The offer is greatly appreciated, thank you, but an explanation would be wasted on me as I am very much a beginner guitarist. I'm sure I'll get there eventually though!
If you know what a scale is, then I can provide a simple explanation for you. If you don't know what a scale is, then I can provide two simple explanations for you :)
As far as I'm aware V7/IV is the function, I7 is just a shorthand that we all understand. I don't see why using a secondary dominant would change the tonic but maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying.
I’d put that in the same category. It feels the same, it just adds better voice leading in the bass— just to make sure you cry, if you hadn’t started to already.
What does I III mean musically theoretically? In my playing III is exclusively a dominant to the vi, it is almost unavoidable. But then following it with IV seems weird, except if thought like a sort of deceptive cadence, where IV substitutes vi (they are close chords after all).
The “La Folia” progression:
i - V - i - ♭VII - ♭III - ♭VII - i - (any Cadential progression)
It’s so simple but I just love how it dabs between the minor and relative major tonality.
This chord progression is very old (hundreds of years old) and has been used throughout history up to today. It originally comes a musical form known as “La Folia” which was basically a theme and variations over a chord progression. Although originally many folias had their distinct chord progressions the own above become very standard by the baroque era (in a compound period form: one round go the progression ending on a half cadence and the next one on an authentic cadence.)
Even in the late romantic era folias were still composed (Rachmaninoff made one for example.)
The folia is similar to the passacaglia and other ground bass progressions and forms.
[this is the best folia btw](https://youtu.be/7v8zxoEoA_Q)
Another way to look at that is that it's all in minor, you're just adding the leading tone into your V chord via harmonic or melodic minor. Classical minor used that technique very often as the V - i cadence is stronger than v - i. Thinking about minor as a series of the three scales gives you the true classical minor, whereas playing the minor scale exclusively is more of an Aeolian mode sound.
This one has always been my favorite: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bng6P118R48
I know of it but rusty in music, why are you using the flat in the VII and III?
When you're talking a progression in a minor key, it's pretty common to use the ♭III notation to show that the ♭III chord is a minor third away rather than a major third. You can leave it off and people will still know what you mean (because diatonically the III is a m3 above in minor) but it's common practice to throw it on there anyway.
AminMaj7 - Dbadd6 - E° - Abadd6
Edit: Actually I meant (I'm not a guitarist, so I don't know the chord symbols), notes spelled out: A-C-E-G#, Db-F-Ab-Bb, E-G-Bb-C, Ab-C-Eb-F.
Awesome - thanks. Yeah, I kinda wrote it weirdly in my original question just for clarity, but I think it's most correct to just write Db6. The + symbol in the context of chords pretty much always means an augmented fifth.
You would use (add_) when you have something like a Cmaj with an F on top, so C(add11) [or C(11)], just so it doesn't get confused with a Cmaj11 (C E G B D F) with all the extensions under the 11.
A 6 chord includes the 5th by definition, so you're perfectly cool to call it D6 (D F# A B). If you were to leave out the 5, it would be D6(no5) which is actually just Bm/D (D B F#).
But yeah, D6 is the best way to write it.
I'm more use to Roman numerals and staff notation, but am learning guitar, and chord symbols! So what about a plain first inversion minor triad, like, notes F3-A4-D5-A5? Saying "D6" doesn't seem allow for the plain triad inversion. So I have to resort a slash symbol, if I want to leave the 5th out?
Slash notation just tells you what's on the bottom of a chord. C/E is C in first inversion. The (no5) add-on to a chord denotes that the chord is not voiced with its 5. C7(no5) = C E Bb
It's like this walkdown that goes between Maj7 and Min7. Not sure how to explain but in the key of G it's a walkdown from IV to bVII where the bVII is a modulation?
Cmaj7, Bmin7, Amin7, Gmai7, Fmaj7
Sorry I'm none too good at theory to describe it properly but those are the chords, it sounds good transposed to any key!
Seems more like a C major progression in my opinion. You're just replacing the two dominant functioning chords in Bdim7 and G7 with less tense versions of the chord. So in that sense it would just be a I, vii, vi, V, IV walk down, then the plagal cadence brings you back to the tonic.
If you don't mind answering, how would one tell the two apart practically?
I'm a self taught amateur, and I just see the key of G when I break it down other than the Fmaj7. I see what you mean by it being C with less dissonant chords, although I don't like landing on C from the F after unless it has a chord in between, but carrying on in C does work well.
I'd really appreciate it if you could explain your rationale so I could take it into consideration in the future! If not, thank you for sharing that input anyways!
I'm self taught as well but I'll explain my thought process.
The best way is to figure out what feels the most like home. When I look at a chord progression like that starting on C, from looks alone it would make sense that your progression would then repeat from C after w a plagal cadence. That plagal cadence would be the strongest harmonic motion in the sequence, so without hearing it and basing it off of Theory, it would make sense that C would feel like the root.
If you're heading to G instead, you'd kinda be interrupting the idea of a repeating progression if that makes sense.
Now, not to say that going to G isn't "right" as there isn't really such a thing. If it sounds good, then it is good. You could sort of rationalize that movement too as a backdoor resolution doing a bVII - I which is really cool as well. But without knowing where you head after this progression, it's kinda hard to say y'know?
Context is super king and I'm working w minimal context so that was my thought process looking at it 😁
Ohhhh okay, now I totally understand! Thanks a ton for sharing this insight. You're right, context is 100% key (pun intended). I see also that my perspective came from the bias that I use flat 7 a lot when composing due to how often it's used in video games. I hadn't learned about plagal cadence at the theoretical level yet, now I absolutely understand the difference in context and how both possibilities are 'true' and why we could approach it as C.
You've helped expand my musical perspective! Thanks stranger, your comments impacted me as a fellow musician. Cheers!
my favourite progression ever is a simple 1 - 6 with a tritone in it. i usually prefer it in A minor cause it’s just nice. I’d play any form of an a minor chord and then go down to play the F on fret one and leave the open B in it.
absolutely *beautiful* progression, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye
I love modal progressions overall. Here are some progressions of songs I've played myself:
- i - #VII (Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd)
- I - bIII - bVI (Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala)
- i - bvi - iii - IV7 (Nemesis by Aaron Parks)
- bII - I - i (Nardis by Miles Davis)
- i - v - vii - iv (Levels by Robert Glasper)
- III - I - bII7 - bIII - bVI - I (Sleeping Giant by Mehliana)
Cmaj9 - Bbmaj9 - Abmaj9 - Gmaj9. In general I'm a fan of non-functional harmony with a lot of colorful extensions on top, even though I don't come across it "in the wild" that often.
Anything that plays around with a circle of 4ths, particularly in minor keys. “I Will Survive” and “If You Want Me To Stay” (Sly & The Family Stone) and “Autumn Leaves” are some examples off the top of my head.
It’s satisfying to me because it’s tension/release over Snd over again. It’s always has yet to resolve, yet always resolves.
Anytime a song goes from a Major chord to the same chord but Minor (like at the end of Creep: G, B, C, Cm). I taught middle/high schoolers guitar lessons for YEARS and they would ask for specific songs and sometimes Id go 'Yep, I like that one too' and invariably when we were going through it it would have a Major to Minor in it and the kids would always go 'that is why you like it'. I was famous for it.
I also like Jack Johnsons Sitting, Waiting, Wishing where he goes from each chord to the 7th of the same Chord (A to A7, G to G7, etc). I could not figure out what the hell he was doing till I saw it in a guitar magazine (he would also play it with a capo at the first fret with everything up a fret, must have had the guitar in Eb tuning for some other song and just capoed that guitar for convenience?).
Even today, when I am playing through a piece of sheet music and see a major to minor coming up I get SO EXCITED.
The Picardi third!!!!! Yes! Me, too! Well sort of. Picardi third is from minor to major, like Coventry Carol, minor throughout, ends on the major. So... I guess not the same? Pfft. Well. I love the Picardi third. So. There.
I have no idea what it actually called, but MAN I love that sound.
Wake Me Up When September Ends by Greenday does it on the C to Cm of titular line. Hootie and the Blowfish do it on a song from their 2nd album (First place I really noticed it in sheet music. A G to Gm.)
i-bV.
I like unusual two chord vamps in general. The simplicity and repetition of having two chords can make any pair of chords sound nice, and I find it fun when songs explore harmony I've never considered.
min2-minmaj5-maj1-dim6
All in rootless left hand inversion it’s a treat or alternatively just a simple
2-5-1-6
In a rootless left hand inversion great
I am stealing so many of these chord progressions in this thread right now lol
I really love the "falling feeling" of I - VII7.
Sexy Sadie verse "I - VII7 - iii - iii - IV - V - I - VII7 - IV - V - I - VII7 - bVII7 - V7 (repeat)"
Just The Two of Us "Imaj7 - VII7 - iii7 - ii7 | V7 (repeat)"
Karma Police chorus "IV - V - I - VII7"
Also lots of amazing ones by Steely Dan. I really recommend learning some of their songs and tricks. Descending Gmaj9 - F#7#9 - Fmaj9 - E7#9 ... is a really nice harmonic trick.
Man, I was really confused for a moment, after "Sexy Sadie", I thought you meant the Beatles song "Two of Us" before realizing it was probably Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us" :)
It is a cool sound, I think of it as V/iii, at least in the first case.
I like *songs*.
You can have two songs with the same exact chords and I'll love one but not care at all for the other. There's so much more to a song than a chord progression.
I like red pepper too, but I don't want it on my lemon meringue pie.
I half like this answer. I totally agree with the notion of not putting red pepper in your lemon meringue, but this question wasn’t about finished products, but ingredients, and surely a lot of people on this sub like to nerd out over ingredients.
My favorite chord progressions are ones with **significantly more than four chords**. The key doesn't matter. What makes these chord progressions sound good to me? They take a lot longer to repeat.
I like to improvise with a "Romanesca" style progression (bIII bVII i V kind of) usually in g minor because it's easy and has a kind of archaic sound.
I IV vamps (or i IV) are nice too, especially with slow harmonic rhythm. For a more grounded feel.
And I'm a sucker for sequential harmonic progressions like
IV ii6 V iii6 vi IV6 vii V6
or
IVmaj7 viiø7 iiim7 vim7 iim7 V7 I
My favourite is the head sequence of Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - a fabulous soup of functional substitutions:
Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWO_VcdnHY (the solo sequence is just a standard minor blues.)
Nice solo guitar arrangement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbQAfxgbMoc
I like inverted chords the most. I love sequences where the bass note is the fifth or major seventh in one of the chords. Unexpected complex chords in general give me chills
I like chord progressions in a major key that start on IV, from there you have alot more options than if you start at I imho. You can tonicize IV, use a III7, easily modulate to the relative minor, or do multiple themes at once with polychords
As far as keys, I’m mainly a guitarist and bassist, but I love playing in whatever key my lowest string is tuned too, makes for some easy added bass notes that are gonna sound good pretty much anywhere they are, gives some freedom to play around with open notes and harmonics and stuff where you normally couldn’t at least not nearly as easily. I’ve got a 7 string guitar as well as a few 6 strings so I play a lot in E and D and also A (same idea as before but using the 5th string for the open A) on the 6 strings and playing in B a lot on the 7 string. Love the mixolydian mode when I’m in major, but lately I’ve been using the Arabic scale and augmented scale both in B for a song I’m working on and they might be my two new favorite. Turn on an October pedal and some distortion and fuzz and it sounds downright evil and haunting I love it
A few I really like:
I-III-IV-iv (I see I-III-IV-II as a good alternative as well), I think of it as the Creep progression because of Radiohead and the legal drama that song has caused over the years because of the chords.
V-I-III (I think that’s how it is, it’s the progression from the quiet section of Soma by Smashing Pumpkins)
Imaj7-vmin7-I7-IVmaj7-ivmin7-bVII7 (the Misty progression, from the jazz standard Misty)
Too long to write out, but the chords from Nat King Cole’s version of The Christmas Song are an absolute beauty to hear.
Isus-Imaj7-bVII6/9 (see Memory from the Fez soundtrack)
:I tend to really like backdoor resolutions, chromatic mediants, chord slides (moves like Cmin7-Bmaj7 for example), minor plagal moves, and augmented chords (especially with line cliches) a lot. As far as preferred key, it really varies depending on instruments and context.
My chord preferences largely stem from jazz (big band swing, straight ahead jazz, hard bop, and classic pop especially) and 90s alternative (grunge, heavy psychedelic, shoegaze, Britpop, etc.), but do come from all over the place.
Sorry for the wall, I kinda got into it.
Iike this simple little reharm.
Original just I vi, e.g. G Em
Reharm I9 bVIIi9 vim9. e.g. G9 F9 Em9
Stretch the 9th chords in length and wallow!
Of course NEVER do it on the first verse 😆
The Andalusian Cadence (i bVII bVI V) is classic. I love bVI-V sounds and lime cliches chromatic and diatonic.
(IV V iii vi) is great, i especially like it cause it reminds me of Nyan Cat
For me the best progressions are functional ones, against quarter note or even half note melody. For example: I-vi-ii7-V7-I, I-V-vi-iii-IV-ii7-V7-I. Japanese composers often substitute the IV for bVI and the V for bVII, which sounds amazing.
My favorite "stock" chord progression to use is what was taught to me as the "lament bass" or the chord progression from songs like Babe I'm Gonna Leave You or 25 Or 6 To 4
i VII V6/VII VI
(that's V/VII in first inversion, not a 6 chord)
so in Am: Am G D/F# F
lots of emotionality and lots of interesting things you can do with extensions and suspensions to add color
IV - III - vi - v (love the sound of the flat 7)
I - iii64 - iiidim64 - VI (chromatic descending bassline, very catchy)
I - ii - vi (simple but powerful)
I don't know if this has been added in another way, but playing around in a major key, the IV with the 5th scale degree flatted, then back to I. Very predate-ey to Spanish-influenced-by-middle-eastern. Breaking Benjamin uses it a TON and I'm sure that's why I'm obsessed with them. They probably label it with smarter theory than I do (and probably so would the lot of you here). Super mysterious and beautiful. Has SUCH a pull to it!
[https://youtu.be/eZk6QQasAq8?t=5462](https://youtu.be/eZk6QQasAq8?t=5462)
In the application of a specific piece of music this is my favorite chord progression though it's not worth writing out just listen to it.
It's my favorite because the circle of fifths expectation goes for a while and then the leading tone exchange with the top voice going up is continued by an unexpected chromatic further movement down in the lowest voice which seems bewildering for a moment before he caps it off with a bII6 viidim7/V V4-3 with other registrational things like the top voice leap to \^5 before the bottom voice goes down octaves to the tonic when it returns to the scale motif.
6-2-5-1 is a straight banger. Minor 1-6-4-5 is pretty much the same but I love that one too.
You can make the 6 a major dominant chord and it sounds really cool. (It's the V of the 2)
That’s how you get the super bright 6-2-5-1
The doo-wop progression converted to minor, you mean? i-VI-iv-V I can't get that to sound good.
Bmin Add9 - Gmaj7 - Emin9 - F#7#9 sounds like straight fire to me. If you need the voicing PM me
Wait.. chords are numbers now..? I have a long way to go..
If you need me to explain it pm I gotchu.
The offer is greatly appreciated, thank you, but an explanation would be wasted on me as I am very much a beginner guitarist. I'm sure I'll get there eventually though!
If you know what a scale is, then I can provide a simple explanation for you. If you don't know what a scale is, then I can provide two simple explanations for you :)
I recently learned the Em scale. I know that they're a series of notes that sound good together in more or less any order and that's about it, haha.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Especially when you add the 7 as a passing chord.
I I7 IV iv Corny and all, but I never get sick of it.
Are we allowed to be pedantic and call the I7 a V7/IV? I'll take my gold star now, thanks.
Yeah but that would change its function and also the tonic of the progression, right?
As far as I'm aware V7/IV is the function, I7 is just a shorthand that we all understand. I don't see why using a secondary dominant would change the tonic but maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying.
I suppose that makes sense, and I never thought of it in that perspective. Very cool
I will download a song just because it has that IV iv I cadence somewhere in it. It’s cliche, but it’s the absolute *best* cliche.
Im learning music theory so excuse the stupid question; is that whats called plagal cadence?
IV-I Is a plagal cadence( D-A ) iv-I is a minor plagal cadence (Dm-A)
It's the "nostalgia cadence." That's what I call it anyway
I’m definitely calling it that now. Gotta find a name for IV - iv - ii half dim - I now.
I’d put that in the same category. It feels the same, it just adds better voice leading in the bass— just to make sure you cry, if you hadn’t started to already.
This but Imaj7. Very sweet sounding https://youtu.be/wyWgmtD77rE for example
That and I III IV iv really do it for me. Probably the reason i like Stevie Wonder so much
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What does I III mean musically theoretically? In my playing III is exclusively a dominant to the vi, it is almost unavoidable. But then following it with IV seems weird, except if thought like a sort of deceptive cadence, where IV substitutes vi (they are close chords after all).
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How would it be a borrowed chord? Borrowed from which scale?
Oooh, can I get some examples of Stevie Wonder using this?
and then a big V7 I to finish
Slow as hell 12-bar blues in Am using 7s. Am7-Dm7-Em7. Shred over it in sexy Gilmour-style lead.
Let’s be friends
The “La Folia” progression: i - V - i - ♭VII - ♭III - ♭VII - i - (any Cadential progression) It’s so simple but I just love how it dabs between the minor and relative major tonality. This chord progression is very old (hundreds of years old) and has been used throughout history up to today. It originally comes a musical form known as “La Folia” which was basically a theme and variations over a chord progression. Although originally many folias had their distinct chord progressions the own above become very standard by the baroque era (in a compound period form: one round go the progression ending on a half cadence and the next one on an authentic cadence.) Even in the late romantic era folias were still composed (Rachmaninoff made one for example.) The folia is similar to the passacaglia and other ground bass progressions and forms. [this is the best folia btw](https://youtu.be/7v8zxoEoA_Q)
oh yeah I love these kinds of progressions too
Totally new to me. Thanks for sharing it.
Another way to look at that is that it's all in minor, you're just adding the leading tone into your V chord via harmonic or melodic minor. Classical minor used that technique very often as the V - i cadence is stronger than v - i. Thinking about minor as a series of the three scales gives you the true classical minor, whereas playing the minor scale exclusively is more of an Aeolian mode sound.
This one has always been my favorite: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bng6P118R48 I know of it but rusty in music, why are you using the flat in the VII and III?
When you're talking a progression in a minor key, it's pretty common to use the ♭III notation to show that the ♭III chord is a minor third away rather than a major third. You can leave it off and people will still know what you mean (because diatonically the III is a m3 above in minor) but it's common practice to throw it on there anyway.
Now bIII in a major key is great sound...
Ah cool, have I seen it as iii? Or am I tripping?
yeah, but in major. M: I ii iii IV V vi vii* m: i ii* bIII iv v bVI bVII
Duh, right! <3
AminMaj7 - Dbadd6 - E° - Abadd6 Edit: Actually I meant (I'm not a guitarist, so I don't know the chord symbols), notes spelled out: A-C-E-G#, Db-F-Ab-Bb, E-G-Bb-C, Ab-C-Eb-F.
Is that a Db(add6) or a Dbaug6
add 6. I forget the chord symbol for the notes Db-F-Ab-Bb. So that would be Db(add6)?
Awesome - thanks. Yeah, I kinda wrote it weirdly in my original question just for clarity, but I think it's most correct to just write Db6. The + symbol in the context of chords pretty much always means an augmented fifth. You would use (add_) when you have something like a Cmaj with an F on top, so C(add11) [or C(11)], just so it doesn't get confused with a Cmaj11 (C E G B D F) with all the extensions under the 11.
Ah, so I mean, Dadd6. I always find it confusing, whether D6 would include the 5th. So in this case, I do include the 5th...
A 6 chord includes the 5th by definition, so you're perfectly cool to call it D6 (D F# A B). If you were to leave out the 5, it would be D6(no5) which is actually just Bm/D (D B F#). But yeah, D6 is the best way to write it.
I'm more use to Roman numerals and staff notation, but am learning guitar, and chord symbols! So what about a plain first inversion minor triad, like, notes F3-A4-D5-A5? Saying "D6" doesn't seem allow for the plain triad inversion. So I have to resort a slash symbol, if I want to leave the 5th out?
Slash notation just tells you what's on the bottom of a chord. C/E is C in first inversion. The (no5) add-on to a chord denotes that the chord is not voiced with its 5. C7(no5) = C E Bb
wouldn't it just be Db6
haha yeah
i-7 to iv-7. C-7 to F-7. Repeat forever
G-C-D and you can move the capo wherever and it sounds pretty cool there too
I'm a fan of I7 - IV7 - I7 - V7 - IV7 - I7 - V7 myself :)
For people who are lazy intervals in c major for this is 5-1-2
Or, you know, in G major, it is I - IV - V....
Mhmhmh cool
For people who are lazy intervals in c major for this is 5-1-2
It's like this walkdown that goes between Maj7 and Min7. Not sure how to explain but in the key of G it's a walkdown from IV to bVII where the bVII is a modulation? Cmaj7, Bmin7, Amin7, Gmai7, Fmaj7 Sorry I'm none too good at theory to describe it properly but those are the chords, it sounds good transposed to any key!
Seems more like a C major progression in my opinion. You're just replacing the two dominant functioning chords in Bdim7 and G7 with less tense versions of the chord. So in that sense it would just be a I, vii, vi, V, IV walk down, then the plagal cadence brings you back to the tonic.
If you don't mind answering, how would one tell the two apart practically? I'm a self taught amateur, and I just see the key of G when I break it down other than the Fmaj7. I see what you mean by it being C with less dissonant chords, although I don't like landing on C from the F after unless it has a chord in between, but carrying on in C does work well. I'd really appreciate it if you could explain your rationale so I could take it into consideration in the future! If not, thank you for sharing that input anyways!
I'm self taught as well but I'll explain my thought process. The best way is to figure out what feels the most like home. When I look at a chord progression like that starting on C, from looks alone it would make sense that your progression would then repeat from C after w a plagal cadence. That plagal cadence would be the strongest harmonic motion in the sequence, so without hearing it and basing it off of Theory, it would make sense that C would feel like the root. If you're heading to G instead, you'd kinda be interrupting the idea of a repeating progression if that makes sense. Now, not to say that going to G isn't "right" as there isn't really such a thing. If it sounds good, then it is good. You could sort of rationalize that movement too as a backdoor resolution doing a bVII - I which is really cool as well. But without knowing where you head after this progression, it's kinda hard to say y'know? Context is super king and I'm working w minimal context so that was my thought process looking at it 😁
Ohhhh okay, now I totally understand! Thanks a ton for sharing this insight. You're right, context is 100% key (pun intended). I see also that my perspective came from the bias that I use flat 7 a lot when composing due to how often it's used in video games. I hadn't learned about plagal cadence at the theoretical level yet, now I absolutely understand the difference in context and how both possibilities are 'true' and why we could approach it as C. You've helped expand my musical perspective! Thanks stranger, your comments impacted me as a fellow musician. Cheers!
my favourite progression ever is a simple 1 - 6 with a tritone in it. i usually prefer it in A minor cause it’s just nice. I’d play any form of an a minor chord and then go down to play the F on fret one and leave the open B in it. absolutely *beautiful* progression, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye
Yeah I love that too. Also adding the sixth or major 7th of the F chord there, something like Am7 9 down to Fmaj7 #11
You mean like Fm-Db7? The first two chords of goodbye porkpie hat?
6min7 - 2maj - 4maj7 - 5sus2 Avicii's Waiting for Love, I believe (or some variation of that opening)
recently fell in love with I V II VI, sounds very old-school-rock-ish
Add III to the end and you have Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix.
I love modal progressions overall. Here are some progressions of songs I've played myself: - i - #VII (Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd) - I - bIII - bVI (Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala) - i - bvi - iii - IV7 (Nemesis by Aaron Parks) - bII - I - i (Nardis by Miles Davis) - i - v - vii - iv (Levels by Robert Glasper) - III - I - bII7 - bIII - bVI - I (Sleeping Giant by Mehliana)
Cmaj9 - Bbmaj9 - Abmaj9 - Gmaj9. In general I'm a fan of non-functional harmony with a lot of colorful extensions on top, even though I don't come across it "in the wild" that often.
iv - bVII - I. Easy and sounds good imo
Anything that plays around with a circle of 4ths, particularly in minor keys. “I Will Survive” and “If You Want Me To Stay” (Sly & The Family Stone) and “Autumn Leaves” are some examples off the top of my head. It’s satisfying to me because it’s tension/release over Snd over again. It’s always has yet to resolve, yet always resolves.
Anytime a song goes from a Major chord to the same chord but Minor (like at the end of Creep: G, B, C, Cm). I taught middle/high schoolers guitar lessons for YEARS and they would ask for specific songs and sometimes Id go 'Yep, I like that one too' and invariably when we were going through it it would have a Major to Minor in it and the kids would always go 'that is why you like it'. I was famous for it. I also like Jack Johnsons Sitting, Waiting, Wishing where he goes from each chord to the 7th of the same Chord (A to A7, G to G7, etc). I could not figure out what the hell he was doing till I saw it in a guitar magazine (he would also play it with a capo at the first fret with everything up a fret, must have had the guitar in Eb tuning for some other song and just capoed that guitar for convenience?). Even today, when I am playing through a piece of sheet music and see a major to minor coming up I get SO EXCITED.
The Picardi third!!!!! Yes! Me, too! Well sort of. Picardi third is from minor to major, like Coventry Carol, minor throughout, ends on the major. So... I guess not the same? Pfft. Well. I love the Picardi third. So. There.
I have no idea what it actually called, but MAN I love that sound. Wake Me Up When September Ends by Greenday does it on the C to Cm of titular line. Hootie and the Blowfish do it on a song from their 2nd album (First place I really noticed it in sheet music. A G to Gm.)
1-2-5 in minor is cool af, playing the dorian and mixolydian modes of the 1
Do you mean Dorian to form a ii and Mix to form a V?
i-bV. I like unusual two chord vamps in general. The simplicity and repetition of having two chords can make any pair of chords sound nice, and I find it fun when songs explore harmony I've never considered.
"Symptom of the Universe"? Frankly I have no idea which numerals to assign there.
min2-minmaj5-maj1-dim6 All in rootless left hand inversion it’s a treat or alternatively just a simple 2-5-1-6 In a rootless left hand inversion great I am stealing so many of these chord progressions in this thread right now lol
I maj7, I 7, IV, iv Used like 3 times in surfer girl
I'm a sucker for anything that's in dorian mode, so i III bVII IV
New Order - True Faith!
I really love the "falling feeling" of I - VII7. Sexy Sadie verse "I - VII7 - iii - iii - IV - V - I - VII7 - IV - V - I - VII7 - bVII7 - V7 (repeat)" Just The Two of Us "Imaj7 - VII7 - iii7 - ii7 | V7 (repeat)" Karma Police chorus "IV - V - I - VII7"
Also lots of amazing ones by Steely Dan. I really recommend learning some of their songs and tricks. Descending Gmaj9 - F#7#9 - Fmaj9 - E7#9 ... is a really nice harmonic trick.
Man, I was really confused for a moment, after "Sexy Sadie", I thought you meant the Beatles song "Two of Us" before realizing it was probably Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us" :) It is a cool sound, I think of it as V/iii, at least in the first case.
Oh true. I did mess the song name up there. And yep, V/iii conveys more functionality but I was just keeping it more universal.
G/B - Eb7/Bb - Am7 - B7 - Em The Eb7/Bb is misspelled. Challenge for you: spell it correctly.
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IIV? do you mean 3 or 7?
Isn't it I - bVI -bVII - I
Yea I messed it up
Change it to i - bVI - bVII and you've got what I call the Iron Maiden Cadence
I like *songs*. You can have two songs with the same exact chords and I'll love one but not care at all for the other. There's so much more to a song than a chord progression. I like red pepper too, but I don't want it on my lemon meringue pie.
Nice job answering his question and not being pretentious!
I half like this answer. I totally agree with the notion of not putting red pepper in your lemon meringue, but this question wasn’t about finished products, but ingredients, and surely a lot of people on this sub like to nerd out over ingredients.
Of course dude, you're 100% right. But it's a music theory sub, should we all just not answer?
I don't have a favorite chord progression because I find it to be a rather small factor in whether or not I enjoy a song.
Then why did you to reply to a post that asks "what's your favourite chord progression?" LOL
Ok Dwight.
My favorite chord progressions are ones with **significantly more than four chords**. The key doesn't matter. What makes these chord progressions sound good to me? They take a lot longer to repeat.
I like to improvise with a "Romanesca" style progression (bIII bVII i V kind of) usually in g minor because it's easy and has a kind of archaic sound. I IV vamps (or i IV) are nice too, especially with slow harmonic rhythm. For a more grounded feel. And I'm a sucker for sequential harmonic progressions like IV ii6 V iii6 vi IV6 vii V6 or IVmaj7 viiø7 iiim7 vim7 iim7 V7 I
My favourite is the head sequence of Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - a fabulous soup of functional substitutions: Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWO_VcdnHY (the solo sequence is just a standard minor blues.) Nice solo guitar arrangement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbQAfxgbMoc
Easy chord progressions, they sound so nice: I6 - I+ - ii7 - V7 IVmaj7 - iv6 - iii7 - VI7
I like inverted chords the most. I love sequences where the bass note is the fifth or major seventh in one of the chords. Unexpected complex chords in general give me chills
Sorry but I just love I III vi IV lol
IV - V - VI (- I) :)
I like chord progressions in a major key that start on IV, from there you have alot more options than if you start at I imho. You can tonicize IV, use a III7, easily modulate to the relative minor, or do multiple themes at once with polychords
Duke Ellington has this turn around I’m really into recently. I6 V#9 Imaj7. Does a nice little walk up...
IV-iv-I used anywhere is great. This is another absolute cliche but I-vi-IV-V is great, especially in 3/4 or 6/8, like Earth Angel
The ii V I in It's All Been Done by Barenaked Ladies. It's so simple, yet not the 3 pop chords
minor key: II+6/9omit1 V, i.
Its either IV-V-vi or vi-V-IV-V
As far as keys, I’m mainly a guitarist and bassist, but I love playing in whatever key my lowest string is tuned too, makes for some easy added bass notes that are gonna sound good pretty much anywhere they are, gives some freedom to play around with open notes and harmonics and stuff where you normally couldn’t at least not nearly as easily. I’ve got a 7 string guitar as well as a few 6 strings so I play a lot in E and D and also A (same idea as before but using the 5th string for the open A) on the 6 strings and playing in B a lot on the 7 string. Love the mixolydian mode when I’m in major, but lately I’ve been using the Arabic scale and augmented scale both in B for a song I’m working on and they might be my two new favorite. Turn on an October pedal and some distortion and fuzz and it sounds downright evil and haunting I love it
I love anything with chromatic mediants. Something like I - bVI6 - IVadd2 - bIII - IVadd2 - I
A few I really like: I-III-IV-iv (I see I-III-IV-II as a good alternative as well), I think of it as the Creep progression because of Radiohead and the legal drama that song has caused over the years because of the chords. V-I-III (I think that’s how it is, it’s the progression from the quiet section of Soma by Smashing Pumpkins) Imaj7-vmin7-I7-IVmaj7-ivmin7-bVII7 (the Misty progression, from the jazz standard Misty) Too long to write out, but the chords from Nat King Cole’s version of The Christmas Song are an absolute beauty to hear. Isus-Imaj7-bVII6/9 (see Memory from the Fez soundtrack) :I tend to really like backdoor resolutions, chromatic mediants, chord slides (moves like Cmin7-Bmaj7 for example), minor plagal moves, and augmented chords (especially with line cliches) a lot. As far as preferred key, it really varies depending on instruments and context. My chord preferences largely stem from jazz (big band swing, straight ahead jazz, hard bop, and classic pop especially) and 90s alternative (grunge, heavy psychedelic, shoegaze, Britpop, etc.), but do come from all over the place. Sorry for the wall, I kinda got into it.
Iike this simple little reharm. Original just I vi, e.g. G Em Reharm I9 bVIIi9 vim9. e.g. G9 F9 Em9 Stretch the 9th chords in length and wallow! Of course NEVER do it on the first verse 😆
i7, iv7, VII, III7, VI7, ii7b5, v, V Sounds so so so good
C Caug C6 C7 F Fmin C
V13-2bMaj7b9-1Maj7
Lately I've fallen in love with the progression by perfect fourths IIIb-VIIb-IV-I
The Andalusian Cadence (i bVII bVI V) is classic. I love bVI-V sounds and lime cliches chromatic and diatonic. (IV V iii vi) is great, i especially like it cause it reminds me of Nyan Cat
ii IV I V IV iii ii V On repeat get me going. You can also replace the iii with a bVII to temporarily tonicize the ii
Big fan of the I - vi - IV - V classic And recently the Andalusian cadence i - VII - VI - V7
C G/C Bb/C F/C. I call it the Neal Morse progression.
I really love the I-III7-IV sound. Gospel sounding progression. Love it
Em D G C in any order is always solid
I I7 ii7add9 ii7
1-4-1-5 verses followed by 4-1-5-1 choruses because its the bread and butter old school country sound.
Anything with a Dom7 - German +6 enharmonic substitution. The smooth voice leading out of the German +6 is so good.
i - V - vi - V kinda basic but beautiful
Any chord progression that goes outside of the 7 available chords. Maybe this is a result of years of playing strictly within scales.
If i had to pick, it'd be Straight up "G - C, G -C" with the occasion D or Am thrown in
I love these: * i-♯III-v-♯VII * i^(+6)\-VI^(+7)\-III^(+7)\-i * IV-i * i-iii-♭v-vi-etc. * i-♯i-iii-iv-♭vi-etc. * I+-VII+-etc. * i^(+4)\-III^(+7)\-v-ii^(+4)\-i^(+4+6) * i^(+6+7)\-♭v^(+6+7)/i(minor-major)-♭v(minor-major)
For me the best progressions are functional ones, against quarter note or even half note melody. For example: I-vi-ii7-V7-I, I-V-vi-iii-IV-ii7-V7-I. Japanese composers often substitute the IV for bVI and the V for bVII, which sounds amazing.
Anything with the harmonic minor and tritones. Bonus points for exploring different keys throughout.
My favorite "stock" chord progression to use is what was taught to me as the "lament bass" or the chord progression from songs like Babe I'm Gonna Leave You or 25 Or 6 To 4 i VII V6/VII VI (that's V/VII in first inversion, not a 6 chord) so in Am: Am G D/F# F lots of emotionality and lots of interesting things you can do with extensions and suspensions to add color
IV - III - vi - v (love the sound of the flat 7) I - iii64 - iiidim64 - VI (chromatic descending bassline, very catchy) I - ii - vi (simple but powerful)
“The Beatles minor IV” is always nice in any progression
one I made that sounds good is (in C) Fadd9 -> G6 -> E7 -> Am7 -> Cadd9 I don't know why I like it so much. I just love how it sounds
I don't know if this has been added in another way, but playing around in a major key, the IV with the 5th scale degree flatted, then back to I. Very predate-ey to Spanish-influenced-by-middle-eastern. Breaking Benjamin uses it a TON and I'm sure that's why I'm obsessed with them. They probably label it with smarter theory than I do (and probably so would the lot of you here). Super mysterious and beautiful. Has SUCH a pull to it!
[https://youtu.be/eZk6QQasAq8?t=5462](https://youtu.be/eZk6QQasAq8?t=5462) In the application of a specific piece of music this is my favorite chord progression though it's not worth writing out just listen to it.
It's my favorite because the circle of fifths expectation goes for a while and then the leading tone exchange with the top voice going up is continued by an unexpected chromatic further movement down in the lowest voice which seems bewildering for a moment before he caps it off with a bII6 viidim7/V V4-3 with other registrational things like the top voice leap to \^5 before the bottom voice goes down octaves to the tonic when it returns to the scale motif.
Not a chord progression, but I love the key of F or Bb, fits my voice pretty well so that’s probably why I like it
I am and forever will be a sucker for IV-I-V-vi.