5.2 · Progressions

The pop loop

Four chords, I, V, vi, IV, in a loop, and you can sing a few hundred hit songs over the top. This is the pop loop: home and away, stretched to four stops.

Spin the loop

Play it, watch the colors, and notice it never really ends: the last chord hands straight back to the first.

C
G
Am
F

I–V–vi–IV powers an unreasonable share of pop music. I is home, V the tension, vi the dark rest, IV the gentle pull.

Am
F
C
G

The same four chords, started two doors down: vi–IV–I–V. Opening on the dark rest makes the whole loop moodier.

Any key, same loop

The pop loop doesn't live in C. It lives in the relationships. Here it is from three different homes. If you can hum along to one, you can hum along to all three.

Game · Which rotation?

1 / 5

One full pass of the four chords. Which chord did the loop start on?

Listen first. Then answer.

Quiz

1 / 3

The pop loop is…

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.More ways home →