Chord Progression
The Four-Chord Song
I – V – vi – IV
The four chords behind an astonishing share of modern pop — cheerful on top, wistful underneath.
Key
The chords in C Major
4 shapes to learn — tap any diagram to hear it on guitar or piano.
How it works
Three major chords and one minor, in an order that never quite lets you settle. You leave home on the I, lift to the bright V, drop to the bittersweet vi, then land softly on the IV — which points straight back to I to go round again.
The magic is the vi. It is the relative minor of the key, so it carries all the same notes as the I but flips the mood, giving the loop its signature "happy but a little sad" pull. Because the loop never truly resolves, it can spin indefinitely under a verse and a chorus alike.
It is completely diatonic — every chord comes straight from the major scale — which is exactly why it is so easy to sing over and so hard to get sick of.
Songs built on it
A few well-known examples — every one of them the same chords, moving in the same order.
- Don't Stop Believin'— Journey
- With or Without You— U2
- Let It Be— The Beatles
- No Woman No Cry— Bob Marley
- Someone Like You— Adele
I – V – vi – IV in every key
The same numerals, twelve different sets of letters. Tap a key to explore all its chords.