Tuesday, June 10, 2008

G Chord Progressions: I IV V

Remember from last time:

I. G major
ii. Am
iii. Bm
IV. C major
V. D major
vi. Em
vii(b5). F#dim

Many, many, many, many chord progressions in popular music contain some permutation of the I-IV-V progression, and since we're talking about the key of G:

I-IV-V can be replaced by the G, C, and D major chords.

You can change the order of the chords for some familiar-sounding progressions:

As I-IV-V-IV-V: G, C, D, C, and D chords.

As I-V-IV-IV: G, D, C, and C chords. Check out the backing chords to a YouTube user's rendition of a blues lick from a recent commercial for Kingsford-brand charcoal.

As IV-I-V: The C Lydian-sounding C, G, and D progression. (Also referred to as I-V-II.)

As V-IV-I: The D Mixolydian-sounding D, C, and G progression. (Also referred to as I-bVII-IV.)

All this looks a lot like high school algebra, but it sounds better than it looks (pun intended).

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