Super Simple Chords

The wistful mood

The i–bVI–bIII–bVII chord progression

Am – F – C – G in Am. 54 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 Am. Each chord on the keys:

AmiFbVICbIIIGbVII

In every key

Find your song's key on the left: its chords are the row. Tap a key to play the loop in it. Each column keeps its colour, whatever the key.

KeyibVIbIIIbVII
CmAbEbBb
C#mAEB
DmBbFC
D#mBF#C#
EmCGD
FmDbAbEb
F#mDAE
GmEbBbF
G#mEBF#
AmFCG
BbmGbDbAb
BmGDA

Songs that go round it

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

All of them

Left hands these songs use

The patterns most often played under this loop.

The same loop, starting elsewhere

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

In the Playground this is the Wistful mood. Try it with the film score piano style.

Questions about i–bVI–bIII–bVII

What is the i–bVI–bIII–bVII chord progression?

A loop of 4 chords: Am – F – C – G in Am. 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–bVI–bIII–bVII progression?

54 songs in the library repeat it, including Stronger, Poison, Burn, Bloody Mary (A Note On Apathy) and Faded.

How do I play i–bVI–bIII–bVII on piano?

Hold each chord with the right hand while the left hand plays its root, then swap in a pattern: engine 8ths is the left hand these songs use most. The player above plays it in any style and key.