Famous Progressions

Named chord progressions every player should know — the recurring chord sequences behind blues, pop, jazz, and rock. Each one shows its Roman-numeral formula, a real example in a key with linked chords, and the songs that made it famous.

Pick a progression to see its formula, hear how it moves in a real key with linked chords, and find famous songs that use it.

12-Bar Blues

The backbone of blues, rock and roll, and country: three dominant-seventh chords stretched across a repeating 12-measure form. Once you know the pattern you can jam along with thousands of songs without ever seeing a chart.

I⁷–IV⁷–V⁷

ii–V–I

Jazz's most common cadence: a minor-seventh chord slides to a dominant seventh that resolves home to a major seventh. Nearly every jazz standard leans on this three-chord move somewhere in its form.

ii7–V7–Imaj7

I–V–vi–IV (the ‘Axis’)

Pop's most-borrowed progression, cycling from the bright tonic through the dominant into the relative minor before landing on the subdominant. It powers everything from arena ballads to open-mic singalongs.

I–V–vi–IV

I–vi–IV–V (50s Doo-Wop)

The classic doo-wop turnaround that soundtracked the 1950s: a major chord, its relative minor, then IV and V walking back home. Play it slow for a ballad or double-time it for a sock-hop shuffle.

I–vi–IV–V

vi–IV–I–V

The 'Axis' progression reordered to start on the relative minor, giving the same four chords a moodier, more urgent opening. Because it shares its chords with I-V-vi-IV, songs in this progression often feel like cousins of doo-wop and pop-rock hits.

vi–IV–I–V

Andalusian Cadence

A descending Spanish-flamenco vamp that walks down from the minor tonic through the flat-seventh and flat-sixth chords to a tense dominant. The dramatic pull back to the top makes it a favorite in flamenco, rock, and pop hooks alike.

i–bVII–bVI–V

I–IV–V (Three-Chord)

The three chords that built rock and roll: tonic, subdominant, and dominant, all major. Learn I, IV, and V in any key and you can strum along with a huge share of popular music.

I–IV–V

Minor ii–V–i

The minor-key cousin of the jazz ii-V-I: a half-diminished chord moves to a dominant seventh and resolves to a minor tonic. It's the sound of tension pulling into a moody, minor-key resolution.

iiø7–V7–i

Browse by mood

Not sure which progression you want yet? Start from the feeling instead — every mood page below groups a couple of the progressions above by the emotional character their chord qualities and motion produce, with the music theory behind why.