From Mozart to the Ramones.

This first post may come off a little bit stuffy and academic. In order to demonstrate my thoughts on music, I need to introduce a few terms from the get go. Chord progressions, to me, are right up there with pizza, dogs, and sleep. I absolutely love them. I will be using roman numerals a lot to explain chord progressions, and hopefully shed some light on why songs are so attractive on a universal level.

Upper case roman numerals are major chords, and lower case are minor chords. Most of what I post will be assuming that we are in a major key. If you’re not familiar with these terms, major chords sound happy and minor chords sound sad or dark. As you can see below, the I, the IV, and the V chords are ALL major, which is why so many songs use those chords. Minor chords add a certain depth, and for some, can complicate progressions, which is why today, we discuss only the simplest, which is coincidentally also the most reoccurring chord progression.

I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii*

I happen to believe that we, human beings, are attracted to music because it takes us on a journey. The I-IV-V-I progression is the friendliest and the most recycled progression in music, from Mozart to the Ramones. 

The reason for this is that these chords are safe, all major, all within the scope of the MAJOR KEY! We’ll talk borrowed chords and minors some other time, but the point of this post is that I-IV-V-I is safe, accessible, and beautiful.

 Any of my advanced guitar students will vouch for my theory that the “ONE CHORD, aka roman numeral I” is home base in a major key; it’s the chord that centers the entire piece . The “FOUR CHORD, aka roman numeral IV,” is the diversion from home, that creates a sort of safe departure from the I chord. The “FIVE CHORD, aka roman numeral V,” is the climactic point in the progression, and the V is most commonly the vehicle back to the I chord, or back to home base. The V tends to make the listener yearn for the I chord.

The next post will include a video example of I-IV-V-I in action, courtesy of punk rock trio, Cobra Skulls, but for now, here's a video example in it's SIMPLEST form. If A is I (home), then D is IV(diversion), and E is V(climactic vehicle back to I)

Look at all those A's, D's and E's! Hey! Ho! Let's GO!

Now, as for Mozart, you'll hear a lot more embellishments, suspensions, and non chord tones than say, the Ramones, but the foundation of this piece is very much rooted in the I-IV-V-I progression. 

Listen for which chord sounds like home. The first chords of this piece is the I. Listen for which chord sounds like it yearns to push back home. At 9 seconds, the IV chord is introduced, after we start mostly in the realm of I. At 14 seconds, the I chord returns. At 16 seconds, we have a nice exchange between V and I, which gives the listener some relief. Performance credit to the great Bugs Bunny.