Common Chord Progressions Every Pianist Should Know
Most pop songs follow one of a few common chord progressions, and, as the harmony is the same, they can fit together and flow seamlessly. Have you ever watched one of those videos with a mash-up of several pop songs, and even though they are definitely different sounding songs, they still somehow all fit together? Almost as if they were designed that way? That's because they all follow common chord progressions.
When you take classes with the Loudlands Music Lab instructors, we can introduce you to those popular piano chord progressions, show you how to play them, and get you playing your favorite songs in no time!
Understanding Common Chord Progressions on Piano
To understand the most common chord progressions, you need to be familiar with the way that chords are labeled in music. If you already know roman numeral names, the names of notes, and what triads are, feel free to skip this section. Otherwise, here is a basic summary of chord labels. If you want to know more, check out these guides to note names, sheet music, major scales, and keys.
In a major scale, there are seven notes until you get back to the first note of the scale. Hence, each note can be labeled by its scale degree, meaning the number of that note. For example, in C major, C is the first note, or first scale degree, D is the second note, or 2nd scale degree, E is the third note, or 3rd scale degree, etc.
Triads can be built from any note. They are, most basically, a group of three notes (hence, triad) consisting of the root (the 1st note, and name of the triad), the 3rd, and the 5th. The reason they are called the 3rd and 5th is because that is the interval, or distance, away it is from the root note.
The triads built from a specific scale degree of a scale are labeled as the roman numeral of the scale degree. For example, in C major, the triad built from the first note, C, is major, and is therefore labeled as I (Uppercase). The triad built from the second note, D, is minor, so it is labeled as ii (Lowercase). The triad built from the 3rd note is also minor, so it is labeled as iii. This pattern continues until we have come back to the first note, C. So, in order, in every major scale, the pattern of major and minor chords looks like this: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii(o), and back to I.
If you’ve been paying attention, you can see that in a major scale there are three major chords (the I, IV, and V), three minor chords (ii, iii, and vi) and one special one, called a diminished chord (the viio). This holds true for all major scales, regardless of what note they start on.
Therefore, although songs can be in different keys, they can have the same piano chord progression in terms of the roman numeral names of the chords relative to the key, and sound very similar. You can use this information to change the key of the song, if it is too high or too low for you to sing, and still sing the same song but in a range that is more comfortable for your voice. I can’t sing as high as Alicia Keys in If I Ain’t Got You, so I changed the key (called transposing) to be lower down, and now I can sing it, and unless you are comparing my song side-by-side with her singing, you won’t even know that it’s in a different key!
What Are the 4 Main Chords in Pop Songs?
I-vi-IV-V or 1-6-4-5
The most common pop chord progression is the I-vi-IV-V. Songs that use this progression are Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls, The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody, and Ed Sheeran’s Perfect, just to name a few. There are many more examples of this chord progression, as it is very popular.
This chord progression is nice because of all the common tones. For example, the first two chords, C and Am, have two tones (C and E) in common, so the transition is smooth. The same can be said about Am and F (their common tones are A and C). This leads to very smooth transitions between chords, and therefore easy to write melodies as well. This chord progression ends on the V chord, which, since it contains the leading tone, wants to resolve back to C, the first chord. So you can loop this progression over and over and it feels smooth.
More Common piano Chord Progressions in Pop Songs
I-V-vi-IV or 1-5-6-4
Another very common chord progression in pop songs is just a reordering of the previous one – I-V-vi-IV. Songs that use this progression are The Beatles’ Let it Be, Bush’s Glycerine, and Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry, among others.
This progression is nice for the same reasons that the first progression works. Am and F, as well as F and C, contain common tones, so the transitions between them are smooth, and therefore melody is easier to write. Try it yourself! Pick a progression like the above two, and try to write a melody. Then pick a very uncommon progression with very few common tones between the chords, and see if it is as easy to write a pretty melody. You will pick up pretty quickly why it is easier to write melodies when there are common tones between the chords, and why the progression itself (just playing it without a melody on top) feels nicer as well.
The most common chord progressions used in pop music are the two orders of the I, IV, V, vi chords above, but you can really put these chords in any order, and find songs written that way.
Common piano Chord Progressions in Jazz
ii-V-I or 2-5-1
Another common pop song chord progression, and the most common chord progression in Jazz, is called the ii-V-I. You can find this progression at the heart of Autumn Leaves, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, and What a Wonderful World, among many others. In Jazz, chords are rarely left as triads, and additional notes (most commonly the 7th of the chord) are added as color. It’s a stylistic choice that leads to the smooth sound of Jazz, as the increased number of notes per chord leads to more common notes between chords, and therefore smoother transitions. Though it is very common in Jazz, it is also found in many pop songs, such as Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning (which is written in C Major, so the diagram for the piano chord progression above is the actual chords for the song).
Common Chord Progressions in Blues, Rock & R&B
12-bar blues
The blues, and music derived from it, such as Rock and Roll and R&B, among others, has the very recognizable chord progression of the 12-bar blues. This consists of I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-V-IV-I-I, where the chords are most commonly in their seventh format rather than clean triads. Songs that use this progression are The Beatles’ Birthday, B.B. King’s Sweet Sixteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Pride and Joy.
This chord progression is a classic one, and very tied to the stylistic choices of the blues genre. It contains lots of repeats, or repeats with minor changes, and in the end, has a part (usually called the turnaround, the part with G7, F7, and C7) that is more active, then going right back to the beginning where you sit on one chord for a while, which lends itself to having a good balance between rest and motion.
What is amazing about this chord progression, and the music that is built around it, is that as long as you know the blues scale, you can hop into any jam session that uses the blues progression, and solo like a pro. In fact, in many cities around the globe, you can find a blues jam, bring your instrument, and just jam along with other musicians, all from knowing just one chord progression, and just one type of scale (though you do need to know the scale in a few different keys, the most common ones for blues rock being E and A, though G, C, and Bb are good to know as well.)
More Beautiful piano Chord Progressions
I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V or 1-5-6-3-4-1-4-5
Another common pop chord progression, and the last one we will talk about in this blog, is the I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V. It is used in songs such as The Eagles’ Hotel California, Vitamin C’s Graduation, and Belle and Sebastian’s Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying.
This progression is beautiful, and it sounds so good because every two chords are spaced the same distance away from each other. For example, C and G are a fifth apart. Am and Em are a fifth apart. F and C are a fifth apart. Only the F and G at the end don’t follow that pattern, which creates a nice break and keeps the chord progression still feeling fresh instead of repetitive.
Because the spaces between the chords follow a pattern, you can easily write a melody that also has a pattern (not the same one, but taking up the same amount of time), and it will sound good with these chords. Think about the verses of Hotel California – The melody is very repetitive in its rhythm, with each line of the verse having a similar, almost identical number of syllables and pattern of pitches, until the last lines of the verse, where they change it up just enough to keep it interesting.
Different Chord Progressions for Different Genres
Though some songs use similar chord progressions, they can be and are very different. They have different melodies, different instruments, different tempos, different keys, different transitions, and different singers. Though there is a pattern that links these songs together, there is much more that goes into making a song than just choosing a chord progression. All the other choices that the writers, musicians, and producers have to make to create a song ensure that unless you are intentionally trying to copy a song, your song will turn out very different than other songs, even if they use the same progression.
However, knowing that songs in certain genres use certain chord progressions, and that those songs have become successful hits, helps you as a songwriter, or you as a student trying to learn those first few songs on the piano, choose good and catchy chord progressions to start with. Knowing the pattern, learning some songs that use the same pattern and feeling how they are different, even though the chord progression is the same, is a surefire way to get very good at pop songs pretty quickly. The chord progressions above are great to start with, and will cover a wide variety of songs. Good Luck!
Piano Lessons Near Me
Want to learn more about basic key progression or how to master piano chords with the expert guidance of a professional piano teacher? Schedule piano lessons near Cambridge with us to get started on your musical journey! In addition to our in-person piano instruction, we’ll give you piano exercises to practice at home and teach you music theory so that you’ll soon be on your way to achieving your musical goals.
Chord Progression FAQS:
What Is the Most Common Pop Chord Progression?
The most common pop chord progression is the I-vi-IV-V. Songs that use this progression are Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls, The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody, and Ed Sheeran’s Perfect.
What Is the Most Common Chord Progression in Jazz?
The most common chord progression in Jazz is called the ii-V-I. You can find this progression at the heart of Autumn Leaves, I’ve Got You Under my Skin, What a Wonderful World.
What Is the Most Common Chord Progression in Blues Music?
The blues, and music derived from it, such as Rock and Roll and RnB, among others, has a very recognizable chord progression of the 12-bar blues, which consists of I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-V-IV-I-I. Songs that use this progression are The Beatles’ Birthday, B.B. King’s Sweet Sixteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Pride and Joy.
What Is the Most Beautiful Chord Progression?
A common beautiful pop chord progression is the I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V. It is used in songs such as The Eagles’ Hotel California, Vitamin C’s Graduation, and Belle and Sebastian’s Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying.
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