REFERENCE

Chord Progressions

The progressions worth knowing by name — what each one is made of, why it works, and the same sequence written out in all twelve keys. Every chord is playable on the keyboard.

Pop & Rock

The loops behind most of the last seventy years of popular music. Four chords, endlessly recombined.

The Axis Progression I–V–vi–IV
The Minor-Start Axis vi–IV–I–V
The 50s Progression I–vi–IV–V
The Three-Chord Progression I–IV–V
The Canon Progression I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V
The Mixolydian Rock Progression I–♭VII–IV
The Royal Road Progression IV–V–iii–vi
The Minor Plagal Turn I–III–IV–iv

Minor & Modal

Progressions that live outside major — natural minor, Dorian, Mixolydian, Phrygian. Where most film and game music sits.

The Minor Axis Progression i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII
The Aeolian Vamp i–♭VII–♭VI–♭VII
The Andalusian Cadence i–♭VII–♭VI–V
The Dorian Vamp i–IV
The Epic Minor Climb i–♭VI–♭VII
The Mixolydian Anthem I–♭III–♭VII–IV

Jazz

Functional harmony at full strength: ii–V motion, turnarounds, substitutions, and the cycle of fifths doing the work.

The ii–V–I Progression iim7–V7–Imaj7
The Minor ii–V–i iiø7–V7–i
The Turnaround Imaj7–vim7–iim7–V7
The Circle of Fifths Progression iiim7–vim7–iim7–V7–Imaj7
The Tritone Substitution iim7–♭II7–Imaj7
The Backdoor ii–V ivm7–♭VII7–Imaj7
The Relative Minor Cycle iim7–V7–Imaj7–IVmaj7–viiø7–III7–vim7

Blues

Fixed forms rather than loops. The bar count is the structure, and everyone in the room already knows it.

The 12-Bar Blues I7–IV7–I7–V7–IV7–I7
The Quick-Change Blues I7–IV7–I7–IV7–I7–V7–IV7–I7
The Minor Blues i7–iv7–i7–V7

R&B, Soul & Gospel

Sevenths and ninths as the default, borrowed chords for colour, and bass lines that move by step.

The Neo-Soul Loop Imaj7–iiim7–vim7–iim7