The progressions most songs are built on, in Roman numerals so they work in any key, with the chords in an example key. Press Play to hear one as a short beat, or Use in a beat to open it in the free editor and build the rest part by part.
By mood and genreBuilt on a major key: the home chord is major, so they sound bright, settled or warm.
The pop progression · 1-5-6-4
Bright and easy to sing over. It leaves home for V, dips into the minor vi for a moment of feeling and climbs back through IV, so the loop never sounds finished.
Used in pop, rock, country and ballads.
The 50s progression · 1-6-4-5
Sweet and a little nostalgic. The minor vi comes second, and the V at the end pulls back to I, so every loop lands home.
Used in doo-wop, soul, oldies and indie.
The two-five-one · 2-5-1
Smooth and settled. Each root falls a fifth to the next, so the ear hears V coming and I arriving. With sevenths on every chord it is the sound of jazz.
Used in jazz, lo-fi, R&B, neo-soul and gospel.
The montuno · 1-4-5-4
Happy and made for dancing: the three major chords of the key, I, IV and V, stepping up and back down without ever settling.
Used in afrobeats, salsa, highlife and rock.
The blues in four bars · 1-4-1-5
Earthy and plain: home, the IV, home again and the V to turn it round. It is the 12-bar blues folded into four bars.
Used in blues, rock and roll and southern soul.
The 12-bar blues
The form a whole song is built on: four bars of I, two of IV, two of I, then V, IV, I and V to turn it round. This one has the quick change, IV in bar 2.
Used in blues, rock and roll, boogie-woogie and early rock.
The beat is four bars long, so Play and Use in a beat give you its four-bar fold, I–IV–I–V.
The dreamy drift · 1-4-6-4
Floaty and open. There is no V, so nothing pulls hard toward home and the loop can drift for as long as you like.
Used in ambient, indie, cloud rap and lo-fi.
The R&B turn · 4-1-2-1
Warm and rocking. It starts away from home on IV, comes back, steps up to the minor ii and back again: soft, never dramatic.
Used in pluggnb, R&B and gospel.
Built on a minor key: the home chord is minor, so even the major chords around it sound bittersweet, moody or dark.
The epic minor · 6-4-1-5
Big and bittersweet. It starts on the minor chord, so it sounds sad, then climbs through three major chords that sound like hope. It is the pop progression started from its minor chord.
Used in anthems, EDM, trap and film.
Minor pop
Moody, but it moves: down to iv, up to VI, then a major V borrowed from the harmonic minor that pulls hard back home.
Used in sad pop, house, R&B and K-pop.
Dark minor
Tense and heavy: VI and iv sink, then the major V of the harmonic minor leans back toward i with a bite.
Used in drill, trap and cinematic music.
The minor shuttle
Epic and unresolved: it swings between the home chord and the two major chords below it and never lands on a V.
Used in film scores, metal and Detroit techno.
The minor lift
Rising and hopeful for a minor key: two major chords climb a step at a time to the minor home chord, which is held for two bars.
Used in future bass, EDM and film.
The vamps dance music, reggae and funk sit on, and two Dorian shapes, whose chords sit a step above the major key they use.
Major two-chord
I and IV back and forth, played short on the off-beats in reggae.
Used in reggae and ska.
Two-chord sway
I and IV, two bars each: slow and calm, with no pull home.
Used in ambient and lo-fi.
Minor two-chord
Two minor chords rocking back and forth, i and iv. The rhythm carries it.
Used in dancehall, dembow, riddims and Chicago house.
Dorian vamp
Two chords, the Dorian i and its major IV, for a groove to sit on.
Used in funk.
Dorian lift
Bright for a minor sound: the Dorian IV is major, which gives the euphoric lift hardstyle melodies ride on.
Used in hardstyle and EDM.
One major chord
One chord for the whole loop: the drums, the bass and a melody do the moving.
Used in vamps and drones.
One minor chord
One minor chord for the whole loop: the drums and the bassline do the moving.
Used in techno, tech house and minimal.
Each Roman numeral is a note of the key’s scale, and the chord built on it. Capitals are major, small numerals minor, ° is diminished. Here are the seven chords of C major and of its relative minor, A minor, which share the same notes. For any other key, see the circle of fifths.
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | Bdim |
| i | ii° | III | iv | v | VI | VII |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Am | Bdim | C | Dm | Em | F | G |
Want one picked for you? Try the chord progression generator: choose a mood and a key and hear it.
The chords a song moves through, usually one a bar, in a loop. Roman numerals (I–V–vi–IV) name each chord by the note of the key it is built on, so one progression works in every key.
I–V–vi–IV: C, G, Am and F in C major. Started from its minor chord, vi–IV–I–V (Am, F, C, G), it is just as common, and I–vi–IV–V is the classic of the 1950s.
Each numeral is a note of the key’s scale counted from the home note: I is the 1st, V the 5th. Capitals are major chords, small numerals minor ones, and ° a diminished chord. In C major, I is C, IV is F, V is G and vi is Am.
Minor ones: i–iv–VI–V (Am, Dm, F, E) or i–VI–III–VII (Am, F, C, G). The sad chord progressions page has them in every key.
It builds a four-bar beat on the chords in your browser, with drums and bass, using the editor’s own instruments, and loops it. Use in a beat opens that same beat in the free editor; no account is needed to start.
Start from the pop progression, or any above: the editor opens with drums, bass and the chords, and you add a melody, more parts and your voice, one at a time.
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