Modern tunes using I vi IV V

[miltslackford]

Hi guys

I'm working on some material to teach chord progressions to beginners, and I'm working from the major triads to this tune, in order to include a minor triad and start talking about chords 'in a key'.

Does anybody have any good modern examples of I vi IV Vs?

Most of the references I've found online have been for 50s tunes..

[MalcolmAmos]

Originally Posted by miltslackford

Hi guys

I'm working on some material to teach chord progressions to beginners, and I'm working from the major triads to this tune, in order to include a minor triad and start talking about chords 'in a key'.

Does anybody have any good modern examples of I vi IV Vs?

Most of the references I've found online have been for 50s tunes..

I can understand the 50's situation as this progression is known as the ice cream progression named from the ice cream soda pop shop music played back then.

I see it in Country, every once in a while. Can not bring a song name forward, however, I think those that I see are us old guys reverting to progressions we knew and loved.

I've used the following chart when trying to select a harmonizing chord for some melody. So if you are trying to insert the vi chord into a progression any time the melody has the 1, 3 or 6 scale degrees in the melody the vi chord would slide in nicely as a fill chord used before one of the sub-dominant chords, ii or IV.

• Trying to harmonize the................
• 1 degree of the scale try I, IV, vi or ii7 chords of that key, as they will have the 1st degree note in their makeup.
• 2 degree of the scale try V, ii7, iii7 chords of that key. As they will have the 2nd degree note in their makeup.
• 3 degree of the scale try I, vi, iii chords of that key. Ditto.
• 4 degree of the scale try IV, ii, v7 chords of that key.
• 5 degree of the scale try V, I, iii chords of that key.
• 6 degree of the scale try IV, ii, vi chords of that key.
• 7 degree of the scale try V7, iii, Imaj7 chords of that key.

From this chart you could insert the vi any time the 1st, 3rd, or 6th degree of the scale is in the melody. With the 1, 3 or 6 degrees of the tonic scale being in the melody the vi chord would harmonize and fit in as a fill chord with just about any song.

Another time the vi could be inserted. Any time you have a iii chord the iii loves to move to the vi. If the vi has some harmonizing notes in the melody it'll fit right in after the iii.

Good luck.

[Eublet]

Contemporary Christian and worship music is almost nothing but those chords you just mentioned. If you have students that are in that setting, then using those songs as examples would be an easy way to connect them to music they already listen to.

As for pop songs, I don't listen to that to really name them, but they all seem to be mostly using those basic chords also when I hear it. I'd suggest tuning in to your local top-40 station for a day or two, and using Pandora or something to grab song titles which have what you are looking for. Jot down the basic chord structure of each song while you're listening, and you should be able to put together a good list of tunes in no time.

[PotsdamBass8]

There are many I'm sure, but off the top of my head, I know the chorus to "Breath" by Breaking Benjamin uses that chord progression.

[mambo4]

The most 'modern' I-vi-IV-V I know of is every breath you take...not so modern. But Modern pop progressions haven;t evolved that much. Surely you could find a simple diantonic progression in Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga