We Need To Talk About This Chord Progression

So there's this chord progression that's been used for decades in hundreds of hit songs. It's a four-chord loop and... No, not that one. The other one. The one we never talk about even though it's quietly taken over the airwaves, establishing itself as one of the most important loops in popular music history. It's called the Plagal Cascade, or at least that's what I call it, and you've probably heard it a million times but as far as I could find it doesn't exist in the theory literature, so I'm fixing that. If a KZbin video counts as literature. Which I'd argue it does, but... ok I'm getting off topic here, let's talk about chords.
Patreon: / 12tonevideos
Merch: standard.tv/12tone
Discord: / discord
Mailing List: eepurl.com/bCTDaj
Facebook: / 12tonevideos
Twitter: / 12tonevideos
Twitch: / 12tonevideos
Instagram: / 12tonevideos
Email: [e-mail]
Last: • Why *Those* Four Chord...
Script: tinyurl.com/yyjhr22x
Huge thanks to our Elephant of the Month Club members:
Susan Jones
Jill Jones
Duck
Howard Levine
Ron Jones
Brian Etheredge
Khristofor Saraga
Paul Ward
Len Lanphar
Ken Arnold
Elaine Pratt
William (Bill) Boston
Chris Prentice
Jack Carlson
Christopher Lucas
Andrew Beals
Dov Zazkis
Hendrik Payer
Thomas Morley
Jacob Helwig
Davis Sprague
Darius Rudominer
Alex Knauth
Braum Meakes
Hendrik Stüwe
Dan Bonelli
Kevin Boyce
Allyson
Luke
Kevin Wilamowski
Nicholas Lennox
And thanks as well to Henry Reich, Gabi Ghita, Owen Campbell-Moore, Gene Lushtak, Eugene Bulkin, Logan Jones, Oliver, Anna Work, Bina Thiessen, Adam Neely, nico, Rick Lees, Dave Mayer, Paul Quine, CodenaCrow, Nikolay Semyonov, Arnas, Caroline Simpson, Favrion The Man, Michael Alan Dorman, Dmitry Jemerov, Michael McCormick, Blake Boyd, Luke Rihn, Charles Gaskell, Ian Seymour, Trevor, Tom Evans, Elliot Jay O'Neill, Max Wanderman, Chris Borland, Alex Atanasyan, Elliot Burke, JH, Tim S., Elias Simon, David Conrad, Jerry D. Brown, Chris Chapin, Lamadesbois, Ohad Lutzky, Jake Lizzio, James A. Thornton, Benjamin Cooper, Ken Bauso, Brian Dinger, Todd Davidson, Stefan Strohmaier, Shadow Kat, Adam Wurstmann, Kelsey Freese, Angela Flierman, Richard T. Anderson, Kevin Johnson, Peter Leventis, Ryan, Matthew Kallend, Rodrigo Roman, Jeremy Zolner, Patrick Callier, Danny, Francois LaPlante, Volker Wegert, Joshua Gleitze, Britt Ratliff, ml cohen, Darzzr, Charles Hill, Alexey Fedotov, Joshua La Macchia, Alex Keeny, Emilio Assteves, Valentin Lupachev, John Bejarano, Aaron Epstein, Blake White, Phillip N, Chris Connett, Scott Frazer, Niko Albertus, Luke Wever, Gary Butterfield, Kenneth Kousen, James, h2g2guy, W. Dennis Sorrell, Steve Brand, Rene Miklas, Connor Shannon, Melvin Martis, max thomas, Professor Elliot, Jozef Paffen, Jamie Price, Red Uncle, Doug Nottingham, Roming 22, Nicholas Wolf, Scott Howarth, Andrew Engel, Robert Beach, ZagOnEm, Peter Brinkman, Thomas McCarthy-Ward, Tuna, Hexa Midine, Mathew Wolak, T, Lincoln Mendell, Vincent Engler, Sam Rezek, Matt McKegg, Beth Martyn, Lucas Augusto, Marcus Doyle, Caitlin Olsen, Naomi Ostriker, Alex Mole, NoticeMK, Anna, Evan Satinsky, James Little, RaptorCat, Kaisai Morihito, Jigglypuffer, leftaroundabout, Jens Schäfer, Mikely Whiplash, room34, Austin Amberg, Francisco Rodrigues, Elizabeth, Michael Tsuk, Betsy, Stephen Jones, Tonya Custis, Mike Lin, Dave Shapiro, Jacopo Cascioli, David Van der Linden, Carter Stoddard, ThoraSTooth, Robert McIntosh, Brandon Legawiec, Brx, Fernando Gonzalez, CoryC, Rafael Martinez Salas, Walther, Jim Hayes, Evgeni Kunev, Graeme Lewis, Jake Sand, Kayla Sparks, Max Glass, Alon Kellner, Özgür Kesim, Rob Hardy, Patrick Chieppe, Eric Stark, Jon Prudhomme, David Haughn, Gordon Dell, Aditya Baradwaj, Matt Ivaliotes, Yuval Filmus, Byron DeLaBarre, Matty Crocker, anemamata, Brian Miller, Lee-orr Orbach, Eric Plume, Kevin Pierce, Jon Hancock, Richard Goldberg, Caleb Meyer, Juan Madrigal, Jason Peterson, Peggy Youell, EJ Hambleton, Mark Henning, Byron Williams, Symmetry, Jos Mulder, Daryl Banttari, Tarragon Eames, J.T. Vandenbree, David Taylor, John Carter, Cereus, Marcus Radloff, Wayne Robinson, kay rhodes, Gabriel Totusek, Geoffrey Edwards, Dragix PL, Nicolas Gort Freitas, SecretKittehs, Mnemosyne Music, and AkselA! Your support helps make 12tone even better!
Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!

[@12tone]

Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) So, funny story. I've been digging into this for weeks, and right before publishing this video I finally found a 2015 paper that's kinda sorta talking about this? Not directly, but you can extrapolate some of my arguments from it if you want. I don't think I got completely scooped here or anything, I'm adding plenty of new stuff to the conversation, but I still want to recognize the work that's been done in the area so you can check out that paper here: www.macromusic.org/journal/volume4/09_Musical_Insights_Vol_4.pdf 2) There's also a broad corpus study at digitalwindow.vassar.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1387&context=senior_capstone that briefly mentions it, but without any specific interrogation. All this to say that, while I'm glad I hedged a little on the whole "I discovered this!" thing because technically prior documentation exists, I still think I deserve at least some credit for it. 3) I wanted to include a clip from Mad World at the beginning but it got caught by the copyright bot and I didn't feel like it was central enough to be worth fighting over. Sorry. 4) As you can probably tell from the number of times I said "last week" when the video I was referring to was two weeks ago, this video was supposed to come out last week. Scheduling stuff pushed it back and I didn't feel like rerecording 'cause I'm lazy and, in the grand scheme of things, what even is a week, y'know? 5) If you want to see this loop in action, Benny from Axis Of Awesome did a medley of 10 songs with it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmTEonqPqLead7s

[@FelixLarios1234]

Hey 12tone I always had a question, why is the Avengers theme song so interesting and how can I make my own

[@normaldefault2206]

@@FelixLarios1234 You might wanna check out Sideways' channel, I'm like 80% sure they've covered this question or something similar before multiple times kzbin.info/door/i7l9chXMljpUft67vw78qw

[@zozzy4630]

So, another commenter and I were discussing how the minor rotation seems to be used in both Dorian and Aeolian: "What I've Done" by Linkin Park uses a b6 in the melody, while "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons uses a ♮6. I'm also pretty sure they use the correct respective IV chord (i.e. minor for LP and major for ID), although it's a little hard to tell. Does that have any ramifications on all of this? Has anyone started the Dorian version halfway through and made a Lydian counterpart to the major rotation? And I also wonder if anyone's done a song that switches between both modes (maybe just using a power chord for IV in the minor loop), or if there's an analogy for the Axis loop. Since the minor Axis progression has a built-in b6 it would probably be a bit of a challenge to use it in Dorian, but you could conceivably turn the bVII chord minor and make it Phrygian.

[@MrAestas]

I so love what you do and how you do it. Thank you and I'm very glad to know this awsome niche of The Internet

[@baylinkdashyt]

META: I note you've changed the show open, and I gotta say, I like the old 5-beat version better...

[@rickc2102]

As a guitarist, I'm gonna blame this on standard tuning.

[@JeighNeither]

Yeah, that's just because you only play guitar. If you also played piano, you would likely see this folly perspective as the guitar bias it is. I'd wager 80% of those 115 likes also only play guitar. This progression is no more or less difficult or practical on either instrument.

[@Sam-qc6sz]

@@JeighNeither You are objectively wrong Because they are 116 likes

[@ipecacisgoodforyou8128]

@@JeighNeither is it so out there to assume that guitar has ad a bigger influence than piano in the developement of modern pop music?

[@michaelsmusic3532]

yeah that's it lol

[@Cloiss_]

see also Adam Neely's video on Hey Joe. what instrument a song is written on has a huge effect on how it's written

[@JohnL2112]

It’s the “I only know these chords on guitar” progression

[@LawrinMaxwellsmpc500]

Lol facts

[@URKillingme100]

Any chord progression is stable as long as David Bowie is singing over it.

[@jd_elderberry]

Lol right

[@krystalwolf1383]

And Jacob Collier is composing it

[@adamstricoff9708]

Blackstar animal !

[@jackinzone8961]

Yes

[@itscarl0zyall1]

Or Johny Cash

[@joedude667]

I can't believe you didn't end this video with ""Anyway, here's wonderwall".

[@kenyonj7957]

I completely agreeee

[@LisaSmith-yb2uz]

😂

[@captainalex8003]

He didn't need to.

[@zorbanongreco]

So glad he didn't. 🐂💨 💨 💨 💨

[@thomasmurphy8749]

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagal the Cascade?"

[@effiefs9561]

Underrated comment

[@sean_mccadden]

“He had abilities to play music that were known to be quite unnatural”

[@oatnoid]

Yes, it happened on the planet Armeniar VII didn't it? Or was that Star Trek?

[@semblanceofmagic4760]

Literally laughed out loud!

[@korayacar1444]

"It's not a story the Common Practice would tell you."

[@thatoneguy6346]

Imagine his sheet music doodles were the only evidence of human existence

[@yking7681]

Those aliens would know everything about us, but they would think we were elephants.

[@michaelsmusic3532]

omg !!!! lololol That's funny

[@jasonberezny9705]

🤣🤘❤️🇨🇦

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

Made my day! Thanks

[@yourguidefortheday928]

We were elephant people who wrote language right to left in large multi definitioned glyphs, and wrote Math left to right in series of circles lines and smaller glyphs. Also even though language took up most of our writing we format our writing material to be optimized for maths

[@cedargross2539]

I feel like we should call it the Allied progression

[@Domitianvs]

This definitely needs more likes.

[@fly4doe2]

@@Domitianvs Yuckitie yuk yuck...a WWII reference. Right on. BTW, anybody feel like Germany has entered into a non-aggression pact with Russia again....say in 1/2022?

[@onei3411]

"After all, I'm only human..." **draws an elephant**

[@jstrandquist]

Another interesting thing to note about this progression (and its relative the Axis progression) is that it can very easily be played using the basic open chords on a guitar in standard tuning. For a rock-oriented beginning guitarist, E/Em, A/Am, G, D, and C are probably the very first chords they learn. This means that songs using the plagal cascade and the Axis progression are both easy to learn and easy to write with minimal experience. They also translate well to another popular and easy rock technique, power chords. When you combine this ease of access with their suitability for rock/pop styles, it's no surprise that they're among the most popular of chord progressions.

[@ZipplyZane]

And, of course, if they want them in other keys, they can just use a capo.

[@beneathpavement1]

Yep, see also that Scandinavian guitar dude who talks about what makes rock song rock songs for 15 minutes using all manner of music theory, then at the end points out that all of the stuff he was talking about involves open major chords. Rock is dumb, rockers don't understand theory, we play guitars.

[@maximiliangfrorer1039]

@@beneathpavement1 on the point. Rock is more about the lyrics and the energy!

[@dyscotopia]

@@maximiliangfrorer1039 after watching enough 12 tone videos, I hesitate to call any particular type of music dumb. Easy to play does not equal dumb. Even when using common progressions,. most memorable rock, or hip hop or pop song do a lot of interesting things. Some can be notated, like syncopation and melodies that seem to be in contrasting keys to the harmony, while far more others, like timbre and lyrical intonation and swing are harder. Layering and chaining a number of different "easy" parts can create a very musically satisfying piece. As an electronic musician, there's a lot of repetitive, minimal stuff out tthat is just all timbre and production trickery. Is it dumb? Probably not, but it's boring to my ears

[@hallamhal]

I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about this chord progression

[@ata5855]

well-played

[@mickeyburns3494]

Maybe...

[@lucyfer_the_bat]

never really had a doubt

[@davidmckean955]

I've just always thought of this chord progression as being Dorian. Or at least that's how I've come about playing it on my own.

[@zozzy4630]

Technically it would be dorian on its own because the IV chord is major, but it tends to be used under the natural minor scale (take "What I've Done" by Linkin Park for example, where he hits the b6 scale degree in the melody during the chorus ["...what I've done/ I'll fix MY-self"]). A counter-example (where the melody is also dorian) is "Radioactive": "...wo-o-o-oah, I'm radioac-TIVE, RADIOAC-tive" really leans into that ♮6th.

[@danielmirandacastro7161]

Its pretty hard to hear it as a Dorian progression tho cause the 2nd chord is bIII and this really attaches you to the minor key. Last chord could be seen as modal interchange tho

[@zozzy4630]

@@danielmirandacastro7161 Dorian also has a bIII (dorian would be the diatonic scale starting on re, so that's the major triad on fa). The last chord could definitely be analyzed as borrowed from Dorian if the melody sticks to a b6 degree (as in natural minor) but the chord loop uses a major IV chord instead of the minor iv chord in minor.

[@danielmirandacastro7161]

@@zozzy4630 I'm not saying the bIII chord doesn't exist in Dorian, I'm saying it really pushes you towards minor Also you don't have to play the b6 in the melody to consider a IV chord a modal interchange (I mean actually you should avoid that there's a natural 6th in your chord), the fact that you're using the IV chord without truly leaving the previous key is the definition of modal interchange

[@danielmirandacastro7161]

Just try by yourself, play some natural 6ths over Boulevard of broken dreams and taste the spicy spicy dorian flavor in a minor key tune (I love this sound Hehe)

[@TheWittleBabby]

This is my “lets see if I’m in tune” progression and I had no clue it was actually used in songs.

[@TristanAlricMusic]

If you're looking for an actual minor, early, "looping" example of this chord progression, check out Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" from 1968 ! It's a song that I always thought sounded remarkably modern, and the chords are definitely part of that.

[@Appers]

Absolute incredible banger as well.

[@Phoenixhunter157]

Aghhh! Love that song! Was listening to it last night! ❤️

[@koala2072]

Yes, I was thinking of this song as well. It's an all time classic for us French. I personnally also love the song White as diamonds by American folk singer Alela Diane that uses this progression.

[@zorbanongreco]

@Tristan. Good call ! 🐂💨 💨 💨 💨

[@joshua.t.harvey]

That’s a killer song (so to speak)!

[@VicDealio]

For those who know the four chords of pop from Axis of Awesome (or just like mashups), their keyboardist has a video mashing up songs that use this progression. It's on his channel BennyTheJukebox and is called Another Four Chords.

[@Griwes]

I saw "somebody" coming from a mile away and your execution of that part still landed perfectly. Kudos!

[@lucifermorningstar1902]

First song that popped I into my head when I saw this progression was Boulevard of broken dreams

[@akashvenkatesh02]

Exactly!!!!

[@burpie3258]

YES

[@GammaFZ]

this and hey joe by hendrix too

[@Eichro]

same key, too

[@loveloss8590]

Agree with all of the “Dorian” comments... to me this is the “Dorian” progression.

[@adamgillespie3393]

The melody is never specifically Dorian though so that doesn't work

[@sssjaeger]

I think it might be easier to think of it as the IV chord being borrowed from the dorian mode

[@RiffMusic1970]

@@sssjaeger Interesting. What mode would you consider in to have to borrow from Dorian?

[@TimPauls]

I too was thinking this is just an E Dorian progression. (D major with emphasis on the 2nd degree: E) but I like all this other stuff. Very cool. But it is Dorian. Harmonized scale of Dorian is: Imi, IImi, bIIIMaj, IVMaj, Vmi, Vidim, bVIIMaj... The progression (chord loop) here being: Imi, bIIIMaj, bVIIMaj, IVMaj. You could also think of it as a 2-5 progression with a cadence preceding the 5 chord. Really giving you that Dorian sound.

[@TimPauls]

@@adamgillespie3393 even if the melody is not specifically Dorian are not the chords enough to determine the key. I'm just wondering what I'm missing. To me this is totally a Imi, bIIIMaj, bVIIMaj, IVMaj progression or loop. All the chords are from the key center of D major, with the emphasis on the E minor. I would only need two chords E minor to A major to identify it as a Dorian sound (a II-V progression)

[@chrisharsch2826]

You need to know that I’ve been searching for the title of “Pictures of Matchstick Men” for YEARS. Thank you!!

[@zorbanongreco]

🙄? they sing the title a lot in that song !! 🐂💨 💨 💨

[@olipolygon]

i love the name "plagal cascade" but i can't stop thinking about half-life "I never thought I'd see a plagal cascade, let alone create one..."

[@somedude5414]

Hurry up, Gordon!

[@shanerichins3532]

This is one of the best 12 tones. I love that progression, although I’ve just thought of it as Dorian. It’s a great progression for jam songs. Everyone just seems to click when you chose a song with that progression.

[@Rome.Monroe]

It’s just a standard Dorian progression to me. I always called the “melancholy chord progression.”

[@reineh3477]

Dorian was my first thought too

[@tompw3141]

6:08 that's some fluid equation writing.

[@janmelantu7490]

I was not expecting Fluid Dynamics in a music theory explainer but Air is a fluid and music has dynamics

[@giuseppedominici7097]

@@janmelantu7490 makes sense.

[@LAM1895]

Not to mention he wrote it backwards, probably because he is left handed

[@freds2052]

I just wanna chime in and say that i really appreciate the analytical approach you share in these videos. I take an experimental approach to my composition process (which is to say that analysis always comes later at the expense of trial and error), so it is always fascinating and enlightening to hear your perspective on these things from more of a pattern-recognition angle. So so so cool!

[@760Piper]

Bryan Adams "Run to You". I always loved that chord progression. Now I now why!!

[@chadpollet7452]

Thank you! I was hoping someone would mention that song!

[@federicogatto2635]

Yeaaaahhh

[@Armakk]

When the feeling's right...

[@seanfitz81]

I'm gonna run all nighttt

[@zoltannemeth8864]

“I’m gonna run to you (tube)...”

[@Rachel-nc8kp]

I believe "Jane" by Jefferson Starship used this progression. That would be 1979ish.💋

[@cfibb]

True! Also “Calling Dr. Love” (Kiss, 1976).

[@rknisple]

I spent a while looking for someone else who noticed this! Great tune. 👍

[@damboq8329]

I really like these videos about chord loops, they are so unique and it's such a cool and interesting model that really shaped the way I think about songs I'm so happy you keep making those

[@Jakalia]

Awesome Video dude! just found this today and will like and watch as many of your videos! Taught me something awesome from this video! I appreciate it dude!

[@zozzy4630]

In your video on "What I've Done," I noticed that you could flip the progression to major and it ends up being "All Star." I wish I'd thought that observation was profound enough to comment about it back then so I had proof, but it's true.

[@glennpagemusic]

Oh my god, I ALWAYS talk about this progression. It's one of my favorites, and it appears in lots of popular songs in the last 12 years or so. Duran Duran has used it a billion times, along with One Republic, Imagine Dragons, Tears for Fears, etc. I always assumed it was effective because it starts off sounding like it's d minor, then sounds like it might be F major, then sounds like it could be C major, or some weird cross between d dorian and C major. It always has a wistful, semi-melancholy feel when stripped to the bare harmony. Will watch the video now to see what you say!

[@pamspray5254]

SAME! Legit one of my favorite chord progressions to play around with. It's also one of the easiest to play on guitar, I've found.

[@ineedvids92]

your accessible explanations of loop theory are my absolute favourite, thanks for always digging in!

[@AwesometownUSA]

Dude, nice find. I’ve known of this connection for over a decade, but the video explains it well, in a super-creative way - I hate how this channel reveals all my secret music tricks I’ve been using forever, but great job! haha:)

[@Grimpung]

FEEEEEEEEEEEEEED MY EYES

[@derk.ex.machina]

Jesus Christ 🙄

[@zurielfernandes7670]

NOW YOU'VE SEWN THEM SHUT!!!🤟

[@austinford5937]

Since the 90’s, I thought the line was “fear in my eyes” Love those mis heard lyrics.

[@nintendork64]

I sometimes think of this as the Linkin Park Progression, since it shows up in so many of their songs.

[@adk_studios]

@@paulmcgrath6118 A lot of their tracks have this same progression

[@adk_studios]

@@paulmcgrath6118 I'm sorry. Its not exactly the same. I got this info from a video The Linkin Park Formulas By the channel Holistic songwriting Its an interesting video

[@nilsrocks]

I love your videos! Really great explained and you give much to think about. Thank you!

[@proculusjulius7035]

Just discovered your channel, I'm impressed and subscribed. This is an awesome progression. Can't wait to do something crazy with it.

[@RobWickline]

I've always thought of this progression as the rock version of a I-vi-ii-V. its like that classic jazz progression but flipped upside down because why not, its rock and roll and we dont care about rules

[@fansphill9856]

can anybody tell me what going on 7:28? where did the a minor and c major come from?

[@simmme]

It's the same chord progression but in A minor starting on the 3rd chord (vii, G major)

[@NostalJackMusic]

Love these chord theory videos! Keep up the good work!

[@lukasbackestrom3931]

I've been thinking about this for so many years... Thank you for bringing this up!

[@colinreynolds01]

"Anyway, Here's Wonderwall.."

[@fnjesusfreak]

"What's a Wonderwall, anyway?"

[@theburgersystem126]

I said maybeeeeeeeee

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@theburgersystem126 You're gonna be the one that saves meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@theburgersystem126]

@@fnjesusfreak and after aaalllllllllllllll

[@patrickmurphy223]

@@theburgersystem126 you’re my wonderwall!

[@igorseabra4]

This is my favourite chord progression! I called it the Wonderwall chord progression since it's (at least in my head) the song that gave it prominence. A song with it is likely to become one of my favourites (and also its variation without the second chord, becoming Em-D-A). If you look up 'ii IV I V chord progression' on Spotify you'll probably find my playlist with songs that use it

[@alexisandersen1392]

Hey, I was just listening to the progressions here, and I can't help but notice how evocative they are of the westminster chime sequences, and since these are such popular clock chime sequences, I imagine that music of the 20th century was greatly influenced by them, as immediately following the industrial revolution making such things affordable to the world at large we had generations of families growing up in homes that likely sported a clock with Westminster Chimes that inundated their daily lives with the prolific progressions sounding every 15 or 30 minutes. It's no coincidence that we now see it in so much modern music today. Neat. It's like a cultural ear worm. WE JUST CAN'T STOP HUMMING THAT DAMN CLOCK CHIME!

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

im happy this is free because ur channel is so good if i had the money i'd pay - its worth it. U have one of the best channels onKZbin

[@stephenweigel]

“Plagal Cascade” is a good name for this progression. Great job!!!

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

He didn't make up the name So good job introducing you to it is that what you mean?

[@einarssone]

Helplessly Hoping by CSN also uses this progression, released in 1969.

[@hannabaal150]

Very distinctive styling, beautiful guitars.

[@JillFriedman]

This is the second video of yours I've watched, the Black Parade one being the first. This is the kind of music theory deep nerd I love! Thank you!

[@Atomsk484]

This is one of my favorite channels on KZbin! Totally worth the patreon investment!

[@jacobsapple]

“Alive” Pearl jam. The only reason i know this is because I’m in a cover band and Ive explained the prog to other members as the man in the box prog. Love ur channel!😀

[@KevyNova]

That was my first thought too. I covered that song with a band in 1991.

[@Deiadara]

I think it's E instead of Em in Alive

[@Armakk]

This channel has proven my long-standing thesis that all the open chords on a standard-tuned guitar can be played in any arbitrary order and sound just fine. This video is the period on that sentence.

[@TheIskender101]

Thanks for the video! It's so interesting diving into how these four chord loops work.

[@Brigand231]

I care. I find it all fascinating. Your breakdowns are for music like what understanding the power of dividing by two or ten are to math - they help me see relationships between elements that I would never had dared to pursue before. While there's not much practical application for me as I'm not a songwriter, it helps me better understand patterns I hear in music, which helps me catch when someone does something tricky in a song like resolve to a different chord than I was expecting or break their established rhythm to change the feeling of the moment when it happens. It's not something tangible I can even articulate how it goes over in my head, but it brings added enjoyment to music. Add to that, ever since you explained the skill of listening exclusively, tuning parts of a song out to hear other parts that are not as emphasized, I've come to appreciate bass a heck of a lot more and that too helps make parts of music that I was oblivious to suddenly "visible" to my ears. A good example of a song that takes on so much more meaning and enjoyment is (ironically) "Listen" by Collective Soul when I apply a lot of what I've learned to listen for. I guess what I'm saying in my ineloquent way is thanks for making your videos available to everyone. My life is better for viewing them.

[@something_different7632]

9:58 The closest that I know of is Every Day is Exactly the Same by NIN, which uses E C G F (instead of Em C G F)

[@SelfPropelledDestiny]

Interesting one. Would you think this was III I V IV? Seems similar to an Andalusian Cadence with that III. That E Major is a chromatic mediant of C making a kind of cinematic feel but the E does still sound like home, which is strange.

[@something_different7632]

@@SelfPropelledDestiny Thanks for your reply. I'd say probably yes. Considering that G F and E are the last three chords of, as you said, the Andalusion Cadence (i-bVII-bVI-V in A Minor or vi-V-IV-III in its relative key, C Major). Alternatively, one could view the progression as just borrowing chords from the parallel key, E minor (C and G) and from E Phrygian (F). Hence making it I-bVI-bIII-bII since E seems to be the tonic/home.

[@something_different7632]

*Phrygian Dominant

[@zatytom]

A loop I've noticed that sounds pleasing and has come up a few times in songs which I've enjoyed is I III vi IV. The III chord is obviously non-diatonic and provides and authentic cadence to vi, and the plagal IV-I movement is obviously much weaker yet still seems to work. Does this loop fit loop theories well?

[@Tweed539]

I've been using these chord progressions in my writing for the last little bit because I thought they sounded cool. I love your videos!!!!!

[@sonorstudio1]

Mind blowing good explanation and presentation and love the tempo

[@ericrakestraw664]

9:44 -- "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues sort of uses this progression.

[@highpath4776]

That draws on earlier classical roots (can never recall which one). What about the animals 'For You Love' ?

[@seanfitz81]

@@highpath4776 For Your Love is i - bIII - IV - iv

[@susanbotsford9995]

Nights In White Satin is really close, it's: em-DM-CM-GM-FM or i-VII-VI-III-bII I believe.

@@susanbotsford9995, no. Definitely not Dm. Em D Em D C G F Em

[@chipparkerson2701]

The famous sweet home Alabama 3 chord loop is this with one less chord. It explains the bitonality everyone argues about.I bVII IV, is in a zillion songs and it's even more common or was more common the the 4 chord loops. Half of 80s hair bands and many others used it.

[@GGSpeedruns]

I really enjoyed watching all the videos on lyrics and theory. I feel like I have a lot more understanding

[@ferlomusic]

I’m gonna have to watch this video again and again...way too much info in one vid, man! Or am I just too stoned to keep up? 🤭 I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a YT video this fast at 3:57min. Good job! Now I’m gonna watch the rest of it.

[@hannhenry9215]

A reference to Wishbone Ash?! Lovely.

[@n3ssaya972]

I was shocked and had to go back to make sure I heard it right.

[@herrweiss2580]

I have one of their albums, somewhere.

[@StaleNachos]

Mother of Pearl!

[@wildrosecece]

I remember the name

[@thatbandcalledamanda]

This chord progression can also be heard in Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe"

[@KevyNova]

Not quite. “Hey Joe” (written by Billy Roberts) is C G D A E E E E, all major chords.

[@belthezaire]

Nice. Much above my level of theory understanding at this point, but presented in such a way that I am able to grasp.

[@scottmackenzie3988]

I learn something new every video 📹 your content is amazing 👏

[@andyking894]

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagal Cascade, the Wise?

[@steellemonstudios]

He could actually... create... chord progressions?

[@aaroncook4513]

Lmaoooo some say he had the power to save the chord progressions he loved 😂😂

[@steellemonstudios]

@@aaroncook4513 Ha ha ha

[@lzryd]

The farce was strong even if his story has no major resolution. Chordially...

[@alanparkinson4568]

'Jane' - Jefferson Starship, 1979.

[@highpath4776]

White Rabbit was earlier and that fits too.

[@go4ryan]

Bimodal rabbit/duck @4:56 is one of my most favorite doodles, I had to say it. Thanks for the great video!

[@Metalbass10000]

I really appreciate your work.

[@hunterb4399]

I'm fascinated by relative numbering patterns for chord progressions! Interestingly, if we assume that the ionic major is called the 1, then this progression can be described as a 2-4-1-5

[@kzeich]

Or is it E Dorian 1374

[@hunterb4399]

​@@kzeich Nice for sure, it's that as well! Perspective's craaazy maaaaan

[@Syncop8rNZ]

Or ii IV I V using upper case Roman Numerals for major and lower case for minor. But I too would say Dorian, thus i III VII IV.

[@Gregorovitch144]

I think the main riff from Jefferson Starship's Jane is Em-G-D-A, that's from '79. I'd say it's one of the most prominent examples of this.

[@caseyspaos448]

How about Ah Leah! By Donnie Iris?

[@SteveBluescemi]

Yup, I immediately thought of "Wet Hot American Summer" when he played those chords

[@melmelsmusicstudio1800]

Brilliant- had me inspired and smiling. Nice job for the quick minds! 😎💕🎵

[@ZetaFuzzMachine]

Your videos inspire me!

[@ferret8001]

"I'm only human" *draws littol elephant*

[@rmdodsonbills]

"Last week" and the relativity of time: This is KZbin and these videos are going to be up for (presumably) years and so it is very likely that more people will see this video out of order from "last week's" video, immediately after the other video, years separated from the other, etc. so such references aren't really all that big of a deal. Those of us here and now might be confused but our compadres in the future will be "eh, whatever" about it.

[@bagsbrickerman3168]

Dude You are the master. Awesome music theory. Love your left handed drawings. Peace

[@sspringNG]

great video as always!

[@ArtbyPaulPetro]

the chorus of Kiss' "Calling Dr Love" 1977 is E, G, D, A

[@ArtbyPaulPetro]

@@eubarhibssib3258 ah some sources said 77 some 76. and you're right not the chorus lol i'm getting old!

[@MaggaraMarine]

Same with Detroit Rock City that uses a minor tonic. That would actually be an earlier example of the progression with a minor tonic than Mad World, because Detroit Rock City was released in 1976.

[@christophergarmon3655]

"when life gives you smash mouth" coffee spewing laugh...

[@chillermillercream]

i really like you videos especially the ones you have been putting out the latest year or so, keep it up. also do you know when the next time you will be streaming GO or something on twitch ill imagine that's something i will want to watch as well

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Wish I could be a patron, but I did go from you to Curiosity Stream/Nebula (thank you for notifying me of the "sale" price, I couldn't have done it otherwise) so I'll see you there. I do let ads run on your videos, assuming they're not the documentary length ones! I've actually seen an ad (clicked off it obviously) that was nearly (30 minutes long (and it was 1/2!) for a 60s video! No joke. YT is dreadful. I only hope that the rumour I heard that internal (to the video) ads have all the money going to YT isn't true!

[@kianvaziri6939]

You forgot "Jane" by Jefferson Starship (1979)!

[@bryanvickers]

"I....ohhhhhhh I'm still aliiiiive"

[@simmme]

That's the first song I thought of with this chord progression! Love Pearl Jam!

[@punkkyle99]

The amound of knowledge about modes in the comments pleases me. Proud of you guys.

[@willlacy112]

Super interesting. Keep making stuff like this

[@marcelhaley-read6857]

There are other progressions that are are unnamed that are actual good sounding unlike the pop 4 chords, please find them and explain them so I can die happy having those emotions, created from the specific progressions, explained

[@andrewkorbel9883]

“Doctor Love”

[@edgarwalk5637]

E G D A sounds good too. My name is Edgar, so I tried E D G A, which sounds good too. I think I might give song writing a go with some of these progressions. The last 2 videos have been a real eye opener. Thank you so much!

[@kirkrogers325]

I took music theory a very long time ago, but I remember thinking about the kinds of things that you are discussing. My thought was that chordal movement has to more to do with the environment around a chord rather than just it's placement in a static sequence. In other words, there are many possible "next" chords, and the possibilities are not bounded by fixed progressions but are instead influenced by "adjacencies". The current chord is "colored" by the chord before and the "next" chord's movement will be "colored" by this current chord instead of being aligned to a structured sequence. For instance, a Monet is more influenced by color and ambience at the expense of a sharply focused rendering based on a more formal scaffolding. Anyway, I am really enjoying this video!!

[@wareya]

Can't wait for a teardown of IV-V-vi-I (bVI bVII i bIII), probably the most noticeable chord progression for me when I'm listening to video game music and metalcore.

[@wareya]

(one of the coolest things about this chord loop for me is how many songs with it end on a IV/bVI chord)

[@Alexander-oh8ry]

5:59 here again, and whenever you mentioned this in your other videos: i am absolutely unable to accept anything except the first version as correct. Am i the only one here?

[@myless.5493]

Don't ever stop uploading please

[@andythedishwasher1117]

Dude, this could be a serious production edge if I dig deep into it. Thank you for this lovely gift.

[@ernestmiramontes5807]

“Alive” by Pearl Jam uses this progression as well.

[@Track-Tor]

Not exactly since the E is major.

[@MmadA-lg6ix]

@@Track-Tor Well, they had an example in the video that did that too.

[@steveremo474]

I mentioned the chord progression to my partner and she immediately said "oh, the ice cream changes" 🍦

[@mikelistman5263]

This is really interesting. Thanks! I've been complaining to anyone who will listen about how a huge portion of pop songs recently are 4 chord cycles only, simply varying the melody to distinguish verse and chorus or other song parts. I see U2 as early pioneers of this form (e.g., with or without you), but pop music seems a bit tedious now as these loops dominate so much.

[@joey_outdoors]

I'm amazed at how you can draw so well holding the sharpie the way you do. Long fingernails, too, and a fast talker. I had to check to see if my playback speed was more than 1x lol

[@GrayBlood1331]

00:06 this is how you get a copyright strike from, like, 80 million bands.

[@jansamat]

If only there was another youtuber with a strong foundation and abilities in researching music theor.. - where are Adam and Rick?

[@Pravdaband]

I’m here. Theory composition degree. & Berklee film scoring.

[@SH-pq5zq]

Great insight and video! It would be great to post those notes/drawings at PDF’s, so that I could purchase a few! The art is amazing!

[@thinkingape7655]

Perfect timing for what I’m working 😃 thanks 🙏