2 Super Satisfying Chord Progressions And How To Write Your Own

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My video on the "Circle of 5ths" chord progression: • Songs that use the Cir...
The perfect 5th is at the heart of how harmony works and these two chord progressions get their satisfying sound from this most consonant of intervals!
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0:00 Introduction
0:22 I vi ii V
2:00 Perfect 5th
3:49 vi ii V I
5:49 Sponsor
6:41 Isn't She Lovely
8:04 the fool proof interval
10:48 Patreon

[@emanuelborges4458]

Writing "Satisfying" in any youtube video title is the easiest way to hook your audience, no matter the content. Well done.

[@LENITYZONE]

Best part is that it’s not clickbait 🙏🏽

[@GizzyDillespee]

...and the reason will SHOCK you!!

[@dylankrejci9965]

@@GizzyDillespee(GONE WRONG!!!)

[@dominicekezie2011]

@@dylankrejci9965(NOT CLICKBAIT)

[@VirtualModular]

Just use this ONE TRICK for INSANE chord progressions....it's the circle of 5ths 😅

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

I just bought myself a keyboard after watching many of these uploads and I am really enjoying my new music journey.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

That's awesome!

[@rodeofrancisco6130]

tbh, SAME HERE haha. I've been playing guitar for so long but most "music theory" videos are showcasing piano.

[@victorwilburn8588]

@@rodeofrancisco6130: Keyboard is the easiest instrument for visualizing theory concepts since things are laid out linearly and visually in a diatonic pattern (the black/white key pattern). It also makes it a great composition instrument, since it's easy to move fingers up and down to discover things. (Guitar has some of these properties as well, though not to the same degree as keyboard.) For these reasons, I recommend any musician to learn at least a little piano. (I'm more of a guitar player myself, though I do spend some practice time on piano.)

[@beatrixwickson8477]

Thinking of B11 as A/B is really helpful. I'd watch a whole video on how to think of extensions that way because that's just how I conceptualise that stuff.

[@tljmusic]

Agreed! David we’d love to see that!

[@brazilianknuckles7900]

Yeah, I try to think for example of 9th chords as a 7th chord+ a bass root and it's a very quick way

[@sihtambelac]

This one he did on March 17, 2022 may just be what you're looking for. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXi7faSHa99psJosi=rFOT1JYGLWKyZPU1

[@callumhoward1976]

Or a Sus13 chord is the 1 & 5 with left hand, then the maj7 of the note a whole tone below with right hand. example Asus13 would be A & E with left hand - Gmaj7 with right hand

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

David plays songs that use these chords, but then he gets to Stevie Wonder. Stevie is on another level.

[@wolfrayet25music_official]

9:21 this chord has a special name. It's called a "NEAPOLITAN CHORD" which is a spicy subdominant chord that leads really nicely to the V of any key. I want to see songs that use that kind of chord.

[@iorch82]

Planet of new orleans by dire straits use it extensively

[@user-ku2le2xr4z]

Is this always a major chord like the Bb here?

[@frankjuggaloheathen1035]

It could also be thought of as a Phrygian chord, as it contains the flattened 2nd degree

[@user-ku2le2xr4z]

Interesting. Thanks👍

[@waterPsychiatrist]

Didn't expect MCR here!

[@NomeDeArte]

Martian Congressional Republic?? Yeah, I am with the Belters all along. F#c% inners!

[@Finch460]

That’s when I shut it off.

[@eddieloujones2673]

Never heard them before. Man they sound terrible.

[@waterPsychiatrist]

@@eddieloujones2673 objectively wrong, Gerard Way is an inspiration to vocalists all throughout the world

[@luciabee]

me neither, i was so excited to see them come up

[@goodlookingcorpse]

I find these chord progression videos very helpful. I get a song out of most of them.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Excellent 😊😊

[@carlosgravy7966]

Best musical info on the net!

[@JontCarr]

What a brilliant lesson! Thank you.

[@klaushoward9158]

That first sequence I call the "Mama, just killed a man" progression

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Good example!

[@zzzaphod8507]

For variety, could also lean into the secondary dominant side more with all major or dominant 7th chords, like C A7 D7 G7 on a loop

[@andrewhertzberg6889]

Really really good - as always.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@yisroelmeth]

movin out, the opening from the Stranger- Billy Joel

[@joeturkos6767]

I can’t thank you enough for your videos. I’m a guitar student in Chicago, Illinois. I’ve learned so much about music and how it works, through your videos. Thank you helping me learn and grow as a guitar player and musician. Cheers!

[@wellurban]

Nicely done! The 6-2-5-1 changes are ubiquitous in jazz, of course, but I think what makes this work especially well in a pop context is that the first change is from the major root to its parallel minor, so it feels like not much of a change at all. This makes it a very smooth introduction, and an easy way to get onto the circle of 5ths to take us home.

[@Clarity-808]

Great point!

[@dftweedie3021]

Don't we mean 'relative' minor?

[@wellurban]

@@dftweedie3021Drat, yes!

[@dftweedie3021]

@@wellurbanWe knew what you meant to say ... but we don't want to confuse others. Can't tell you how many times I've done similar.

[@Fexxis_]

i was not expecting to be weezered by david benett piano

[@carrieyael2205]

I'm also a big fan of i-IIIb-VIIb-iv, which uses fifths going up. I think it's similar to Wonderwall, except the last chord is minor.

[@mikenco]

I've been learning Ukulele for the last 18 months. The information I get from your videos about music theory is exceptional. You're a great teacher, thank you.

[@ziernaht.]

THIS LOVE MENTIONED!!!!! ❤

[@consultant_of_swing2146]

For 60 years my musical tastes have run toward hard and progressive rock, but it's nice to be reminded that "Killing Me Softly With His Song" is just a beautiful, beautiful song.

[@mackemagnusson]

it is the worst song ever.

[@umbertoyltp]

Nice to see Dusty Springfield among the examples!❤

[@Henrix1998]

Very sneaky the lick

[@gutbucket6184]

When?

[@1oolabob]

I understood all of this the way you explained it. I feel like this is a major milestone for me in understanding music theory, because I've spent so much time not really understanding a lot of it. But the real mind-blowing part of this video is something I really didn't expect: I have never wanted any virtual instrument until you said "sympathetic resonance". Potential advertisers need to know that you're really good at showing people why they would want the product.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😊

[@atrus3823]

I’m super fond of the basic same progression but starting from the third note of the major version.

[@frankzelazko]

spot on! we need to practise the last chord progression

[@ericsiegel1087]

great video! would love to see one about why 7ths and upper chord extensions can be useful for building chord progressions in general

[@YingwuUsagiri]

At this rate I would've squeezed in the ii V I as the "step 1" for why this works. It's everywhere because it works and this is an extension of it.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Well I would say it’s the other way around… the reason the 2-5-1 works is because it’s all perfect fifths 🙂

[@YingwuUsagiri]

@@DavidBennettPiano True! That's why I said this video is an extension to the 2-5-1 because this *adds* the minor third in front of it as an "extra" to create the progression.

[@WillyJohnes]

You are always very good to explain theory! good job

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@luciabee]

WOW, so many bangers in here. i never would have made the connection. and now i not only recognize it but understand why it works! amazing!!!

[@southsideronnie]

Great information. Thank you David!!

[@JMaxfield09]

More examples of vi-ii-V-I: "Rocky Raccoon" & "You Never Give Me Your Money" by the Beatles "Saturday in the Park" by Chicago "Barbie Girl" by Aqua "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears "Home Movies Theme" by Brendan Small "Daughters" by John Mayer

[@artrogers3985]

Very good video. Great explanation of a simple thing. You make it very interesting 🎸

[@zzzaphod8507]

Was that 4 seconds of a real Beatles song? Is that a copyright gamble?!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Shhhhh!! Keep it down!! 😋😅😅😅

[@waltdoherty540]

Probably not. You are allowed to quote short passages, say about.4 bars or less, especially to demonstrate examples of what's being talked about.

[@francisfrozen7076]

Oh, I've been waiting for this video for an eternity xD There is one more progression that sounds very similar to these two, it will appear if you change the "ii" with the "IV" and get "vi IV V I", for example "Am F G C". I've learned about it about a half-year ago, when discovered Hatsune Miku's song "Irony", performed by Majiko in particular. I just fell in love with this chord progression bc I personally prefer it strongly if compared to pretty common "vi IV I V". Very satisfying sound imo. Then I started to dig for another songs with this very progression and, to my deepest disappointment, just could not find many of them, especially in Western music. In asian songs it is not very common too, but still used, and in Western music the only example with exactly these chords (i. e. "vi IV V I") in exactly these positions I found was "Stan" by "Eminem". So this video finally makes me happy about it, bc "ii" and "IV" chords in this case sound so similar that you can, for example, play "IV" instead of "ii" in "Cruel Angel's Thesis" and difference will be so subtle with all the context. (Sorry for my bad English btw)

[@assassinave]

I suppose you were avoiding it to feature others, but You Never Give Me Your Money by the Beatles initial verse is an example of the minor version. (for those putting concepts to practice)

[@rockhead11]

I’ve been listening to this chord progression since I was a little boy listening to doo-wop. There had to have been 100 top 40 songs in the 50s following that progression. All of them were great!

[@moma5232]

i love this man.❤❤

[@wyattstevens8574]

I brought "Heart & Soul" up because it's more like a beginner-level duet, but my friends and I use the following progression under the melody: I vi IV V I vi ii V (2 rotations without the melody) 12:10 sounded like Aimee Nolte's "internalize the circle" video!

[@user-qb3ki5ki1h]

just make sure to use the Dm7 for the ii chord to replicate a F6 chord

[@emirbabapro78]

I love your videos

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@DreamsongsProductions]

As a songwriter I commend you on this video and all other chord progression videos. Well done!

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

The “ Isn’t she lovely” had what I call the “Lydian riff”. I-II-V-I. Like “ You Don’t See Me” or “Saturday in the Park”. The use of the C# minor for the first I is beautiful.

[@martingifford5415]

Am F Bb sounded so Grand!

[@carolm.ferreira3699]

😊😊❤ awesome video!!

[@RaulCastrogeneris]

Amaizing, it all makes sense now jajaja. Thank you Very Much

[@lesgoe8908]

Excellent

[@dugl]

yay thanks for Queen example

[@avijatsinharoy8944]

Here's a progression from me(obviously has been used before tho): I-vi-iv-I-I-vi-IV-I In the last iteration I have made the penultimate bar as IV-V7(1st inv)

[@c0nga]

it's extremely convenient that you uploaded this three days before i started trying to write a progression

[@rome8180]

Even though they're technically the "same" chord progression, I prefer the vi, ii, V, I version. It sounds less old-fashioned/cheesy to me. Not that I dislike older music. It's just that I, vi, ii, V is maybe the second most common chord progression in '50s music after the I, vi, IV, V. It's a bit played out. The minor version still feels fresher, as common as it is.

[@ssaamil]

Soon million subs!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

It’s coming!!!

[@georgewhite1972]

That's what she said!! 😏@@DavidBennettPiano

[@rini6]

Since everyone is talking about Dune 2. Maybe do an analysis of Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack which was amazing.

[@Kyubiwan]

Nice vid! I'll try to give you some more examples of pop songs with the viidim chord soon so that you can make a video about them!

[@user-jc7jk4ce9t]

Billy Joel's For the Long Night with You all built on satisfying fifths...

[@donkerbot]

10:24 We did this in a song. The song itself was in C major, but we transposed to F for the bridge, and the progression was just the circle of fifths, so F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Dd. But then, theoretically, we were in a completely different key anyway, so we simply transposed it back to C, with a semitone up going to form a II-V-I, so finishing with D - G - C, which took me back to the key of C for the outro. The song is our 2023 Christmas single, _Christmas in Liverpool._

[@philj4417]

hi, I love your videos, I always learn something. :) as a newbie, it's sometimes hard to follow how the chords relate to each other without stave notation, e.g. which notes the 9 and the 11 really are, but great video altogether, keep up the good work

[@user-ut3bo7ij6n]

Спасибо друг.

[@TotalMonsense]

I recalled Charles Cornell explaining how he used the V-I method to make the infamous IMAGINE cover (by Gadot et al.) work 😁

[@seizethemeansproduction]

I love ol' Charlie lol

[@dhpbear2]

8:10 - 'Am -> Dm -> G - C' also ends in a plagal cadence!

[@thedarkdefender7780]

'G-C' is a perfect cadance.

[@garythomas738]

Cheers for putting it right at the front. That way I know to jump straight out of your video instead of leaving halfway through. I’m not watching ads when I pay for Premium.

[@orchestrate]

T.Rex's "Whatever Happened to the Teenage Dream" also uses the first progression. as soon as you played it my head started to get boggly until I kept playing the progression until I found it.

[@ChamilawarnaJayalath]

great video

[@sheenzo]

Don't Cry (G&R) uses the 6-2-5-1 progression.

[@user-gu6nu6rf2u]

Liszt’s Liebstraume - one of the most popular works of romanticism era - Aflat - C7 - F7 - B7 - Eflat7 - Aflat

[@leonhardeuler675]

Could you talk about how it sounds particularly nice to go from the V to I (G to C), but it's not necessarily the same thing with C to G. C to G is still a perfect fifth, but it doesn't have that same quality. C to G is a perfect fourth of course, but why is it that it must go down the piano to get that effect?

[@zacharyleonard9413]

I was playing around on guitar the other day and I tried just rearranging the classic Andalusian cadence. I got i VI VII V and it sounded pretty nice. Is there another name for that variation?

[@grizzlymartin1]

Can you do, or have you done, a lesson session on building the left hand chord structure underneath a real book lead sheet song? Thx

[@BobPaulGuitar]

David, please analyze the simple but very emotional chord progressions in "Starry Night" by Joe Satriani. I loved this song since the first time I've listened to it!

[@baconlabs]

With every one of these videos I watch, I become more and more convinced that I need a laminated circle of fifths diagram to hang on my wall.

[@mat992]

Good idea. It has helped me a lot. I have found that you really need to just drill it. Try to memorize it. Drawing it out on paper helped me internalize it mostly. Starting from F and moving in fifths to the right: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle That covers more than half of the circle, have fun :)

[@baconlabs]

I never heard that mnemonic before, thanks mate!

[@evansox8137]

Any thoughts on moving a 5th away but to notes that are in a part of the chord other than the root? Like generally would it feel as connected having the 5th away move be the 3rd,5th or even 7th of the next chord?

[@MrEspilon]

that is litteraly the chord progression i chose yesterday to start a new track ahah

[@rafaele.zavalacamero3099]

Hey David! Have you ever done a video of the extend versión of that progresión? i - iv - VII - III - VI - ii° - V7 - i

[@cappuccino4366]

Awesome video. I would like to learn something about this chord progression: for example Em - Eb major I don't know how it's called. I haven't seen someone made a video about it.

[@danpreston564]

6 2 5 1 is really nicely used in Late Night Talking by Harry Styles.

[@iraklismoschonas5214]

The first chord progression is used in the song “Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)”, by The Penguins.

[@martine.210]

It is not by Marvin Berry and the Starlighters?

[@iraklismoschonas5214]

@@martine.210 No, it’s a Penguins song.

[@thedarkdefender7780]

@@iraklismoschonas5214 Marvin Berry and the Starlighters' version is well known too. It was in 'Back To The Future'.

[@iraklismoschonas5214]

@@thedarkdefender7780 What I have not understood yet though is whether Marvin Berry & The Starlighters is a fictional band that just featured in Back To The Future or it’s an actual band.

[@plaudrup]

Many songs are build on groups of 4 bars. The I-vi-ii-V progression ends the 4th bar in the dominant chord (V). You cant help going back to tonic chord (I). But then you just start a new progression ... In other words, this is the progression undernearh a lot of songs you just cant stop humming.

[@user-ku2le2xr4z]

On some occasions I found the last chord (C Major) of the minor version not to be stable but would literally pull us towards the first chord Am with a passing bass note B

[@Kevin-zm5og]

David I love your videos but struggling with music theory. Isn't the chord progression 4ths as its going anticlockwise? Is the direction of the circle of 5ths interchangeable? When you show a 5th above A(m) on the keyboard it's E as expected but in the chord progression its Dm? Thanks for posting these interesting videos, very well produced and professional.

[@stevieroach]

You can also extend this to a 5-chord progression by including the iii chord before vi, another downward 5th.

[@user-qb3ki5ki1h]

could be used as a passing chord

[@anonymous-dz7yl]

When your playing rhe stevie wonder chords are you using inversions? When i watch these types of videos often the right hand doesnt seem to be moving much up and down the keys.

[@soulubilityofficial6635]

Hey David! You should do a video on Rhythm Changes!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Good idea! I’ll bear it in mind 😊😊

[@andrewlowden322]

So now we can see why subbing a ii for a IV works technically. (Im guessin the math principle is the same when subbing a iii for V)

[@rufus4452]

It seems that VI II V I (with the very similar II V I IV) is becoming the new Axis chord progression. After the exploit of As it was and Flowers I hear it everywhere...

[@JohnJohnson-qf2fm]

Quick question. I get that it's going through the circle of fifths, but if it's going counter clockwise, it would be going in fourths, right? To me, an example of a chord progression going forward in fifths would be Hey Joe.

[@joustwave6541]

Gary Young (drummer for Pavement) put out an absolutely ridiculous (vi-ii-V-I) song in the 90's called "Plantman" and since that was the first song I remember hearing with that chord progression, it's the song I think of whenever I hear it anywhere else. 🤣

[@jcong000]

The classic Kakariko Village theme from ALTTP uses this progression

[@andercert70]

As a thought exercise, what would it be like if one considered chords with upper extensions to be their own independent entity, not a fill in or substitute, but a different if somewhat related chord. Isn't B11 an interesting and different enough sound from B to make it's character different, and won't it function somewhat differently. Move the bass note and the chord could be F#m7add6. I know, I'm weird. :D

[@UnshavenStatue]

well the upper harmonics of integer ratios will have a lot of constructive interference, and it's not *so* hard to imagine that constructive interference detection is evolutionarily selected for in some way. (try doing a 3:2 pair of pure sine waves, it sounds less good than a "richer" timbre but it still sounds fairly good to most ears)

[@fromchomleystreet]

But what is the evolutionary advantage bestowed by having these particular responses to these combinations of frequencies? How did being able to experience consonance and dissonance in this particular way make it more likely that our ancestors would live long enough to procreate? If it’s evolutionarily selected, then it must have done so in some way.

[@UnshavenStatue]

@@fromchomleystreet i have little idea about the details of constructive interference being useful, but it's certainly true that we like constructive interference more than random interference (on average)

[@Raymaster7482]

The minor version of this progression is used in songs I really don't like very much - interesting!

[@JMaxfield09]

The I-vi-ii-V progression is nearly as ubiquitous as I-vi-IV-V. More examples apart from what was featured in the video 1950s: "Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite" by the Spaniels / "Come Go With Me" by the Del-Vikings / Theme from "A Summer Place" by Percy Faith 1960s: "Hey Baby" by Bruce Channel / "Big Girls Don't Cry" by the Four Seasons 1970s: "Short People" by Randy Newman / "Bohemian Rhapsody"(Mama, just killed a man) by Queen / "Breezin'" by George Benson / "Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione / "The Muppet Show Theme" by Jim Henson & Sam Pottle / "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle / "Your Smiling Face" by James Taylor / "YMCA" by the Village People 1980s: "Woman" by John Lennon / "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton / "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA / "Try Again" (You told me you needed...) by Champaign / "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young / "Some Guys Have All the Luck" by Rod Stewart" / "Last Christmas" by Wham!

[@otisheckles6249]

And you could've kept circling from Gb (en-harmonic) F# to B then E back to home. I was anticipating that lol.

[@musiceclipse]

I have long described consonance and dissonance as easy math and hard math. Octave: two to one, fifth: 3 to 2. Easy math.Tritone: six times the 12th root of two. Hard math.

[@Enr227]

David, please discuss the fade-out of Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us in Two".

[@TheStickCollector]

I just hope there are some minor progressions that I can use (or at least modify from here)

[@jaywinterbrook]

This is my first progression that I haven’t liked. Thanks for posting.

[@unknownkingdom]

9:26 sounds like "One Heaet One Hand" by Leonars Bernstein?

[@PhantomII-cc8cj]

One cool thing you actually forgot is that there's a popular variation that starts on the ii chord, used in songs like I Want To Hold Your Hand and Oh, Pretty Woman

[@alnitaka]

How about going two steps in to get ii V I vi, or 2516? That is my favorite progression. Songs with this include Primadonna, Dancing in the Moonlight, Stumblin In, and partially in It Never Rains in Southern California and Give Life Back to Music.

[@letlhogonolomasebe5598]

Hi....can u please show those chord closely from the start of the video.

[@magnusjensson8199]

All strong chord progressions - down a third and up a fourth.

[@orchestrate]

Genuine question I've had for a long time; What are the practical differences between vi-ii-V-I & vi-IV-V-iii?

[@zachary963]

I think it’s just flavor…