The four chords that run pop music
I-V-vi-IV is the chord progression behind hundreds of Top 40 hits. Once you can sing it, you can fake harmony to half the songs you know.
There's a YouTube video called Four Chords by the Axis of Awesome that mashes up 40+ hit songs over the same chord progression. They're not cheating — pop music genuinely runs on this loop. Learn it once and you can harmonize half the songs on Spotify.
The chords
In the key of C major:
| # | Chord | Notes | |---|-------|-------| | 1 | C (I) | C-E-G | | 2 | G (V) | G-B-D | | 3 | Am (vi) | A-C-E | | 4 | F (IV) | F-A-C |
That's it. Four chords, looped. Every "I-V-vi-IV" in your music app is this exact thing.
Songs that use it
- "Don't Stop Believin'" — Journey
- "Let It Be" — Beatles
- "Someone Like You" — Adele
- "With or Without You" — U2
- "No Woman No Cry" — Bob Marley
- "Take On Me" — A-ha
- "I'm Yours" — Jason Mraz
- "Toto Africa" — close enough
Different keys, different rhythms — same four chords.
Why this is a harmony cheat code
Each chord has 3 notes. As long as you sing any one of those three notes, you'll harmonize. Here's the simple rule:
- During chord 1 (C major), sing C, E, or G
- During chord 2 (G major), sing G, B, or D
- During chord 3 (A minor), sing A, C, or E
- During chord 4 (F major), sing F, A, or C
Notice how C appears in chords 1, 3, and 4. And A appears in 3 and 4. You can hold a single note across multiple chords and it'll still sound correct.
Try it in StackSing
Pick the Pop Stack template — it's literally I-V-vi-IV in C. Record the lead first, then the high harmony (always a third above), then the low bass (always the chord root). Three takes, and you've got a stack that fits dozens of pop songs.
The "next level" version
Once you've got I-V-vi-IV under your belt, try its inversions:
- vi-IV-I-V (Am-F-C-G) — moodier, used in "Save Tonight"
- I-vi-IV-V (C-Am-F-G) — the 1950s doo-wop progression
Same notes, different starting point. Same harmony rules apply.