A chord progression is defined as a sequence of chords, and are the foundation of how we understand harmony in Western music. If you learn to play instruments like piano or guitar, they become especially important. This doesn’t just mean Classical music! The vast majority of popular music you hear today is based on these same chord progressions. These include popular music styles like pop, rock, blues, jazz, and more.
In this blog, we’re going to cover some of the most popular chord progressions in popular music today. Want to learn more about chord progressions, and what they are? Read our blog post on the importance of music theory, or check out our course “Introduction to Music Theory: The Fundamentals” to learn about the basics of music theory, and gain the foundational skills to tackle more advanced topics like these.
Diving In
The vast majority of popular music you hear today is based on these same chord progressions!
I–V–vi–IV progression
The first popular chord progression is the I-V-vi-IV progression. As implied, it uses the I, V, vi, and IV chord of a major scale to create the chord progression. For example, in the key of C Major, the I chord would be C, the V chord would be G, the vi chord would be Am, and the IV chord would be F. This would create the progression: C-G-Am-F.
In terms of tones, we would call these the tonic, dominant, submediant, and subdominant.
Listen to how it sounds:
This chord progression is broadly used within contemporary music today, and enjoys enduring popularity. In fact, this progression is often satirized for how common (and arguably overused) it is!
Here are some popular songs that use this chord progression:
I–IV-V progression
This one is a simplification of the previous chord progression, where we just take out the vi chord (the submediant)! Now that we’ve taken out the vi chord, which is a minor chord and generally sounds sad or melancholy, we have a much more cheerful and uptempo sound.
Continuing our example of C Major, we have the I chord (C), the IV chord (F), and the V chord (G). This would create the progression: C-F-G. We can add the tonic chord at the end to wrap it up with 4 chords, which is also an example of what we call a resolution.
Listen to how it sounds:
Here are some popular songs that use this chord progression:
ii-V-I progression
This progression is a bit different from the previous ones – it’s a popular jazz chord progression that many say defines the genre!
In C Major, we would have the ii chord (Dm), the V chord (G), and the I chord (C). This would create the progression: Dm-G-C. Again, we see here that the V chord (G) provides a resolution to bring us back to C major.
Listen to how it sounds:
Here are some popular songs that use this chord progression:
I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (Canon) progression
This chord progression is longer than the previous ones! It’s a classic progression from composer Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, a piece you may have heard during formal occasions like graduations or weddings. As you can guess, it has a dignified and elegant sound, but is also really versatile – it can work in a lot of different musical contexts!
In C major, this progression consists of the I chord (C), the V chord (G), the vi chord (Am), the iii chord (Em), the IV chord (F), the I chord again (C), the IV chord again (F), and finally the V chord again (G). This would finally give us the progression C-G-Am-Em-F-C-F-G.
Listen to how it sounds:
Here are some popular songs that use this chord progression:
Conclusion
There are so many more chord progressions to explore in music. In fact, any combination or sequence of chords you can come up with qualifies as a chord progression! Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter to read more about these chord progressions, and other important concepts in music/music theory.
Thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a comment below if you learned something, or have any thoughts to share.