The patterns every song uses.

I-IV-V (the Three Chord Trick)

I — IV — V

Three chords, a thousand songs. The bones of rock and country.

rock3 barsbeginner

e.g. La Bamba · Twist and Shout · Wild Thing

I-V-vi-IV (the Pop Punk Progression)

I — V — vi — IV

The four chords that carried half of the last thirty years of radio.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Don't Stop Believin' · Let It Be · With or Without You

vi-IV-I-V (Sensitive Female)

vi — IV — I — V

The same four chords, started in the sad place.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Apologize · Numb · Zombie

I-vi-IV-V (the Doo-Wop)

I — vi — IV — V

Sock-hop and prom night. The sound of 1958.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Stand By Me · Earth Angel · Heart and Soul

I-IV-I-V

I — IV — I — V

A hymn-like loop that never leaves home for long.

rock4 barsbeginner

e.g. Sweet Home Alabama

I-♭VII-IV (Mixolydian Rock)

I — ♭VII — IV

Mixolydian swagger — the ♭VII borrowed straight from the blues.

rock3 barsintermediate

e.g. Sympathy for the Devil · Sweet Child o' Mine

12-Bar Blues

I — I — I — I — IV — IV — I — I — V — IV — I — V

The form. Twelve bars, three chords, a century of music.

blues12 barsbeginner

e.g. Sweet Home Chicago · Pride and Joy

8-Bar Blues

I — V — IV — IV — I — V — I — V

The blues in half the space — faster turnaround, same story.

blues8 barsbeginner

e.g. Key to the Highway · Trouble in Mind

ii-V-I (the Jazz Cadence)

ii — V — I

The sentence structure of jazz: set up, tension, resolution.

jazz3 barsintermediate

e.g. Autumn Leaves · Fly Me to the Moon

ii-V-I-VI (Turnaround)

ii — V — I — VI

The jazz cadence with a hook back to the top for another chorus.

jazz4 barsintermediate

e.g. I Got Rhythm

Rhythm Changes (32-bar AABA)

I — vi — ii — V — I — vi — ii — V

Gershwin's 32 bars, borrowed by every bebop head ever written.

jazz8 barsadvanced

e.g. I Got Rhythm · Anthropology · Oleo

Coltrane Changes (Major-3rd Cycles)

I — ♭III — V — VII — II

Giant Steps — three tonal centres a major third apart, at speed.

jazz5 barsadvanced

e.g. Giant Steps

I-iii-IV-IV (Soul)

I — iii — IV — IV

Soul warmth — the iii softens the walk from home to the subdominant.

soul4 barsintermediate

e.g. Stand by Me (verse)

ii⁹-V¹³-I⁹ (Neo-Soul)

ii9 — V13 — I9

ii-V-I dressed in ninths and thirteenths. Rhodes and smoke.

soul3 barsadvanced

e.g. Brown Sugar (D'Angelo)

I-V-IV-V (Folk)

I — V — IV — V

Folk's rocking-chair loop, always leaning back toward the dominant.

folk4 barsbeginner

e.g. Country Roads

I-IV-V-IV

I — IV — V — IV

Country's porch progression. Resolves late, on purpose.

country4 barsbeginner

e.g. Wagon Wheel

I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (Pachelbel)

I — V — vi — iii — IV — I — IV — V

The eight-bar sequence that has been quietly rewritten a thousand times.

classical8 barsintermediate

e.g. Canon in D · Basket Case

vi-V-IV-V (EDM Drop)

vi — V — IV — V

The drop. Built to loop under a four-on-the-floor kick.

edm4 barsbeginner

e.g. various EDM

I-vi-ii-V

I — vi — ii — V

The turnaround — circle-of-fifths motion pulling you back to bar one.

jazz4 barsintermediate

e.g. Heart and Soul

I-iii-vi-IV

I — iii — vi — IV

A gentler road to the relative minor, with the iii as the stepping stone.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Hey There Delilah

I-IV-vi-V

I — IV — vi — V

Bright, then wistful, then a shove back home.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. No Woman No Cry

I-iii-IV-V

I — iii — IV — V

A rising line dressed up as a chord progression.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Crocodile Rock

I-V-I-IV

I — V — I — IV

Two chords doing most of the work; the IV is the release valve.

rock4 barsbeginner

e.g. Brown Eyed Girl

vi-ii-V-I (Circle of Fifths)

vi — ii — V — I

Root motion in fourths — the strongest pull in tonal harmony, four in a row.

jazz4 barsintermediate

e.g. Fly Me to the Moon

I-vi-IV-V (Doo-Wop Bridge)

I — vi — IV — V

The doo-wop loop reframed as a bridge: same chords, new job.

pop4 barsbeginner

e.g. Heart and Soul

i-♭VI-♭VII-i (Andalusian Rock)

i — ♭VI — ♭VII — i

Minor rock at its most anthemic: climbs out of the dark, drops back in.

rock4 barsintermediate

e.g. Smoke on the Water · All Along the Watchtower

ii°-V-i (Minor ii-V-i)

iiø — V — i

The minor jazz cadence. That half-diminished ii is why it aches.

jazz3 barsintermediate

e.g. Autumn Leaves (B section)

i-♭VII-♭VI-V (Andalusian)

i — ♭VII — ♭VI — V

The flamenco descent — four steps down, and the tension never lets go.

classical4 barsintermediate

e.g. Hit the Road Jack

i-iv-V (Minor Three Chord)

i — iv — V

Minor's three-chord trick. The major V is what makes it hurt.

rock3 barsbeginner

e.g. House of the Rising Sun

i-♭VI-♭VII (Aeolian Loop)

i — ♭VI — ♭VII

The Aeolian loop — modern minor pop's default setting.

rock3 barsbeginner

e.g. Stairway to Heaven (intro)