Identifying standard pop chord progressions

This week in aural skills, we are practicing identifying pop schemas, that is, chord sequences and loops that occur commonly in various kinds of Anglo-American top 40, rock, R&B and related styles. We previously covered the permutations of I, IV and V and the plagal cadence. Now we’re getting into progressions that bring in the rest of the diatonic family, that is, the chords you can make using the notes in the major and natural minor scales.

Singer-Songwriter/Axis progression

A huge percentage of current mainstream pop and rock songs are built on the four-legged stool of the I, IV, V and vi chords. In C, those are C, F, G, and Am. You can find these chords in any order, but there’s a particularly inescapable sequence that my NYU colleagues call the singer-songwriter progression: I, V, vi, IV, which in C is C, G, Am, F.

The other widely used name for this chord sequence is the Axis progression, after the Axis of Awesome video.

The video gives you more examples of the Axis progression than you could ever need. I’ll just direct your attention to “With or Without You” by U2 (1987), because the Axis loop runs uninterrupted through the entire song, outlined clearly by Adam Clayton’s bassline. The song is in D, and the loop goes D, A, Bm, G.

You can make other widely used progressions by rotating the Axis loop to different starting positions. For example, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen (2012) starts the Axis progression on IV. It’s in G, and the chords are C, G, D, Em.

The chorus of “Umbrella” by Rihanna (2008) uses this same Axis rotation. It’s in Db, and it goes Gb, Db, Ab, Bbm.

This article by Mark Richards gives examples of all four possible Axis rotations.

Doo-Wop

The Doo-Wop progression is the same chords as the Axis progression, just in a different order: I-vi-IV-V. In C, that’s C, Am, F, G. If the Axis is the sound of the current pop mainstream, the doo-wop progression is the sound of the mid-twentieth century. The Everly Brothers’ “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (1958) is a classic example. It’s in E, and the chorus goes E, C#m, A, B.

The chorus of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” also uses the doo-wop progression. Check out the iconic recording by Whitney Houston (1992). It’s in A, and it goes A, F#m, D, E.

The doo-wop progression is closely related to the I-vi-ii-V jazz turnaround. For whatever reason, rock musicians prefer IV.

Hopscotch

The hopscotch progression is yet another re-ordering of the Axis and doo-wop chords: IV-V- vi – I. In C, that’s F, G, Am, C. The progression is named after the chorus of “Hopscotch” by All Levels At Once (2013). It’s in Ab, and it goes Db, Eb, Fm, Ab.

The chorus of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga (2008) uses the hopscotch progression. It’s in C, and it begins F, G, Am, C.

There are other possible combinations of I, IV, V and vi, they just don’t all have memorable nicknames. But I guarantee you that you can turn on the radio right now and hear one of them.

Puff schema

Here’s the first schema we’re covering that doesn’t use the Axis chords. It’s I, iii, IV, V. In C, that’s C, Em, F, G. The Puff schema is named after “Puff The Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary (1963). The tune is in A, and the progression begins with A, C#m, D and E. Fun fact, the song is based on a poem by the guy who invented RealD 3D. The more you know!

I associate the Puff schema with a much less family-friendly tune: Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” (1973). It’s in Eb, and the verses are a loop of Eb, Gm, Ab, Bb.

There’s a variant on the Puff schema where, rather than ending on V, you go back to I. In C, that’s C, Em, F, C. You can hear this variant in the verses of “The Weight” by The Band (1968). It’s in A, and it goes A, C#m, D, A.

You can also have a Puff schema with an altered mediant, that is, with iii replaced by V/vi. In C, that’s C, E7, F, [something else]. The chorus of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” (1969) combines the altered-mediant Puff with the plagal sigh on the lines “This is ground control to Major Tom.” It’s in C, and it begins C, E7, F, Fm.

Radiohead’s “Creep” also uses the combination of altered-mediant Puff and plagal sigh.

There’s a minor-key variant on the Puff schema, the Minor Puff: i – bIII – iv. In C minor, that’s Cm, Eb, Fm. You can hear the Minor Puff in the chorus of  “Telephone” by Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé (2010). It’s in F minor, and it goes Fm, Ab, Bbm, Fm.

Aeolian Cadence

The term “Aeolian cadence” originates in a William Mann article about the Beatles, and it has confused people ever since, because it isn’t technically a cadence. Nevertheless, the term has stuck. The “cadence” is bVI-bVII-i, which in C minor is Ab, Bb, Cm. The chorus of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads (1977) has a nice Aeolian cadence. It’s in A minor, and it begins F, G, Am. Listen to the lines “Psycho killer, qu’est-ce que c’est? Fafafa fa fa, fa fafa fa fa”.

You can end the Aeolian cadence on a major I for the Super Mario Bros ending, much beloved by film score composers. It’s in C, and it goes Ab, Bb, C.

The Beatles do the Super Mario Bros cadence to transition from “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” into “With A Little Help From My Friends.” It’s in E, and the chords are C, D, E.

Aeolian Shuttle

If you go backwards and forwards through the Aeolian cadence, you get the Aeolian shuttle, which is i, bVII, bVI, bVII. In C minor, that’s Cm, Bb, Ab, Bb. It’s called a shuttle and not a progression because it tends to loop endlessly.

“All Along The Watchtower” by Bob Dylan is the granddaddy of Aeolian shuttles in rock, thanks to Jimi Hendrix’s recording (1968). It’s in Cm.

The chorus of “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins (1981) is also an Aeolian shuttle. It’s in D minor, and it goes Dm, C, Bb, C.

Lydian cadence

It’s not all in Lydian mode and it’s not really a cadence, but what the heck. It goes I, II, IV, I. In C, that’s C, D, F, C. You can hear it in the verses of “Eight Days a Week” by the Beatles (1964). It’s in D, and the verses go D, E, G, D. The “Lydian” part is the E chord; otherwise it’s straight major.

These progressions and loops all have something in common: aside from the doo-wop, they all assiduously avoid V-I root movement and any other feeling of strong harmonic closure. You can weaken any feeling of closure produced by the V-I in the doo-wop progression by repeating it endlessly. If there is one difference between harmony in the European classical canon and Anglo-American pop, it’s this: a classical composition is a harmonic journey with a beginning, a middle and an end, while a pop song shows the influence of Afrodiasporic groove structures: a series of places to be for various lengths of time, without any particular goal.