Common Chord Progressions and Remembering Songs

Common Chord Progressions and Remembering Songs

This series of lessons delves into the exploration of common chord progressions, uncovering the underlying connections between songs.

Remembering songs is akin to recalling the directions for a road trip. Just like following turn-by-turn directions, consulting road maps, observing signs, and recognizing landmarks, songs rely on chords, harmonic cells, and overall song structure.

Equipped with a few musical tools and a grasp of chord principles and progressions, you can begin unraveling the intricate workings of a song. It's remarkable how much songs have in common, and each one possesses its own unique direction, signs, and landmarks.

By honing your understanding of chord progressions and their relationships, you can navigate through songs with greater ease and appreciate the underlying patterns and structures that make music so captivating.

1
Remembering Songs
Listening to songs and wanting to play the same songs on ukulele – that's what draws most people to the ukulele. That and it looks like a load of fun and easy to play – which it is. Then you need to actually remember the songs that you're learning, so you can play them again. And, hopefully, not have to read them off a sheet all the time.
2
Simple - Basic Chord Progression
Alternation between two chords may be thought of as the most basic chord progression. Many well-known pieces are built harmonically upon the mere repetition of two chords of the same scale.
3
Three Chord Progressions
Three-chord tunes, though, are more common, since a melody may then dwell on any note of the scale. Often the chords may be selected to fit a pre-conceived melody, but just as often it is the progression itself that gives rise to the melody.
4
The Four Chord Pop Progression
This is the most popular chord progression in use today. It has replaced the most common chord progression that was used in the 50s, the 1 6 2 5 chord progression.
5
Pachalbel's Canon Progression
In the key of C major Pachelbel's Canon is: C G Am Em F C F G. This is a I V VI III IV I IV V in harmonic analysis notation. In Nashville Numbering it's 1 5 6 3 4 1 4 5.
6
Fifties (1950s) Chord Progressions
Another common way of extending the I - IV - V sequence is by adding the chord of the sixth scale degree, giving the sequence I - vi - IV - V or I - vi - ii - V, sometimes called the 50s progression.
7
The Andalusian Chord Progression
The Andalusian cadence is a term adopted from flamenco music for a chord progression comprising four chords descending stepwise. It is otherwise known as the minor descending tetrachord. Traceable back to the Renaissance, its effective sonorities made it one of the most popular progressions in classical music.
8
Mixolydian Progression
The Mixolydian progression - "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd: This iconic rock song is built around a Mixolydian-based guitar riff. The chords used in the main progression are D-C-G, which are characteristic of the Mixolydian mode in the key of D.
9
Blues Chord Progressions
The twelve bar blues and its many variants use an elongated, three-line form of the I - IV - V progression that has also generated countless hit records, including the most significant output of rock and rollers such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard. In its most elementary form (there are many variants) the chords progress as follows: I - I - I - I - IV - IV - I - I - V - V - I - I
10
Backdoor Chord Progressions
In jazz and jazz harmony, the chord progression from IV7 to bVII7 to I has been nicknamed the backdoor progression or the backdoor II-V. This name derives from an assumption that the normal progression to the tonic, the II-V-I turnaround ( II-V7 to I ) is, by inference, the front door. It can be considered a minor plagal cadence in traditional theory.