The I–V–vi–IV progression is a common chord progression popular across several genres of music. It involves the I, V, vi, and IV chords; for example, in the key of C major, this would be: C–G–Am–F. Uses based on a different starting point but with the same order of chords, include:
Contents
The 50s progression uses the same chords but in a different order (I–vi–IV–V), no matter the starting point.
Variations
A common ordering of the progression, "vi–IV–I–V", was dubbed the sensitive female chord progression by Boston Globe Columnist Marc Hirsh. In C major this would be Am–F–C–G. Hirsh first noticed the chord progression in the song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne, and then other songs. He named the progression because he claimed it was used by many performers of the Lilith Fair in the late 1990s.
Dan Bennett claims the progression is also called the "pop-punk progression" because of its frequent use in pop punk.
The vi–IV–I–V progression has been associated with the heroic in many popular Hollywood movies and movie trailers, especially in films released since 2000.
The chord progression is also used in the form IV–I–V–vi, as in songs such as "Umbrella" by Rihanna and "Down" by Jay Sean. Numerous bro-country songs followed the chord progression, as demonstrated by Greg Todd's mash-up of several bro-country songs in an early 2015 video.
A 2009 song by the comedy group The Axis of Awesome, called "Four Chords", parodied the ubiquity of the progression in popular music. It was written in D major (thus using the chords D major, A major, B minor, and G major) and was subsequently published on YouTube. As of August 2016, the most popular version has been viewed over 40 million times.
Examples
Examples of use of the I–V–vi–IV progression include:
Songs using the vi–IV–I–V progression: