List of chord progressions

The following is a list of commonly used chord progressions in music.

Code
Major	Major
Minor	Minor
Atonal	Atonal
Bitonal	Bitonal
Ind.	Indeterminate
PD	Phrygian dominant
Mix.	Mixolydian

Name	Image	Sound	# of chords	Quality
50s progression	I-vi-IV-V	Play^ⓘ	4	Major
I–IV–♭VII–IV	I–IV–♭VII–IV.	Play^ⓘ	3	Mix.
ii–V–I with tritone substitution (♭II7 instead of V7)	ii-♭II-I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
♭III⁺ as dominant substitute	ii-♭III⁺-I	Play^ⓘ	3	Mix.
vii^o⁷/V-V-I (common in ragtime)	vii^o⁷/V-V-I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Andalusian cadence	iv-III-♭II-I	Play^ⓘ	4	PD
Backdoor progression (front door is V7)	ii-♭VII I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Bird changes	I vii^ø-III7 vi-II7 v-I7, IV7 iv-♭VII7 iii-VI7 ♭iii-♭VI7, ii V7 I-VI7 ii-V	Play^ⓘ	?	Major
Chromatic descending 5-6 sequence	I-V-♭VII-IV	Play^ⓘ	4	Mix.
Circle progression	vi-ii-V-I	Play^ⓘ	4	Major
Coltrane changes	Coltrane changes in C: I-V/♭VI ♭VI-V/III III-V I.	Play^ⓘ	6	Major
Eight-bar blues	I-V-IV-IV-I-V-I-V	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Folia	i V i ♭VII ♭III ♭VII i V i V i ♭VII ♭III ♭VII i-V i	Play^ⓘ	4	Minor
ii–V–I progression	ii-V I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Irregular resolution (Type I: Two common tones, two note moves by half step motion)	V7-III7	Play^ⓘ	2	Major
Montgomery-Ward bridge	I-IV ii-V	Play^ⓘ	4	Major
Omnibus progression	Omnibus progression.	Play^ⓘ	?	Major
Pachelbel's Canon	I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V	Play^ⓘ	5	Major
Passamezzo antico	i VII i V III VII i-V i	Play^ⓘ	4	Minor
Passamezzo moderno	I IV I V I IV I-V I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
I–V–vi–IV progression	I-V vi-IV	Play^ⓘ	4	Major
Ragtime progression	V/V/V/V V/V/V V/V V	Play^ⓘ	5	Major
Rhythm changes	V/V/V/V-V/V/V-V/V-V I	Play^ⓘ	?	Major
Romanesca	III VII i V III VII i-V i	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Sixteen-bar blues	I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Stomp progression	IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-I7 IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-I7 IV7-#ivdim7 I7/5-V7/V/V V7/V-V7 I7	Play^ⓘ	6	Major
Twelve-bar blues	I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
Turnaround (music)	I-vi-ii-V	Play^ⓘ	4	Major
♭VII–V7 cadence	♭VII-V-I	Play^ⓘ Play^ⓘ	2-3	Mix.
V–IV–I turnaround	V-IV I	Play^ⓘ	3	Major
I ♭VII ♭VI ♭VII	I ♭VII ♭VI ♭VII	Play^ⓘ	3	Minor
IV^△7–V⁷–iii⁷–vi	IV^△7–V⁷–iii⁷–vi in C	Play^ⓘ	4	Major

List of chord progressions

Further reading

See also