Did you ever wonder why the same 4 chords keep returning in about every new hit out there?

This may not be the best post of the year but it's got to be close. I loved it. I sort of knew that because most of what I hear on the radio and tv sounds like a light fog that you don't really notice. So I guess this is why. Great video. BTW, better take notice, Dave (Rice), if you want to make some money .

chas

At least they stretched it one further than Harlan Howard's recipe for Country songs, contained in this old quote " All you need to write a country song is three chords and the truth”.


The late Lou Reed once said, “One chord is fine, two chords is pushing it, three chords and you’re into jazz”. Kind of funny...Lou Reed himself was the writer of many intricate musical creations.

Very interesting video, Bachus...thank you.

Ian

It was no different back in the fifties/early sixties, and even on occasion since then. The famous 'four-chord trick', C Am F G. And if a writer was really ambitious the F would be replaced with Dm.


Jeez, everybody knows this, but why aren't we all rich?

Yes, in my mind F is related to Dm. The C Am Dm G sequence has been used for decades with tunes like Heart and Soul, Blue Moon going back to the 30's and used as a vamp, intro, etc. And it is the basic turnaround. Nothing new at all IMHO

Common “ formulas” are nothing new in pop music. So many tunes from the 30’s and 40’s use “rhythm changes”. What about all those 12/8 slow rock tunes from the 50’s with I vi IV V ? I wonder how many songs are based on the simple I IV V blues changes? And Every jazzer must navigate all those ii V I changes.

And how about the famous I V vi IV as shown in this video?!? I call it the "Don't Stop Believing" progression.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ

As I was taught in the late 50's, this is the "Sears and Roebuck " bridge.. 1, 6, 2, 5. All accordion players are taught this as the natural bass lay out (circle of fifths).

And in concert...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I

Enjoy!
Jørgen

Thanks Jorgen, That was great.

Jorgen, thank you so very, very much - that was absolutely awesome!

Gary

Loved that video..


But we are all passed the point that the orriginal video made..
They explained why those 4 chords are in every hit..
And the reason was not a musical thing..

How many of us on S-Z recognized more than TWO of the songs ?!? ...

Not me.

I read somewhere (can't find it now) that this 20th Century phenomenon in Western popular music was linked to the emergence of certain classical pieces, such as Pachelbel's "Canon" and Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" from historical obscurity to becoming some of the most listened to pieces out of a much larger body of classical music.

Supposedly when these classical pieces went mainstream, 20th Century composers picked up on their themes in a way that led to what we have today. Perhaps the radio and phonograph are partly to blame because they allowed these progressions to proliferate in a way not possible before broadcast and recorded music. And we all tend to emulate what we hear because it sounds "right."

Also in the 20th Century we've standardized on the equal-temperament scale tuning. Different progressions might sound better in some of the 17th- and 18th-Century intonations.

Disclaimer: I'm not trained or well-versed in classical music. This is just me paraphrasing something I read a while ago. FWIW.

Continuing Fran’s observation, back in the 50’s, accordions were used in to mash chords to simulate the full big band sound. I can remember the leader would call a song, “Blue Moon chords in Bb” (or whatever the key was). And, even more frequently in the mid 50’s; Blues in (key name).

Not just rock and country
Some great swing and jazz tunes utilize the 3 or 4 chord pattern adding nice passing chords.
Love this one with Lou Rawls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFnfkLtFgSA&index=3&list=RDgck1eSScRjc

Good stuff by 2 great musicians, shame they are no longer with us. First jazz concert I ever went to featured Stanley Turentine and Freddy Hubbard.