How many chords are used in pop songs?

Almost every song in the pop charts is built around the same four chords. And it's nothing new – they're the same three chords that Pachelbel used in his famous Canon. But why do we keep coming back to this exact structure?

classicfm.com - These four chords are at the heart of every pop song - Classic FM

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These four chords are at the heart of every pop song

By Victoria Longdon

Almost every song in the pop charts is built around the same four chords. And it's nothing new – they're the same three chords that Pachelbel used in his famous Canon. But why do we keep coming back to this exact structure?

We’ve all heard them – those people who complain that ‘all modern music sounds the same’... Well, in one way they’re absolutely right.

Quiz: what percentage music geek are you?

The mind-boggling reality is that a huge proportion of the world’s hit songs are built upon the same four chords. Don’t believe me? Just listen to this medley by comedy rock band, ‘Axis Of Awesome’:

And it’s not just modern music. The ‘four chord song’ has been around since Pachelbel’s Canon around the turn of the 18th century. These four chords are the magic I, IV, V and vi. But why are these four chords so universal? Coincidence ... or science?

via GIPHY

What’s with the Numerals?

We use Roman Numerals to name chords so we can identify which note of the scale they’re built upon. Chord I is built upon the first note of an eight note scale, and chord V upon the fifth.

Why are these chords so special?

At it’s most basic level, music is based on maths. Each pitch vibrates at a certain frequency, and the ratios between these frequencies make the interval sound consonant or dissonant. The most consonant interval (if you can call it an interval) is the unison, which has a ratio of (1:1). After that it’s the octave, (2:1) an interval which sounds so consonant to the human ear that we even give both notes the same name. The reasons that the progression of I, IV, V is so pleasing to the human ear is that those chords are built upon the three most consonant intervals with the tonic:

I (1:1)

V (3:2)

IV (4:3)

In fact, another reason this is such a stable trio is that chords IV and V are actually both a fifth away from the tonic – in opposite directions!

So where does chord vi come into it?

Well, if you look back at the circle of fifths above, you’ll see that every major chord has a minor reflection, (shown in the inner circle) which contains all the same notes as its major counterpart. Chord vi is the minor reflection, or ‘relative minor’ of Chord I, and this similarity means that it still feels comfortably related to both Chord IV and Chord V.

Find out more about the Circle of Fifths >

There’s no doubt that the human ear is hooked on this repetitive chord progression, and it turns out there’s a scientific reason why these particular chords interact so strongly with the tonic. The concoction of different frequencies of the pitches within these magic chords create a whole load of ‘consonant’ frequency ratios, setting up the strongest memory of the tonic in the ear of the listener, and making them (rather poetically) long for a return to ‘home’ – to hear the tonic again. Over the centuries writers have been able to exploit the magnetic appeal of these four chords in endlessly innovative ways to create hit after hit song.

But not everyone's a fan…

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Is pop bigger than hip hop?

Since 2017, R&B/hip-hop has been the dominant music genre on the United States Billboard charts, becoming bigger than pop and rock and coming to define modern popular music. And its reign hasn't let up since, with new smashes and superstars created every year.

billboard.com - Billboard Explains: How R&B/Hip-Hop Became Biggest Genre

Since 2017, R&B/hip-hop has been the dominant music genre on the United States Billboard charts, becoming bigger than pop and rock and coming to define modern popular music. And its reign hasn’t let up since, with new smashes and superstars created every year.

So how did it happen? How did R&B/hip-hop pull into first place on the charts?

The latest episode of Billboard Explains breaks down exactly how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., by looking at its early influence, innovative evolutions and explosion in the streaming era. You’ll hear commentary from Billboard hip-hop editor Carl Lamarre on why exactly the genre is leading pop culture. After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains clips and learn about how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Hot 100.

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