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Progression Obsession: Pop music’s most used chord changes
Episode 121

Progression Obsession: Pop music’s most used chord changes

From Pachelbel's Canon, to the Ice Cream Changes, to the Four Chords, we examine the most-used chord changes in pop music.

Twenty Thousand Hertz

May 12, 202128m 4s

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Show Notes

There are a few specific chord progressions that show up again and again in popular music. Across hundreds of hit songs, the same basic musical formulas have been used by artists ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Lady Gaga, and from Bob Marley to Blink-182. So where did these musical tropes even come from, and what makes them so enduring? Featuring music journalist Jennifer Gersten and comedic musician Benny Davis


Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound.

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Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/progressionobsession

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