Because of the way harmonic function works, it turns out that some chord progressions are just wildly common. Like, "thousands of hit songs" common.

Check this out:

The progression they're playing for ALL of those songs is I-V-vi-IV. Same four chords, same order. Different keys, different tempos, different genres, different decades. Same progression.

This isn't a coincidence, and it's not a sign that songwriters are lazy. These progressions work because of harmonic function. The chords move between tonic, dominant, and predominant in ways that feel natural and satisfying. There are only so many ways to do that with seven chords, and certain paths get used a lot because they just sound right.

The big one. The "four chord song." Start on home (I), build tension (V), get emotional (vi), lift away (IV), and you're set up to loop right back to I.

In C: C - G - Am - F In G: G - D - Em - C In D: D - A - Bm - G

This progression dominates pop, rock, and country. It works for anthems, ballads, and everything in between. If you only learn one progression, this is the one.

The simplest and oldest. Home, away, tension, home. This is "three chords and the truth." Blues, early rock and roll, folk, country, punk. The entire foundation of popular music for over a century.

In C: C - F - G - C In A: A - D - E - A

Tons of blues and rock songs stretch this into a 12-bar form (which we'll get to eventually), but the core is always I-IV-V.

Take the I-V-vi-IV progression and start on the vi instead. Same chords, different starting point, completely different mood. Starting on the minor chord makes everything feel more introspective and emotional right from the first beat.

In C: Am - F - C - G In G: Em - C - G - D

You'll hear this one a lot in singer-songwriter music, indie pop, and anything that wants to sound a little more vulnerable than the anthem-style I-V-vi-IV.

The "50s progression" or "doo-wop" progression. Home, then immediately to the emotional vi, then predominant, then dominant. It has a nostalgic, circular feel.

In C: C - Am - F - G

This one was everywhere in the 1950s and early 60s, but it still shows up. It's a great progression for anything that wants to feel classic or sentimental.

The jazz staple. Predominant to dominant to tonic. The smoothest, most efficient way to get home. In jazz, this is the fundamental progression. Entire improvisation methods are built around navigating ii-V-I in different keys.

In C: Dm - G - C In F: Gm - C - F

You don't have to be a jazz musician to use this. Pop, R&B, and soul borrow ii-V-I constantly. Any time you hear a minor chord slide into a major chord and then into another major chord with a feeling of "arriving," there's a good chance that's ii-V-I.

Home, lift, emotion, tension. Similar energy to I-V-vi-IV but with the IV and V swapped, which changes the momentum. The IV comes earlier (so the "away" feeling hits sooner) and the V comes last (so the tension sets up the loop back to I).

In C: C - F - Am - G

If you look at these progressions, you'll notice they're all using the same small set of chords: I, IV, V, vi, and occasionally ii. That's five out of seven diatonic chords, and those five account for the vast majority of popular music.

The iii chord and the vii° chord are rare in pop and rock. iii is too ambiguous, and vii° is too harsh. The other five hit a sweet spot of stability, motion, tension, and emotion that covers almost everything a songwriter needs.

This doesn't mean music is boring or formulaic. The chords are just the skeleton. Melody, rhythm, instrumentation, lyrics, dynamics, and arrangement are what make one I-V-vi-IV song sound nothing like another.

And besides... we'll soon be learning how to take this all to the next level anyway.

• 7 Super Common Chord Progressions and Why They Work — walks through the most-used progressions with clear explanations of the theory behind each one.

• How Simple Chord Progressions Work — another solid overview connecting progressions back to harmonic function.

• HookTheory - TheoryTab - Ok this one is genuinely cool, it takes THOUSANDS of popular songs, shows their roman numeral analysis with interactive charts. DEFINITELY spend some time here. It's gold. While you're there don't miss their list of popular chord progressions. They have the data to know what progressions show up in the most songs.

The Chord Progression Generator will give you random progressions in any key. Play through a bunch of them and pay attention to which ones feel familiar. See if you can identify the common patterns from this lesson when they come up.

Try playing each progression from this lesson in at least two different keys. The letter names will change, but the feel should be the same. If it doesn't feel the same, that's a sign you're still thinking in letter names instead of function. Keep going until the pattern clicks.