Plain Music Theory

Chord progressions: common patterns in every key

A chord progression is a series of chords played one after another. Musicians write them with Roman numerals so they work in any key. Common ones include I-IV-V, I-V-vi-IV, ii-V-I, and the 12-bar blues.

A chord progression is the order in which chords follow one another. If a melody is the part you sing, the progression is the road underneath it. Many pop, folk, rock, jazz and classical pieces use the same handful of patterns, which is why songs can feel familiar even when you have never heard them before.

This page explains how progressions are written with Roman numerals, which chords belong in a major key and a minor key, and the patterns you will meet most often. The site's progression player lets you hear any of them in any key. Here we learn how to read and build them.

What do Roman numerals mean in chord progressions?

Every note of a scale can be the root of a chord. Musicians number the notes of the scale 1 to 7 and use Roman numerals for the chords built on them: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII. In the key of C, the chord built on C is I, the chord built on D is II, and so on.

The case of the numeral shows the chord's quality. An uppercase numeral means a major chord (I, IV, V). A lowercase numeral means a minor chord (ii, iii, vi). A small circle after a lowercase numeral means a diminished chord (vii°). Because the numerals do not name any note, a progression written as I-IV-V can be played in any key just by choosing a new starting note.

What chords belong to a major key?

Build a triad on each note of the major scale, using only the notes of that scale, and you get the seven diatonic chords. The word diatonic means belonging to the key. The pattern is the same in every major key.

NumeralQualityIn C majorIn G major
ImajorCG
iiminorDmAm
iiiminorEmBm
IVmajorFC
VmajorGD
viminorAmEm
vii°diminishedBdimF♯dim
The first four diatonic chords of C major: I, ii, iii and IV. Each one uses only white keys.
The remaining chords: V (G), vi (Am), vii° (B diminished), then back to I to finish.

Three chords carry most of the weight. I is home, where the music feels settled. V is the chord that pulls hardest back toward home. IV is a gentler step away from home. Together they are called the primary chords.

What chords belong to a minor key?

In the natural minor scale the chords are i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI and VII. In A minor, those are Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G. Many songs in minor borrow a note from the harmonic minor scale to turn the v chord into a major V, for example E major instead of E minor in A minor. That makes the pull toward home much stronger.

NumeralQualityIn A minor
iminorAm
ii°diminishedBdim
IIImajorC
ivminorDm
v (or V)minor (or major)Em (or E)
VImajorF
VIImajorG

See minor scales and relative minor for more on how a minor key connects to a major one.

What is the I-IV-V progression?

I-IV-V (often followed by a return to I) is the most basic progression in popular music. In C it is C, F, G, C. It uses only the three primary chords, and it is the skeleton of countless folk songs, rock songs and the blues.

I-IV-V-I in C major. Listen to how the G chord leans toward the final C.

What is the I-V-vi-IV progression?

I-V-vi-IV is sometimes called the four-chord progression. In C it is C, G, Am, F. Many pop songs from the last several decades use it, and a version of it that starts on vi (vi-IV-I-V, so Am, F, C, G) gives the same chords a more wistful feel. Because the chords repeat in a loop, it is very easy to write a melody over.

I-V-vi-IV in C major: C, G, Am, F.

What is the ii-V-I progression?

ii-V-I is the backbone of jazz harmony. In C it is Dm, G, C, and jazz players usually add sevenths: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7. Each chord's root is a fifth below the last, so the motion feels natural and strong. You can hear it as a set-up (ii), a tension (V) and a release (I).

ii-V-I with sevenths in C major: Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7. The F in G7 falls to the E in Cmaj7.

The same idea works in minor. In A minor, the pattern is Bm7♭5, E7, Am, using a half-diminished chord on ii. See half-diminished chord.

What is the I-vi-IV-V progression?

I-vi-IV-V, in C: C, Am, F, G. It was especially popular in the 1950s and early 1960s, and it is often called the 50s progression. Each chord moves a smooth step and the loop ends on V, which leads straight back to I when it repeats.

What is the 12-bar blues?

The 12-bar blues is a fixed progression 12 measures long built on I, IV and V, usually played as dominant seventh chords. In C it begins C7 for four bars, then F7 for two bars, then C7 for two bars. It is so common it has its own page: 12-bar blues.

What is the Andalusian cadence?

The Andalusian cadence descends from i to VII to VI to V. In A minor it is Am, G, F, E. The last chord is major, which gives the loop a Spanish or flamenco flavor. It is often repeated over and over rather than used to end a piece.

The Andalusian cadence in A minor: Am, G, F, E. Notice the G♯ in the last chord, which makes it major.

What is the Pachelbel progression?

Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D rests on a repeating eight-chord pattern: I, V, vi, iii, IV, I, IV, V. In D major that is D, A, Bm, F♯m, G, D, G, A. Pop writers have borrowed this pattern many times, and you can often fit a new melody over it.

How do you practice progressions?

  1. Pick a key and write out its seven diatonic chords.
  2. Play I-IV-V-I slowly, one chord per measure.
  3. Try the same Roman numerals in a second key to prove they work anywhere.
  4. Replace one chord with a related one, such as vi for I, and listen to what changes.

Practice tip: learn the pattern as numbers, not letter names. Once you hear the sound of I-V-vi-IV, you can recognize it in any key, and you can transpose it just by changing the starting note.

For the building blocks, see piano chords, and for how keys relate to each other, the circle of fifths.

Check yourself

1. In Roman numeral analysis, what does a lowercase numeral such as ii mean?

2. What are the chords of the I-IV-V progression in C major?

3. Which chord is diminished in a major key?

4. Which progression is the backbone of jazz harmony?

5. What are the chords of the Andalusian cadence in A minor?