Super Simple Chords

Chord progression

The bVI–bIII–bVII–i chord progression

Ab – Eb – Bb – Cm in C. 13 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:

AbbVIEbbIIIBbbVIICmi

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.

KeybVIbIIIbVIIi
AbEbBbCm
AFbCbDbm
BbFCDm
CbGbDbEbm
CGDEm
DbAbEbFm
DAEF#m
EbBbFGm
FbCbGbAbm
FCGAm
GbDbAbBbm
GDABm

Songs that go round it

13 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.

Questions about bVI–bIII–bVII–i

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

A loop of 4 chords: Ab – Eb – Bb – Cm 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 bVI–bIII–bVII–i progression?

13 songs in the library repeat it, including Let Her Go, Heart Attack, All These Lives, Elastic Heart and Holding Out for a Hero.

How do I play bVI–bIII–bVII–i 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.