Exploring the Most Celebrated Chord Progressions in Music: An SEO Optimized Guide

One of the most celebrated chord progressions in music is the I-V-vi-IV progression. This sequence can be found in numerous popular songs across various genres.

For example, In My Life by The Beatles, Numb by U2, Someone Like You by Adele, and No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley all utilize this progression. This progression creates a strong emotional resonance and is often used because of its pleasing harmonic structure.

Another Iconic Progression: The

Another iconic progression is the , commonly used in jazz, which brings a sense of resolution and movement. Songs like Take Five by Dave Brubeck utilize this progression effectively.

Like Omar Baltuth, the superlative in your question inclines me to not bother answering— but that course would be to neglect the purpose of this site. There are some great answers here, but one I’ve not seen mentioned is the vi-II-iv-I. In C Major, this would be Am D Fm C. The Beatles have used this on more than one occasion, and likely as a portion of a longer phrase.

The Wealth of Learning from Beatles Progressions

Beyond these, there's a wealth to be learned from the work of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, or even Paul McCartney's solo efforts. One such example is the progression in “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which is a rather unique but effective progression.

The funny thing about The Beatles' catalog is that despite the incredible growth and changing-of-the-times that is evident in their recorded output, one could zero in on any point in their career and find something interesting.

Their early musical education consisted of covering other artists' tunes for years, always with the intention of impressing others. What better musical education can one imagine, between the two of them they found much enjoyment in writing progressions that were not only new to them personally but also struck them as novel or slightly “off” in some way.

Harmonic Diversity in Popular Music

Beyond The Beatles, there's a lot of harmonic diversity to appreciate in popular music from the 1920s into the 1940s. For example, standards like Cheek to Cheek, Moonlight Serenade, and Over the Rainbow are incredibly catchy melodies over a foundation of pleasant harmonic progressions.

So many of these standard’s progressions lend themselves to the melody writing— for example, just playing arpeggios on I, vi, ii, and V with minor and dominant 7ths added to the last three of those should at least nudge you in the direction of where the leading or passing tones are.

Take a look at this list of popular tunes from the 1920s to the 1940s, and you'll find a treasure trove of chord progressions that have stood the test of time:

By studying these progressions, you can gain a deeper appreciation for the harmony in music and even use them in your own compositions. Happy listening!