LESSONSeries : Common Chord Progressions and Remembering Songs
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The Four Chord Pop Progression
This is the most popular chord progression in use today. It has replaced the most common chord progression that was used in the 50s, the 1 6 2 5 chord progression.
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If the I V VI IV (1 5 6 4) progression where in the key of C Major the chords are: C G Am F. For the key of G Major the chords are: G D Em C.
- All to Well — Taylor Swift
- Don't Stop Believing — Journey
- Dammit — Blink 182
- Hey Soul Sister — Train
- It's My Life — Bon Jovi
- I'm Yours — Jason Mraz
- Let it Be — Beatles
- No Woman No Cry — Bob Marley
- Simple Man — Lynard Skynard
- So Lonely — Police
- Someone Like You — Adele
- Take Me Home, Country Roads — John Denver
- Wagon Wheel — Bob Dylan
- When I Come Around — Green Day
- With Or Without You — U2
The Four Chord Pop Progression…
More songs using this progression as the foundation for the majority of the song.
- 1234 — Plain White Tees
- America's Funniest Home Videos Theme
- American Pie
- Apologize — Timberland featuring OneRepublic
- Auld Lang Syne — Robert Burns
- Behind These Hazel Eyes — Kelly Clarkson
- Barbie Girl — Aqua
- Beautiful — Akon
- Best Friends — Dog Party
- Birdplane — The Axis of Awesome
- Bullet With Butterfly Wings — The Smashing Pumpkins
- Can You Feel The Love Tonight — Elton John (from The Lion King)
- Complicated — Avril Lavigne
- Don't Matter — Akon
- Double Rainbow — The Gregory Brothers
- Fall at Your Feet — Crowded House /li>
- Forever Young — Alphaville
- If I Were A Boy — Beyonce
- In My Head — Jason DeRulo
- Kids — MGMT
- Love the Way You Lie — Eminem featuring Rihanna
- Land Down Under — Men At Work
- Lavern and Shirley TV Theme —
- Let it Go — Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez from Frozen
- No One — Alicia Keys
- One Of Us — Joan Osborne
- Otherside — Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Over the Rainbow
- Paparazzi — Lady Gaga
- Pictures of You — The Last Goodnight
- Pokerface — Lady Gaga
- Save Tonight — Eagle Eye Cherry
- Scar — Missy Higgins
- Self Esteem — The Offspring
- Sex and Candy — Marcy Playground
- Superman — Five for Fighting
- Take On Me — A Ha
- Time To Say Goodbye — Andrea Bocelli
- Take On Me — Ah Ha
- Taylor — Jack Johnson
- The Call — Regina Spector
- The Show — Lenka
- Two Become One — Spice Girls
- Wherever You Will Go — The Calling
- You're Beautiful — James Blunt
- You're Gonna Go Far Kid — The Offspring
- She Will Be Loved — Maroon Five
- Say — John Mayer, (from the movie The Bucket List)
- Where Is the Love — Black Eyed Peas
Here's a web site that has to videos of many of the songs on this list.
As you can see you can learn quite a few songs by simply learning common chord progressions in all 15 keys. Especially the common keys of C, G, D, E, A. And on ukulele F and Bb are also common.
All 15 Keys ( 1 5 6 4 )
- | C | G/B* | Am | F |
Sharp Keys
The
will take you a lessons the the Key/Key Signature for the key
.
Slash Chords
* Slash Chords - A slash chord is an indication that a chord voicing with the note after the slash should be voiced with the that note as the lowest note in the bass . In the case of this common 1 5 6 4 progression is creates a descending bass line. On ukulele unless you using a low string four tuning slash chord are commonly ignored and the fundamental chord, the name before the slash is played.
A closely related progression is:
VI IV I V
This 6 4 1 5 is very closely related to the 1 5 6 4 Four Chord Pop Progressions above. Just starts at a different part of the progression.
- Africa — Toto
- Numb — Linkin Park
- River FLow In You — Yiruma
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NOTE: - I (Curt, LearningUkulele.com, Learning Ukulele with Curt) Have been using iReal Pro, bought and paid for on several platforms ever since it first came on to music scene. It is a great tool and one I use with all students as well in my daily, persons practice sessions. iReal Pro was made by a very small team of passionate people led by Massimo Biolcati, a jazz musician in NYC who taught himself to code for his first iPhone so that he could build his dream app.
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End of Lesson - Thanks, Hope You Enjoyed It!
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