Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Music Production Blog: chord changes

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Most Stolen Song Of All Time

Here's a great video that shows just how many songs are built around the same chord changes - I, V, VIm, IV. We're not talking oldies here either. Most of the songs, with only a few exceptions, are fairly recent.

After watching this, maybe the best thing to do is put that pattern away for a little while and revisit it in maybe 10 years or so.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

How Many Songs Use These 4 Chords?

Melody makes the song, although sometimes that's difficult to believe if you're part of the EDM (electronic dance music) world. While you can read the frequent song analysis posted here to illustrate the fact, here's a video that proves it nicely. Hear how many well-known hits are built around the I-VIm-V-IV chord pattern (that's the typical C-Am-G-F pattern if you're not familiar with Nashville notation).

If you're interested in some other songwriting tips and tricks, check out How To Make Your Band Sound Great. You can read some excerpts on my bobbyowsinski.com website.