chord undeniably wants us to go back home. But by avoiding that V chord...

We remain in a sort of floatier space where we don't necessarily have to go home if we don't want to. We could have had it all In the days of darkness In the morning You had my heart Here we are He found wherever he went Now I've been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord, oh Lord Would you love to cut me off? Because I can't... This next chord progression is sometimes called the Doo-Wop Changes or the 50s chord progression.

It starts on the I chord, goes to the VI chord, to the IV chord and to the V chord. And it's called the Doo-Wop Changes or the 50s chord progression because it was very common in 50s Doo-Wop music. You can imagine It fits that style really well doesn't it?

But it's used in the whole range of styles as you'll see in a minute. Why this chord progression is so effective I think is it's just a perfect little journey away from the tonic back to the tonic. So we start on our tonic chord of one.

Then we move to the sixth chord which is still a resolved sound. It doesn't sound like we now have to move anywhere. So the first two chords are sort of just different types of feeling resolved but then the four chord, the subdominant, introduces a bit of tension and then the five chord, the dominant, introduces a load more tension which forces us back round to the beginning to continue the loop.

Now sometimes this chord progression is wrongly referred to as the Blue Moon chord progression. Blue Moon being a famous song which supposedly uses this chord progression but it actually doesn't. The Blue Moon uses the two chord rather than the four chord which is a very very similar progression.

D minor in this instance would be our two chord. which is very similar to our IV chord which would be F. They're only one note different. They both serve a subdominant function in the key so both the Blue Moon progression and the Doo-Wop progression are very similar but it's important to remember that they're not Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine?

Happy next to the tree, I'm a son of Rachel, I'm the Jesus of Siberia, from the border, none of the other, I'm standing... Generally speaking the three most important chords of the key are the tonic chord 1 The IV chord, the subdominant chord, and the V chord of the key which is the dominant chord. With just those three chords you can create a whole sense of motion. The tonic is our home, the subdominant is a place away from the home but not yearning necessarily to return immediately back, but then the V really does want to go back, it's a point of tension.

So the combination of these three chords gives us three different shades of tension allowing for that sense of movement. So there are loads of songs written just using those three chords and loads of chord progressions based on just those three chords. One I want to show you now is a chord progression that starts on the one chord, moves to the five chord, then goes down to four, then back up to five. Very major scale sounding.

They're all major key, all major chords. Sounds very upbeat doesn't it, very happy. But yet once again this chord progression is used in a whole range of styles and can just serve as a really simple but effective bed to keep us in that major scale sound. My name is Nicole.

I live on the... Second floor, Wonderland, that is Wonderland Time to read, time to read Yes, I'm ready to release, it's time to release The things she cared to bring In the night, boss Me for you, you come around The last chord progression I want to talk about is what I would call the Mixolydian Vamp. It's a chord progression where we basically just through the means of three chords basically get painted into that Mixolydian sound.

So we start on the root chord in this example F then we go to the flat version of the seven chord which is E flat. We then go to the four chord B flat and then we go back to one. And this is enough to give us that Mixolydian sound because Mixolydian is exactly the same as the major scale but with the flat seven degree. So the first chord establishes our home base, the root of the key F. The second chord immediately gives us that Mixolydian sound by introducing the flat seven.

Then the Bb gives us another place to go to. and then we return back home. It also has a very satisfying sound because between the b7, the 4 and the 1 we're moving by the same interval, a fourth or a fifth depending on your point of view. So effectively you could imagine it as moving around the circle of fifths.

These chords are very closely related and I think it results in a very sort of epic Step around, say Petersburg, try to go in full time for change. It's a woman of the world. Your kind of looks, you're made for us We crave a different kind of body We want to have a good day Stayin'home Let's go Thank you as always goes to everybody who's posted on Patreon.

...including an extra special thanks going to these wonderful...

Transcript for:Exploring Pop Music Chord Progressions

Transcript for:
Exploring Pop Music Chord Progressions