7 super common chord progressions and why they work

Use this link to get 20% off your first year of Chord Crush www.hooktheory.com/davidbennett 🎼

many people often try to frame common chord progressions like they're automatically bad because they're common, and i think it's great that this video doesn't do that. these progressions are common for a reason

10:13 Gotye: "You didn't have to cut me off..." David: cuts the song off

I studied music theory, music production, and I've been a musician for a long, long time. I stumbled on this video and I just want to point out this is one of the most brilliant ways to explain chord progressions. Entertaining, with perfect examples and explanations. Congratulations!

That Mixolydian vamp (I-bVII-IV-I) is such a timeless and effective chord progression. It was especially prominent in the circa 1967-1975 classic rock era. It's dramatic and lends itself to a bluesy inflection very well.

It’s incredible that you can use Beatles music in almost every music theory video!

This is such a great video. You don’t just list of the most used chords. You also give examples and tell us what we feel in this chord and why.

I love the Doo Wop or stand by me progression. It’s so soulful

In the Air Tonight is a great example of the Aeolian Vamp. It just lingers around until the drum fill halfway through that still blows me away after hearing the song a million times.

“The combination of these 3 chords (I, IV, V) gives us 3 shades of tension, allowing for that sense of movement.” Best description of the purpose of chord progression! I am a elementary music teacher and always wonder how to explain that to my students. Thank you!

'Let It Be' is probably the perfect example to use at 2:48, as its words mirror its chord progression perfectly as based on your explanation: I - 'When I find myself' - Something incomplete. It could be the whole story, but that would be incredibly boring. V - 'in times of trouble' - The introduction of tension. vi - 'Mother Mary' - A partial resolution, but still something incomplete. IV - 'comes to me' - A total and complete resolution of the idea that leads perfectly into the next phrase.

The doo-wop chord progression (1/6/4/5) is also referred to as the "ice cream change". Seventy five years and still used in current pop music.

13:44 that cut made it look like Marty McFly was looking at a photo of the Beatles. 😆

I was surprised that you didn't include the Pachebel Canon progression. You can hear it or (something close to it) in Green Day's "Basket Case," Blues Traveler's "Hook," Fastball's "The Way," Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger," Spacehog's "2nd Avenue" and a bunch of others.

Love the mixolydian one. It's basically a cheat code to writing music that sounds 'anthemic'. It just makes people want to shout along with it. Primal Scream and that newer Lorde song a great examples, too.

I'm speechless! I've been looking for this video for ages, just no way to know how to "find it" online. I love how you gave us the most common, described how they worked together w tension and resolve and boring vs less boring and played them as examples songs that we've all heard and loved before. Thank you for taking a very "overly academic" subject like music theory, and breaking it down to 5yr old level understanding and no analysis paralysis. Perfect balance keep it up! Edit: In another video, could you break down the "strumming"/"vamping" on how to take a given chord and strumm/vamp properly? So I could apply these chord changes, Love the roman numerals the explanation of the flat 7s and the tension/resolve I think you touch on all of the essentials wo overcomplicating it in a good balance!

Thank you for this David: As an old man who let his instruments sit idle because he had an ear but no drive to learn the basics, this short lesson reminded me of something I didn't want to do when I was 15: *actually learn and practice scales*. At the time, it seemed more useful (or perhaps just enjoyable...) to learn songs and licks. This small demonstration reminded me that 15 year me was a dafty, and those licks are worthless if you can't fit them into the key you're playing in. If you find yourself in Edinburgh, I owe you a coffee/beer at the least.

0:25 I - V - vi - IV ("Axis") 3:47 vi - IV - I - V 6:29 i - ♭VII - ♭VI - V (Andalusian cadence) 8:32 i - ♭VII - ♭VI - ♭VII ("Aeolian vamp") 11:05 I - vi - IV - V ("Doo-wop / 50s") 13:31 I - vi - ii - V ("Blue moon") 14:21 I - IV - V 14:15 I - V - IV - V 16:41 I - ♭VII - IV - I ("Mixolydian vamp")

Terrific. I love seeing the chords changing in real time with on screen graphics, makes it stick better. Great job dude

Found this trying to track down why “Dear Maria” fits so well with anime openings, I think I’ve decided the reason is that vi IV I V has a similar vibe to the Royal Road progression, where, while we do get resolution with the V, there is this ability to kind of revolve through the chords over and over.