Common Chord Progressions
The chord progressions behind most popular music — in Roman numerals, spelled out in C, with where each one shows up. Pop, rock, blues, jazz and minor-key staples.
| Progression | Example in C | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| I–IV–V | C–F–G | The three-chord foundation of rock, blues, country and folk. |
| I–V–vi–IV | C–G–Am–F | The 'four-chord song' — the most common progression in modern pop. |
| vi–IV–I–V | Am–F–C–G | The same four chords from the minor — anthemic and emotional. |
| I–vi–IV–V | C–Am–F–G | 1950s doo-wop, the '50s progression'. |
| ii–V–I | Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 | The cadence at the heart of jazz. |
| I–vi–ii–V | C–Am–Dm–G | A jazz/pop turnaround. |
| I–♭VII–IV | C–B♭–F | Mixolydian rock (the 'Sweet Home Alabama' family). |
| i–iv–v | Am–Dm–Em | Natural-minor blues and folk. |
| i–♭VII–♭VI–V | Am–G–F–E | The Andalusian cadence — flamenco and dramatic minor. |
| i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII | Am–F–C–G | Epic minor-key pop and film loop. |
| 12-♭ar ♭lues | C · C · C · C · F · F · C · C · G · F · C · G | The backbone of blues and early rock and roll. |
| I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V | C–G–Am–Em–F–C–F–G | Pachelbel's Canon in D (shown in C). |
Hear any of these in any key with the chord progression generator. Lower-case = minor, ° = diminished, ♭VII = a chord built on the flattened 7th.
How to read this
Progressions are written as Roman numerals so they describe function rather than specific chords, and transpose to any key unchanged.
The common ones: I–V–vi–IV (most of popular music), ii–V–I (jazz), I–IV–V (blues and rock and roll), i–VI–III–VII (minor-key anthems).
Notes & gotchas
- V pulls to I. Most harmonic motion is some version of setting up and satisfying that expectation.
- vi substitutes for I — they share two notes, which is what makes the deceptive cadence work.
- The same four chords reordered change character completely: vi–IV–I–V feels quite different from I–V–vi–IV.
- ii–V–I is a module, not a progression. Chains of them moving by fifths are the backbone of jazz standards.
- Rhythm and voicing carry more than the chords. The same progression is a ballad or a punk song depending on everything else.