Progression · I–II–IV–V–VI–vi

I–II–IV–V–VI–vi Progression

4 songs from the corpus share this chord-degree set — open one to see and hear the real chords on an interactive fretboard.

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What I–II–IV–V–VI–vi means

Every song below plays chords built on these scale degrees: I = degree 1, II = degree 2, IV = degree 4, V = degree 5, VI = degree 6, vi = degree 6 (minor) — relative to whatever key that song is actually in. The degrees are the same; the real chords are different in every key, which is exactly why the same progression can sound totally different from one song to the next.

Hear it in C major

One real voicing for each degree, in a key real songs in this set are actually written in — tap any diagram to hear it strummed.

4 songs built on I–II–IV–V–VI–vi

Dottie WestA Lesson in LeavinB major: B - Db - E - Gb - Ab - G#m7 Greg Kihn BandHappy ManG major: G - A - C - D - E - Em James BrownI Don't mindC major: C - D - F - G - A - Am R Dean TayloyIndiana Wants MeAb major: Ab - Bb - Db - Eb - F - Fm

Closely related progressions

I–II–IV–V–vi12 songs I–II–IV–V–VI7 songs I–IV–V–VI–vi2 songs I–IV–V–vi38 songs
🎭 Character: vi shares two notes with I and is one of the most common substitutions in tonal harmony — swapped in for I, it gives a softer, more wistful landing instead of a full resolution. V (the dominant) has the strongest pull back to I of any diatonic chord — its own third is the key's leading tone, the single note that wants most to resolve upward. IV (the subdominant) is what produces a plagal, hymn-like “amen” cadence when it resolves straight to I, skipping V entirely.
🔄 Inversions: An inversion is the same chord with a different note in the bass — first inversion puts the 3rd on the bottom, second inversion the 5th. Try playing any chord above with its 3rd or 5th as the lowest note instead of the root: the chord itself doesn't change, but the bass line moves by step instead of jumping around, which is what makes a progression feel smoother from one chord to the next.

Learn the theory

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