When did this become the most common progression?

[brianrost]

Seems like every Interwebz instruction site states this is the most common progression in music:

I V vi IV

When I started playing it sure seemed that the I vi IV V progession (with or without a bridge or ii replacing IV) was a lot more common overall if you looked back to music from the 1920s up until the 1960s.

While I have never played a lot of rock, I never have played a song on stage using the I V vi IV changes, but plenty of variations on I IV V and I bVII V, vi V IV (with or without iii) and of course the old standby "how do we get out of this song?" changes of I IV.

This is a serious question, BTW.

 

[Malcolm1935]

This may help. It's been this way for hundreds of years. Which came first I leave to the other guys.

The I chord can go just about anywhere it wants to as it is the tonal center chord. However once you return to the I chord you have resolved any tension you may have built, so you are starting the movement (flow) all over again. Did you want to start all over again?
The ii wants to go to a dominant chord. It and the IV are sub dominant chords and want the same thing -- move to a dominant chord. Notice one is minor and the other is major.
The iii is a move somewhere chord, it normally drags the vi with it.
The IV like the ii is a sub dominant chord. They both want to go to a dominant chord.
The V chord is THE dominant chord and wants to resolve to the I chord, make it a V7 and it wants to resolve right now, i.e. Any thing else could be anti-climatic.
The vi is a flavor chord. It wants to move to a sub-dominant chord.
The vii along with the V chord are dominant chords wanting to resolve to the tonic I chord, however the vii is in no hurry to do so and because of this starts a lot of turn-a-round progressions. For example vii-vi-ii-V-I.

Been this way for years.... let them do what they like to do and good things happen. Understand any chord within the same scale/key will sound OK with any of the other chords from that same scale/key. Question being does it allow a good movement while sounding OK? Are you moving forward...... toward the I chord, or is your movement losing it's way?

Not going to get off into treble clef melody notes dictating what chord to use to harmonize this specific melody....

 

[brianrost]

I understand all that Malcolm, I'm just wondering how many TBers agree that I V vi IV is really a super common progression. Guess I've just been listening to the wrong records all my life?

 

[Wasnex]

I thought ii V was the most common. Many jazz tunes cycle through a long series of ii Vs.

 

[Nashrakh]

Ever since U2's "With or without you". Just kidding, it's the first thing that comes to mind. Interested to hear the answer as well.

 

[mambo4]

I always thought of it as the "don't stop believing" progression. But it's in "let it be" as well. So, it's been around for a while, but certainly more pop songs in the last two decades. The axis of awesome video probably trended it into the brains of today's pop producers.

 

[WillyW]

do you mean to imply there are other chord progressions?

huh... learn somethin new everyday..

 

[ElectroVibe]

I think think "Let it Be" by the Beatles was the first.

I first noticed it on Tom Petty's "Rebels" from 1985. But that's when I was first learning about music and chords myself.
Then I guess the U2 song in 1987, which I thought sounded boring at the time.
Then it became very popular in the 1990's.

 

[FatStringer52]

Can't answer the question of when, but Rick Beato gives a pretty good explanation of why . . .



. . . and you could probably do an entire concert with those four chords . . .

 

[mambo4]

Rick Beato gives a pretty good explanation of why . . .

"There's a small group of guys, old guys like me,
that decide on everything that gets signed and put out on the radio.

It's not the radio station's fault,
it's not the artists fault,
it's not the manger's fault,
it's not the publisher's fault.

it's the A&R guys and the heads of the label
that make the decisions on the singles."

 

[micguy]

I play in churches. A LOT of modern worship tunes are using 4 5 6 3 at this point. The rest seem to be using 6 5 4 1.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The 1 5 2 4 progression seems to be more popular in ballads like 6th Avenue Heartache or Closing Time.

 

[Rib 13]

I - V - vi - IV and recombinations have been staples of pop music since the 50s..........sometimes there are ii chords substituted and sometimes II7

 

[Engle]

I have a “dumb” question. Why are some of the Roman numerals written in lower case?

 

[Pings Bass]

Not common at all in the music I play. HTH

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I have a “dumb” question. Why are some of the Roman numerals written in lower case?

lower case == minor

 

[jpmcbride]

Why are some of the Roman numerals written in lower case?

Lower case means minor chord.

Looks like we were typing the same thing at the same time!

 

[hennessybass]

I V vi IV

I see that progression a lot. Don't know if it's the most common, but I see it a lot. VERY common in the Texas Country or Red Dirt genres.

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

how many TBers agree that I V vi IV is really a super common progression

So common that I have given it the shorthand of Punkbox. I play the punkbox in a lot of songs.

I guess more popular stuff would be like Dirty Little Secret, Any Way You Want It, Con Te Partiro, Let it Be, Afterlife, Beast of Burden.... and well, probably 50% of punk rock.

 

[Hounddog409]

Seems like every Interwebz instruction site states this is the most common progression in music:

I V vi IV

When I started playing it sure seemed that the I vi IV V progession (with or without a bridge or ii replacing IV) was a lot more common overall if you looked back to music from the 1920s up until the 1960s.

While I have never played a lot of rock, I never have played a song on stage using the I V ii IV changes, but plenty of variations on I IV V and I bVII V, vi V IV (with or without iii) and of course the old standby "how do we get out of this song?" changes of I IV.

This is a serious question, BTW.

10

Seems like every Interwebz instruction site states this is the most common progression in music:

I V vi IV

When I started playing it sure seemed that the I vi IV V progession (with or without a bridge or ii replacing IV) was a lot more common overall if you looked back to music from the 1920s up until the 1960s.

While I have never played a lot of rock, I never have played a song on stage using the I V ii IV changes, but plenty of variations on I IV V and I bVII V, vi V IV (with or without iii) and of course the old standby "how do we get out of this song?" changes of I IV.

This is a serious question, BTW.

Around 600 b.c.

Yes that is a serious answer. Look it up.