Common chord progressions
Here we learn to play through some popular chord progressions
IV-V-I
This is probably the most common use of the perfect cadence. In this example
we are shifting between F-G-C. If the piece were in G major we would be using
the chords C-D-G.I-V-vi-IV
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘all pop songs contain the same four chords’?
Well these are the chords: the root, fifth, fourth and minor second, in any order.
In this example in C major the chords are therefore C-G-Dm-F.V-IV-iv-I
This progression sounds beautiful as an ending to a piece. In musical theory
moving from the fourth to the root chord is called a plagal cadence. In this
example, in G major, we move through the chords D-C-Cm-G.ii-vi-V7-I
This example shows how a progression can be used to switch from a minor to a
major key, and also how a seventh can be used to resolve a cadence. The chords
here are Dm-Am-G7-C.