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Lesson Notes

The document discusses the "4 pop chords" that are most commonly used in popular music compositions. These 4 chords are the I, IV, V, and vi chords of the major key or I, IV, V and vi chords of the relative minor key. Specifically in the key of C major, the 4 pop chords are C major, F major, G major, and A minor. The document notes that progressions using these 4 chords together sound strong and emotionally moving.

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Jeffrey Tang
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30 views1 page

Lesson Notes

The document discusses the "4 pop chords" that are most commonly used in popular music compositions. These 4 chords are the I, IV, V, and vi chords of the major key or I, IV, V and vi chords of the relative minor key. Specifically in the key of C major, the 4 pop chords are C major, F major, G major, and A minor. The document notes that progressions using these 4 chords together sound strong and emotionally moving.

Uploaded by

Jeffrey Tang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Of the 6 chords found in our key, there are 4 which are used far more than others I call

l these the
4 pop chords, because they are the most popular chords in the world. In fact, you may have heard
people say that all pop songs are written using just 4 chords this is a fairly accurate statement
and applies to most modern styles of music, including most radio, tv and film music.
By 4 chords we mean the numbers of those chords (of course music can be written in any of the
12 keys, but the numbers of these chords stays the same in each).
Within our key of C major / A minor, the 4 pop chords are:
C major (I) A minor (vi) G major (V) F major (IV)
So we have the 3 major chords (I IV V of C major) plus the relative minor scales root chord
(A minor).
The 4 pop chords sound strong played in any combination, and seem to move us emotionally every
time (often giving the listener goosebumps).
A Distinctive Landmark:
Notice that 3 of the pop chords are next to each other F major, G major, A minor. These 3 chords
are the most distinctive landmark to ever hear in a chord progression in particular, when you
notice the bassline move up or down by 2 whole-steps, it is very likely playing F G A (or A G
F). The bassline nearly always plays the root of the chord above, which means that F G A
would underlie an F major G major A minor chord progression.

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