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Learning Ukulele with Curt
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.
Author(s): Curt Sheller Publisher: Curt Sheller Publications Code: UL59g
Main Category: Chords Main Instrument: Ukulele
Categories: Chords, Progressions
2026-08-23
Number of Pages: 4
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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.
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
More The Four Chord Pop Progression
content below, continue exploring...
More 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
- 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 links 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 links 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, personal 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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