Super Simple Chords

Chord progression

The I–IV–I–vi chord progression

C – F – C – Am in C. 26 songs in the library go round it. Hear it in any style and key, and see it in all twelve keys.

Tuning the piano…
Style
Key

Want to mix it with other hands?

The loop

4 chords, round and round, in C. Each chord on the keys:

CIFIVCIAmvi

In every key

Find your song's key on the left: its chords are the row. Each column keeps its colour, whatever the key.

KeyIIVIvi
CCFCAm
DbDbGbDbBbm
DDGDBm
EbEbAbEbCm
EEAEC#m
FFBbFDm
F#F#BF#D#m
GGCGEm
AbAbDbAbFm
AADAF#m
BbBbEbBbGm
BBEBG#m

Songs that go round it

26 songs, best known first. Rest the mouse on one to hear it.

All of them
Jesu, Joy Of Man’s DesiringJohann Sebastian Bach
Ol’ Man RiverJerome Kern
In My HeadJames Bay
Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The MorningIrving Berlin
Do You Hear The People Sing?Les Miserables (Musical)
Let The River RunCarly Simon
Long Black TrainJosh Turner
Bagged Me A HomerWritten by Beverly D’Angelo

Left hands these songs use

The patterns most often played under this loop.

Walking rootsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
Bossa swayRoot bass rhythm · Bossa novaLeft handEasy
Sliding twinsLeft-hand chords · WaltzLeft handEasy
Power fifthsLeft-hand chords · RockLeft handMedium

The same loop, starting elsewhere

The same chords in the same order, begun on another chord: songs often move between them.

Questions about I–IV–I–vi

What is the I–IV–I–vi chord progression?

A loop of 4 chords: C – F – C – Am in C. The numerals say each chord's place in the key, so the same loop can be played in any key.

What songs use the I–IV–I–vi progression?

26 songs in the library repeat it, including Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring, Ol’ Man River, In My Head, Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning and Do You Hear The People Sing?.

How do I play I–IV–I–vi on piano?

Hold each chord with the right hand while the left hand plays its root, then swap in a pattern: walking roots is the left hand these songs use most. The player above plays it in any style and key.