Tuesday, August 19, 2008

F Chord Progressions: I IV V

Remember from last time:

I. F major
ii. Gm
iii. Am
IV. Bb major
V. C major
vi. Dm
vii(b5). Edim

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 F:

I-IV-V can be replaced by the F, Bb, and C major chords.

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

As I-IV-V-IV-V: F, Bb, C, Bb, and C chords.

As I-V-IV-IV: F, C, Bb, and Bb chords.

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

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

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

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