![]() ![]() I don’t think that was necessarily the thought process behind Styx’ intro to “Come Sail Away,” but it is fun how it sets up the song as a ballad that slowly builds into a three-chord singalong rocker. ![]() How do you start out a prog rock epic? Certainly, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with opting for a more conventional chord progression, but what’s the fun in that, especially when you could open your tune with the I – ii – iii – ii – I – V progression? It’s a simple trick, but the result is usually that the repeating phrase against different harmony notes creates a very evocative soundscape. You can do this with melodies and leads too, i.e., have a repeating phrase in the right hand while the bass cycles through different notes. With “Your Song” being a gentle ballad, John was obviously going for more of an emotive, melancholy vibe, and playing the chord progression as slash chords (changing the chords in the right hand and keeping the bass in the left hand) offers that effect. I always like to find ways of doing this myself and tend to lean heavily on maj7, slash, and sus chords. What else would you expect from the master? He plays each chord as a slash chord, like so:Īnd that’s an excellent way to put a spin on an otherwise conventional chord progression. Now, John plays the progression with a bit of flavor. He has hits and classics too numerous to mention, but this chord progression was used specifically in the intro / interlude of “Your Song.” Have a listen. You’re going to see it come up time and again in various songs.īut as applied to piano in the world of pop and rock, there’s another legend we can’t possibly ignore, and that would be Elton John. ![]() Without a doubt, it’s a classic, and if you aren’t already familiar with it, you need to add it to your musical vocabulary immediately. This chord progression is the very essence of songs like The Troggs’ “Wild Thing,” Green Day’s “Minority,” and many others. It has a slight bit of suspense because of how the chords are ordered, but for the most part, it’s a safe bet in happier sounding tunes. This is a major progression through and through, which means it has a happy, upbeat sound. That said, this is one of those progressions that will translate well to most popular genres – pop, rock, punk rock, singer-songwriter, folk, and more. In “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Journey rotates in the iii in place of the vi every second line, and that gives the chord progression a little more flavor. So, what’s an example you would have heard? Well, this is, in fact, the chord progression that dominates most of Coldplay’s hit song, “Clocks.” It has kind of wide-eyed helicopter adventure through the mountains kind of vibe (of course, that will depend on how you play it). There aren’t too many popular progressions that meet both conditions, but the V – ii – vi chord progression does.Īnd this is one of those progressions that doesn’t have heavy leanings in the major or minor direction. There are progressions that are missing the I chord. ![]() There are chord progressions that start on the V chord. But there are other ways of using it, as “Bohemian Rhapsody” proves. The chord progression sounds like it would work nicely in a 50s Doo-wop, or perhaps a ballad. And like the IV, it naturally wants to lead into the V. The ii or Am is a little less common, so it makes for a nice “color” chord in context. What’s fascinating about this chord progression is that you can basically substitute the ii with the IV (in the key of G, the IV would be C). ![]()
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