We have used C Major in this lesson because you only have to play white keys and it makes it easy to understand and play. This specific chord progression can be played in any key. Notice the key signature tells us that we're in the key of C with no sharps or flats.Īs I go through this example with you in the video portion of this lesson, you'll also see that this pattern is repeated many times throughout the song which again, is common for this and other chord progressions. This is a classic usage of the I, V, vi, IV pattern in the same key as our example.C Major.

This is another way that chords are noted in music but it's important to know them by the Roman Numerals as well. Image 2 shows the 2nd measure of this song and you can see the chords are actually written out by letter name, instead of roman numerals. This song is actually titled 'No Woman No Cry' by Bob Marley, so please pardon the typo in the image.either way, most of us know this song and you can see this particular chord progression pattern very easily in the music. Now that we understand the basic pattern in general terms, let's see what this looks like in a real piece of piano music.

IV = F: F, A, C ( F is the 4th tone of C Major).

vi = A: a, c, e (A is the 6th tone of C Major, and remember this one is minor).

V = G: G, B, D ( G is the 5th tone of C Major).

I = C: C,E, G ( C is the 1st tone of C Major).

With our example - C Major - the chords would be: A '1' chord will start on the 1st tone of the scale a 5 chord will start on the 5th tone of the scale a 6 chord will start on the 6th tone of the scale and the 4 chord will start on the 4th tone of the scale. Do you see which one is the minor chord? (look for the small letter roman numerals).Ĭhords are named for which tone of a scale they fall on. We have 3 Major Chords in this pattern and 1 minor chord. (You can have both in one progression as you will see with this particular pattern). Large letter numerals are for Major chords and small letter numerals are for minor chords. The most commonly used chords ( in any key) are the I (1), V (5), vi (6), IV (4).įirst, it's important to know/remember that chords are notated in piano music by Roman Numerals. Let's take a closer look now at those specific chords and what we call them. You will recognize the sound of these chords and the progression pattern, even if you are new to music theory and learning to play the piano. The most commonly used 4 chords are what we are going to focus on and learn today. However, there are some that are used over and over again not only in many different pieces but also in the same piece! If you look at the image above, I have listed just a few examples of songs that are very popular that use this common 4-chord pattern.

There are many many different chord progressions that we end up learning throughout our piano learning.

Chord progressions are simply groups of chords put together in a specific way to create a specific type of sound. The connection that these chords have with each other is called a Progression.

We can hear how certain chords create a sound of 'beginning and ending' when played together and even when there is an ending missing as we're left with a feeling of 'hanging in the air' instead of 'landing back on the ground'. We just somehow intuitively process the sounds to make sense. We hear chords in piano music all of the time without really thinking in detail about how they sound and connect with each other.

Once and for all piano chords