Chord Progressions

The 18 most important chord-progression patterns in Western music — cadences, standards, blues, jazz, modal vamps, bass-line clichés, and the substitutions composers use to reharmonize them. Each topic page has an interactive player so you can hear the progression in any key, switch modes, and adjust tempo.

Roman numerals are the universal language of progressions. Every example on this site uses them so you can move what you learn into any key without rewriting anything.

Foundations & Notation

How chord progressions actually work — the three functions, Roman numerals, and the phrase model that every other section builds on.

Functions, tension, and the phrase model

T → PD → D → T

Every chord progression is built on three functions — tonic, predominant, dominant — arranged into a phrase.

The universal language of progressions

I ii iii IV V vi vii°

Why functional Roman numerals beat chord letters — and how to read every inversion, extension, and secondary dominant.

Cadences

The punctuation marks of tonal music. Five canonical cadences, plus the Phrygian half — when to use each and why they sound the way they do.

How musical phrases end

V → I · IV → I · V → vi · ♭II → I

Perfect authentic, half, plagal, deceptive, Phrygian — the punctuation marks of tonal music.

Standard & Genre Progressions

The workhorse progressions of pop, blues, jazz, doo-wop, flamenco, classic rock, and folk — the skeletons behind thousands of songs.

Standard Progressions

The workhorses of popular music

I–IV–V–I · I–V–vi–IV · I–vi–IV–V

The four-chord progression, the Axis, the 50s doo-wop, Pachelbel — the skeletons behind thousands of songs.

Blues Progressions

The 12-bar form and beyond

I7 · IV7 · V7 (across 12 bars)

Why the blues treats I, IV, and V as dominant sevenths — and how quick-change, slow-change, and Bird blues differ.

Jazz Progressions

ii–V–I, rhythm changes, and beyond

ii7 – V7 – Imaj7

The ii–V–I, rhythm changes, Coltrane changes, backdoor progressions, and tritone substitutions.

Doo-Wop Progressions

The 50s changes — I–vi–IV–V

I – vi – IV – V · I – vi – ii – V

Why stacked vocal harmonies over the I–vi–IV–V loop defined an era — and where you still hear it today.

Flamenco Progressions

The Andalusian cadence and Phrygian dominant

i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V (or iv – ♭III – ♭II – I in Phrygian)

The descending four-chord Andalusian cadence, por arriba vs. por medio, and the Phrygian dominant scale.

Classic Rock Progressions

Mixolydian rock and power-chord moves

I – ♭VII – IV · i – ♭VI – ♭VII

The I7-IV7-V7 of 50s rock & roll, the I–♭VII–IV Mixolydian classic, and metal's minor power-chord vocabulary.

Folk Progressions

Three-chord songs, modal folk, and open tunings

I – IV – V – I · i – ♭VII – i (Dorian)

Why traditional folk leans modal (Dorian, Mixolydian), and why three chords are enough for a thousand songs.

Devices & Techniques

Turnarounds, bass-line patterns, pedal points, one-chord vamps, and substitutions — the toolkit composers reach for to keep a progression alive.

One-Chord Vamps

When the groove IS the progression

Funk, modal jazz, and Indian raga — how compelling music lives inside a single chord.

The two bars that cycle you home

I – VI7 – ii – V7 · I – ♭III°7 – ii – V7

Blues, jazz, and rhythm-changes turnarounds — the small gestures that make the form loop.

Ascending Bass Lines

When the bass climbs, the song lifts

I – ii – iii – IV · I – I/2 – I/3 – IV

Diatonic, chromatic, and slash-chord ascending basses — the engines behind prechoruses and Dylan-style builds.

Descending Bass Lines

The lament, the line cliché, and the Pachelbel descent

i – i(maj7) – i7 – i6 · i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V

Baroque laments, minor line clichés, chromatic descents, and why Pachelbel is everywhere.

Sustained tones under moving harmony

(tonic or dominant sustained in bass)

Tonic and dominant pedals — Bach to Billie Jean, the bass that unifies while everything moves above.

Chord Substitutions

Same function, new color

V7 → ♭II7 · iv – ♭VII7 – I · vi ↔ I

Tritone subs, secondary dominants, backdoor progressions, modal interchange — the reharmonization toolkit.

Transposing

Why thinking in Roman numerals lets you move any progression to any key — instantly.

Roman numerals as a transposition engine

I–IV–V in C → I–IV–V in any key

Why thinking in Roman numerals lets you move a progression to any key instantly — including for singers.

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