Songs that use the Running Up That Hill chord progression

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0:00 Introduction
0:26 Examples
2:24 How the progression works
4:23 Hook Theory
5:06 Relative major vs. minor
6:57 Piano outro

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks to Hooktheory for sponsoring this video. Use this link to get 20% off your first year of Chord Crush. www.hooktheory.com/davidbennett 🎼 I use Hook Theory myself to research these chord progression videos so I can certainly recommend it! 😀

[@wwsciffsww3748]

Hi David, I noticed that you repeatedly turned the bVI into an add9 chord in your piano outro. I love doing the same thing, it makes the progression sound more interesting and satisfying. I also like to make the i into a im7, which creates a nice pedal tone (in Cm its Bb). Speaking of which, you should do a video on pedal tones, I think it would fit perfectly in with your content. Big fan of your channel, keep it up!

[@wyattstevens8574]

The transition from Billionaire to Wonderwall was seamless! It almost sounded like they were the same song!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

@@wyattstevens8574 😃😃

[@BodTheGrinch]

I feel like what makes this chord progression particularly interesting, and allows for a more subtle emotion than some, is that the entire first half of the progression, i.e. the first two chords, is major, but the final resolution is minor. So it sort of feels like the resolution, reaching the top of the hill as it were, should be a triumphant, joyous celebration, but because it's that minor root, it isn't all happiness and rainbows. There's something darker. To me that gives this progression a bit of emotional ambiguity or tension, which I really like.

[@prandtl1956]

Perfect explanation! 👏

[@althealligator1467]

It's actually pretty common to go IV-V-VI or bVI-bVII-I ending with a picardy third, which does end in a surprisingly triumphant sound.

[@azb2a]

It would have been interesting to compare the Running Up That Hill progression with its "major counterpart" bVI bVII I, the Billy Shears / Mario Bros progression. Would have point out to what you're saying here, and would have been a way to mention the Beatles in the video haha

[@WhitePaintbrush]

I think this chord progression works especially well when the song _is_ actually in the parallel major, i.e the melody keeps hammering on the first degree of the major scale, and we get a IV > V climb, but then the music refuses to meet the melody with that expected tonic I chord and fakes you out with a vi chord instead. The subtle tension between the melody and harmony creates some really nice drama. I think this is why I love You Say Run from My Hero Academia so much.

[@BodTheGrinch]

@@WhitePaintbrush Gonna have a listen to that track now 👍

[@uncoolrunnings]

Fun fact for ya'll .... Coldplay came up with the main riff of 'Speed of Sound' when Chris Martin was trying to work out 'Running Up That Hill' on his piano during a sound check! 🎹

[@Flutterbyby]

Oh my gosh! I learn something new everyday. That’s awesome as I love speed of sound

[@angelascorese6406]

It must be a Coldplay thing because “Something Just Like This” uses the same progression for basically the whole song, just going up and down the progression over and over!

[@adityakulkarni2343]

@@angelascorese6406 yupp, i was just scrolling though comments, like the video just started, n it just hit me that hymn for the weekend also has the same progression, n well it later came in the video as well

[@NRF787]

Wow

[@Noahbsng]

Truly an 80's chord progression

[@Whiteythereaper]

It's also used for the chorus of Maniac from Flashdance so spot on

[@musicappreciate]

The look of love ABC

[@ExpTube1969]

True.

[@ExpTube1969]

I Want to Break free....?

[@Kriegter]

Hallowed be Thy Name

[@moomoomachines7193]

This chord progression was wayy more common than I realized. I didn't expect Bon Jovi, Evanescence, BTS and Coldplay to use all these... also wonder wall! wowie

[@LeapingDodo]

Just wait until you realize this is one of the most common progressions in anime openings for … the entire history of anime really

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

thats like not expecting writerss to use slightly rare words

[@bongjovi4928]

@@LeapingDodo who asked

[@davidwave4]

An embarrassing number of my favorite songs use this progression. Guess I finally found out what ties these songs together.

[@Flutterbyby]

No need to be embarrassed! I’m unashamedly loving popular songs with this progressions. Insightful to see the connection.

[@steliosposeidon6871]

Intro synth chords to Queens “I Want to Break Free”, similar sequences used in “Bring on the Night” by the Police, also “Disintegration” by the Cure.

[@haikovd8371]

Disintegration is the first one I think of. Also Shadowplay by Joy division, draize train by the smiths and love on a real train by tangerine dream. Popular new wave chord progression.

[@Whiteythereaper]

Queen is the one I kept getting stuck in my head when tryng to think of more examples in my head

[@steliosposeidon6871]

@@haikovd8371 good examples!

[@johnmiller4859]

This explains why I can hear Living on a Prayer merging into Running Up That Hill in my head. Thank you. Earworm explained. And your playing at the end was so beautiful. Thank you again.

[@DanSchaumann]

That montage of songs was epic, your editing skills are 🔥!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks! 😀

[@northfoxone]

I wasn't familiar with he name of this chord progression but with all these examples I see how popular it is

[@CarlosMendez-vn2sl]

David created the name

[@WhitePaintbrush]

It doesn’t really have a name, David just called it that for the title becuse it’s a song that’s currently very popular that uses it. I’ve seen it referred to as the “anime chords” before because it’s ridiculously popular in anime OP ED’s.

[@northfoxone]

Yeah I noticed that It's in A Cruel Angels Thesis which I played on piano

[@TSutton]

Big props to you David for editing the songs together so smoothly, that felt like one big mashup!

[@alecrechtiene558]

I feel this chord progression gives a pretty spacey ethereal vibe. I feel part of it is since it is in a minor key, the VI and VII chords are major while the tonic chord is minor, and without that leading tone, we are never in a place of absolute desperation. We are also never in a place of absolute glory, or full satisfaction, considering that a song could be in the relative major and use this as a deceptive cadence. This chord progression works really well as a pre-chorus as it gives the notion of moving forward consistently.

[@wwsciffsww3748]

You can make it even more ethereal sounding by having a pedal tone of the b7 (so in Cm you have Abadd9, Bb, Cm7)

[@ryanweeks287]

Can easily make the bVI lydian too and it works

[@blazingaqua9127]

Literally almost every Iron Maiden song has that chord progression somewhere in it

[@gaelfaun2459]

Damn ! You're right ! This is where I first heard it.

[@hallamhal]

Yeah for me it's always been the Iron Maiden progression

[@chitlitlah]

Did you just say 'literally almost'?

[@wgb01001]

Just came here to make the same comment. It’s every single Iron Maiden song.

[@andersjjensen]

@@chitlitlah That technically is valid. It stresses that the word 'almost' should not be interpreted as something different than 'almost'. So given that nature of 'almost' is decisively different from both 'all' and 'some' one could argue that stressing the literal interpretation is a bit superfluous. But then again, politicians seem to get a lot mileage out of "interpreting" words that are normally used in their literal meaning... so perhaps it's not too far fetched in this day and age :P

[@robster7316]

Plenty of popular examples of this progression. Thanks for clarifying the naming convention and key selection, David. It can get confusing at times!

[@SheetFiber]

Before I knew about aeolian mode I always thought this way "the 4th-5th-6th progression". Hard rock and metal introduced me this progression.

[@Whiteythereaper]

Yeah in terms of guitar I've always known it as C-D-E or 3-5-7 progression that shows up in a lot of songs that use the E string as the base as their lowest available note. Critical Acclaim by Avenged Sevenfold uses it on the Organ at the start, though that does Bb C D being in the key of Dm. Paranoid does it in short succession at the end of the chorus with the high F on the 8th fret of the A dropping to the Db and the Eb on 4 and 6 before dropping down to the low F on the 1st fret of the E.

[@everestjarvik5502]

I love this chord progression so much- all these song examples are bangers

[@matteoscarabelli854]

Every time you played those chord, my brain kept racing back to the intro to I Want to Break Free... 😅 except that's *actually* IV - V - vi, so much that on its third repetition it actually resolves to IV - V - I.

[@Celso_Luis]

Recently I started to think of it as always being the IV-V-vi, even in minor key songs, because it makes much more sense to me in terms of functional harmony than ♭VI - ♭VII - i (since the vi in major keys also has tonic function).

[@waltz251]

@@Celso_Luis There are many visions on wether the bVI is tonic or pre-dominant, though I think it is the latter in major and minor keys (try bVI-V-I and bVI-V-i), and bVII has something I heard is called pre-tonic and I feel it also sounds like that in major. I wouldn't stick to vi because to me it isn't a proper analysis. Imagine that in D minor there is no F in the melody nor Fmaj in the chord progression, why would Dm be the vi? It's like the chord progression in creep, E is the V of Am but I - V/vi - IV - iv doesn't work.

[@Celso_Luis]

​@@waltz251 I confess I never heard before of "pre-dominant" or "pre-tonic", but I will definitely look it up, seems very interesting. Thank you for the tip! I know calling the Dm in a Dm key "vi" is not proper, but, to me, all functional harmony discussion seem to be centered around the major scale, and its applicability to the minor scale seem to be just an afterthought. Like, "yeah, I guess it works too in minor... kind of. Don't think too much about it!". Which sucks for me, since I'm into rock/metal, and pretty much all songs in that genre are in minor. But if you consider that the whole point of functional harmony is to analyze where the tensions want to resolve to, you see that the exact same movements are still there in minor... just in different steps of the ladder. That's why looking at it as the "vi" instead of the "i" makes more sense to me, you know? Also, it helps me to understand better the relations between chords in the other 5 modes of major, which barely anyone talks about.

[@agapyz]

My most favorite progression. First i consciously heard it in "the kill". Then i started to hear it in lots of songs. That was the beginning of learning different progressions and searching for templates in music

[@andrebenites9919]

For the brazilians out there, there is a "brega" song that uses this progression. "Dance e Balance" by Beto Barbosa. The famous lyrics is "Eu... estou com você, e não te troco por ninguém!" Just sharing cause I was always hearing this song when he played the chord progression

[@robertkadar6856]

My band did a mashup of All Along the Watchtower and the Cures Love Song as they both use this progression. Many other songs do as well as David makes clear. It’s an easy progression to play and solo over. You can make it jazzy/bluesy as well.

[@ericrakestraw664]

The flat VI, flat VII, minor I progression really sounds beautiful played on the piano.

[@wwsciffsww3748]

I especially like making the first chord an add9 (David does this in his piano outro). It's really easy on piano, too. You can also make the tonic chord a minor 7th chord. This makes all 3 chords have a note in common (in Cm they all have Bb), so you can have it as a pedal tone. Super cool and a bit creepy.

[@Oswlek]

I've always loved this progression. I'm pretty sure I found some way to squeeze it into the first 20 or so songs I wrote! 😄 I got chills during the piano improvisation at the end, David. Nice job.

[@ClocksInMyPlace]

Seeing Coldplay with Hymn for the Weekend in there made me chuckle, because actually their song Speed of Sound came from a failed attempt to play Running Up That Hill. I think you can hear it a bit too.

[@hpnascimento95]

Redbone by Childish Gambino also uses a Running up that Hill progression. Pretty simple, but great song

[@SirBenjiful]

There’s a pretty popular picardy third variant: bVI, bVII, I I think of it as the ‘Lola’ progression, but it sees a lot of use all across rock music.

[@michaeleaster1815]

Great video! If we drop the 3rds and use power chords (e.g. Ab5 Bb5 C5), that progression is extremely common in hard rock and 1980s metal... (though usually in E or A)

[@weepingscorpion8739]

Classic Æolian cadence. I think with Kate Bush's song the 2nd chord is perhaps more of a Bbsus4add2 because the "right hand" continuously plays C and Eb but since the bass note is still Bb it doesn't really change much.

[@nota99nine]

As soon as you said Every Time We Touch, it was the only thing I could hear over the progression after that. Every other example became a mental mashup lol

[@Leo.Brodie]

In all of your videos where you create a montage of songs using the same progression, you do an amazing job of editing the clips so that they create a seamless musical tapestry. Great job!

[@mason87104]

Thanks for another great installment in a great series David. It's all excellent - the discussion, the examples, and your own improvising over the progressions.

[@TheDirge69]

Beautiful arrangement in that outtro!

[@natemorton1473]

There are very few channels I genuinely get excited to listen and watch and learn from. This is definitely one of them! Thank you for what you do!

[@quailstudios]

Stairway to Heaven, Carry on Wayward Son, Turn the Page; the three songs that come to mind that have that chord progression.

[@javieralejandrotrianapaz6343]

Sounds a lot like the Mario cadence, but instead if a major tonic, this one uses a minor tonic

[@Comfortably-Dumb]

I once saw someone describe the Mario Cadence as this but with a Picardy Third, and it really satisfied the music theory nerd within me

[@luchilenium]

I've always loved this chord progression. So simple, but so emotive and effective. With its variations as well (like adding a minor 5 before repeating). One of the other examples I always loved was the main hook in the score to Princess Mononoke.

[@christina1597]

This video made me realize that this is apparently my favorite chord progression😂 Thanks for your video and your awesome editing!

[@user-pk6bo4vg9w]

I love such lessons you make about chord progressions. Thanks alot. They widen my horizons about music and how unlimited it is.

[@koolcuziwannabekool]

Excellent and very timely video! So excited to learn about how many familiar songs used this same chord progression which I hadn’t immediately recognized as being so popular.

[@gallium-studios]

Well, this solves the mystery of why I like the vibe of "Running Up That Hill" and "Edge of Seventeen" so much... thanks for another illuminating analysis, David Bennett!

[@vspatmx7458]

priceless data. and I had a lot of fun with some of my favorite music. also the nord piano tone is drop dead gorgeous.

[@maxmcmillan99]

I'd never heard of keys being 'major' or 'minor' when I was learning theory - scales, yes, but not key signatures. It was always key of 'X' and the chord to which the phrasing was resolved determined what 'mode' you were in. I immediately saw this progression as key of E flat, Aeolian mode. I appreciate seeing how other musicians visualise the theory - great video, as always!

[@waugsqueke]

Really enjoyed your piece at the end, thanks for sharing that.

[@blakethomas3366]

Beautiful piano outro!!!

[@dave_s_vids]

Beautiful composition at the end there - thanks!

[@robertYTB78g]

I enjoyed that, and that includes your improvisation at the end. Thanks.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks 😊

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Merci for this David. I've been watching your channel for years, and you motivated me enough to buy a piano and learn music theory in practice 4 months ago at 65 years of age.

[@PeteMel1875]

Really enjoyed that and the piece at the end 👍

[@ProdByChaosYSL]

the underground im in this chord progession is the backbone of our sound, i been looking for this for a minute now

[@onglt27]

I have no talent in music at all but hearing you explain chord progression with so much passion, makes me want to learn to play the piano.

[@DavidBeddard]

Brilliant explanation! Very helpful, thank you!

[@ardiris2715]

We guitarists, of course, stomp all over this by playing all the chords as major, like Joe Walsh's "Turn to Stone". Then again, by 11 pm we're only physically able to play power chords anyway, so it doesn't matter. (:

[@spyderlogan4992]

Key of E Flat Major as written in the published sheet music. IV-V-vi is the chord progression.

[@engaranedrick]

i love this chord progression

[@PsychedelicChameleon]

Hi David Bennett Piano, it's really nice to hear you playing in that key structure at the end of this video.

[@CShell-ht2fp]

Really good video. Cheers!

[@beesnuts2918]

the transitions in this one are soooo smooth

[@acv.critter4811]

Flaming June chord progression. Totally raving out now.

[@TheSarkyGamer]

On no fewer than 3 occasions this month, David has explored progressions and songs I used in guitar lessons a week or two beforehand. Which I take as a positive note for my teaching style. A great pianist with a lot to pass on.

[@martinheath5947]

Your tender piano outro with Kate's vocal on top would have been gorgeous!

[@oops6876]

Beautiful outro piece, btw. Stellar 💖

[@JohnSpo]

I'm glad you went into specifics about the flat six and seven because that sort of thing throws me off. I saw it as lowering the six and seven chords in the key of c minor which would have given me A double flat and B double flat.

[@peterellis598]

One your playing is amazing 2 I love the way you explain songs and what makes them work

[@frankzelazko]

Thank you for your another fantastic music lesson

[@bobsykes]

Your composition at the end of this one was a favorite for me. 🙏

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@DanHaglund]

Beautiful jam at the end there…. Wowzers

[@TheAdvertisement]

Love how pretty much any dramatic 80s song uses this.

[@Yoyo-tx3ue]

Oh my god I had been trying to find an answer for this bVI stuff and I couldn't find anything that made sense! Thank you for finally helping me understand!

[@joermnyc]

I found this song through the stripped down cover by Placebo, and that was used quite hauntingly in the promo ads here in the US for Ken Burn’s Documentary about World War II on PBS (interesting contrast of clips of historic footage with modern music).

[@darrelsam419]

Thanks to this I finally found out what the chord progression of "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill 2 is, and why I love songs like Running Up That Hill and Hymn for the Weekend. It's because of this chord progression. There's a kind of sad desperate tone to it, like you're climbing somewhere but never reaching the top.

[@philipkudrna5643]

Great as always! Although I have admit that I always had looked at this Chord Progression from the IV-V-vi Logic (maybe because „it is easier to digest“)!

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

Me too, I'm a simple axe

[@StrangeAttractor]

beautiful outro man! Would love a video on how to improv like that....

[@goonercestlavie]

Good work, well done

[@guillrponce9243]

Why i always have with this progression videos when I listen to the examples thatis not only the same progression, but they are all in the same key! You change song after song and all match well together!

[@charlesdouglas9019]

@davidbennetpiano could you do a video about common chord progressions that utilize diminished and/or augmented and/or any other chords in addition to major/minor? I’m learning so much and I’m extremely inspired by this series of videos to create my own music and progressions, so I’ll take any content you produce! I love it all! Thank you!

[@1oolabob]

In the first few minutes of this video I had a question about thinking of this progression in terms of its major key. You answered my question starting at about 5:06. After that, I felt like a good student by having a good question. In terms of using this progression for composing, that major key can provide a major resolution for a development of a parallel idea. (Just gave away my idea, but music is unselfish that way.) As always David, you explain things in a really useful way.

[@skorp5677]

When used for a bridge or prechorus this is definitely the best thing that can be done to a piece :3

[@alexmarquis5794]

One of my favourite songs ever, the Alan Parsons Project’s “Old and Wise” uses this chord progression in the coda with the sax solo at the end.

[@jmar4403]

Great video, David. I usually think of chord progressions modally. I know that at 3:55 you point out that in your example, that you want to avoid the major/minor designations. For me it is very clear that the progression is dictated by looking the modal structure of the chords you are calling out. In this case you have to call out the Cm as the root of the modal sequence, which is C Aeolian in the key of Eb, which automatically designates the "flat" in the bVI and bVII as defined by the key signature, which in this case is Eb. Chords built from the notes in the mode will systematically emerge as major, minor, or diminished.

[@joarnold448]

Me too. To me, in that progression, to me bVI meant Abb.....

[@BillMcGirr]

Very cool as always.💪👍🎸🥃

[@Flutterbyby]

I actually like running up that hill mixed with Stevie nicks edge of seventeen. Wow you have so many examples of songs i know and also love.

[@CounterRhythms]

I was wondering that exact thing about why bVI bVII right before you answered it. Magic. Thanks. 😁

[@thomas_kwantodaki]

omgg the transition from running up that hill to Perth gives me goosebumps XDDD

[@SomeoneSmarter]

I love your videos! It makes me realise how many musical ideas are just recycled. It makes me think I could come up with the next big hit by using tried and tested progressions.

[@SuperHoeCakes]

I'm glad you specified that why we use bVI and bVII instead of VI and VII

[@canonwright8397]

Great Video. Love Running up that hill. (except some times I'd rather run down it) Another song that I love and keep going back to is: Does anybody know what time it is, By Chicago... Or Chicago Transit Authority. 🤔Walking base kicks A**. The Beginning piano section is fantastic, and the horns are so clear and bright that it picks me up when I'm feeling blue every time. Have a great day.

[@GigglebunsUV]

i always think of this progression as the royal road progression minus the v chord

[@mustuploadtoo7543]

Hi David, would it be possible for you to do a video on all different types of articulation, ornamentation, grace notes, arpeggio and glissando, etc. I think it would be really helpful for musicians who don't know how to use them to know how (similar to how you did all the different chord types). Thanks :)

[@logobot7572]

I often like to call this the Eggman Cadence because it was used in the boss theme in one of the classic Sonic games.

[@alicem3415]

It reminds me a lot of the progression La La Land used throughout the movie except they have one more chord on the end so it becomes bVI - bVII - i - v (IV - V - vi - iii). I really love the energy these chords bring 🥰

[@riinak7212]

There are so many eurodance (especially 90s dance) songs that are based on that sequence, though often it's some variant of i - i - bVI - bVII, or sometimes stretching down to encompass the iv chord as well.

[@NZ1one1]

Great video! Bon Jovi's song These Days also uses this progression, going up and down - quite cool.

[@lilianabusnello1987]

Great video and thanks for addressing IV - V - vi. The exmaple you provided of Bryan Adams' Heaven is actually a IV - V - vi as the tonal centre is C major.

[@sguaranas]

This is one of my favorites chord progressions. When I compose music in piano I often use this progression but with v at the end, so it will be "bVI - bVII - i - v". (Ab - Bb - Cm - Gm)

[@skan5728]

I know it as the Iron Maiden Progression, almost all of their songs use it

[@nicolasdiez4239]

So did I It's hilarious how when playing their songs by ear this chord progression almost always works LOL.

[@Kylora2112]

Steve: "I have a new song! The chorus goes C-D-Em!" Adrian: "We have 6 of those on the new album." Bruce: "Can we do Bb-C-Dm instead?" Steve: "Hmm...I'll allow it."

[@Newee]

as an army it was a pleasant heart attack seeing I Need U in the list of examples - now hearing Yoongi play the piano intro to it makes it a lot more special because I understand the progression behind it!!

[@fromchomleystreet]

Intro of “I want to break free” by Queen uses this sequence four times in a row, but then flips to the relative major key as the song proper starts, and stays there.

[@giascle]

Ayy, a whole video about exactly what I requested! (Well, more or less, I labeled the progression the first way, so this was quite informative.) But yes, this is in an absurd amount of songs, especially dance and modern Japanese music. I'm pretty sure LITERALLY every Touhou song has it somewhere.

[@mason87104]

Hours after watching (and thinking about) this video - it hit me - these are the changes to All Along the Watchtower. A jazz guitarist once told me that people in his circle called this progression the "watchtower changes". I wasn't able to verify that this name is actually in use to any degree but I would propose that it is a good name to use, in deference to Dylan & Jimi, and the importance of that song in rock music history. In any event it's an important progression and deserves a name. Thanks for the great video David!

[@mukhisunil]

Jimi? The song was written by Dylan, so the chord changes should be identified with him. Of course Jimi did record the definitive version...

[@mason87104]

@@mukhisunil good point i'll edit the comment

[@Whiteythereaper]

There's something really satisfying about your editiing of the examples, I particularly enjoyed Livin' on a Prayer -> Bring Me to Life -> Edge of Seventeen since they all have that driving, high tempo pace behind it. Also, another few examples: Astronomia (the Coffin Dance song) Pendulum's Crush (though that goes back the VII after the I) Maniac by Michael Sembello (from Flashdance) Such Great Heights by The Postal Service (and many many covers) The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars (though that drops to the B after the E minor in bar 4) the chorus of Hero by Chad Kroeger (banger) Almost Forgot by Against the Current (but that jumps up to the E over the C#m in the 4th bar) The Pre-Chorus parts of Crawling by Linkin Park Moving On by Asking Alexandria (though it starts the phrase on the I for the first 3 beats of the 1st bar and then drops to the Vi on the 4th beat, sits there for the 2nd bar and hangs on the Vii for last 2 bars) And of course Miley Cyrus' Midnight Sky which is based on Edge of Seventeen & has an official remix single of it

[@martine.210]

It also works well with the major tonic. Totally different feel though.