A Brief History of Pop Music in Four Chords

Goofball_Jonessays...

Um...brief history of pop music? All I heard was the beginning of that Journey song "Don't Stop Believing" over and over and over then him singing different words. I don't get it. Brief history of "Don't Stop Believing"?

gorgonheapsays...

Actually Goofball the four chords he's playing are incredibly common in pop music, I think you associate Journey's song because it also has a piano intro. And I love that his friend is just sitting there playing video games while he unfolds a subject that no one really cares about, pretty funny I thought

rembarsays...

@gorgonheap: Goofball is talking about the fact the guy is using the same broken chords over and over again. I think he associates Journey's song with it because it's pretty much exactly the same progression as Journey's song. Sure, he sings some other lyrics, but it's still the Journey thing on the piano side.

I would have liked this more if he had used the same chords but switched up the progression or broken the chords up in different manners.

No vote, just because I'm not meanspirited enough to downvote.

jlee22says...

I think the dude is just pointing out how many pop songs use the same harmonic pattern. In this case, the pattern is I-V-vi-IV. In the key of C, that would be C-G-Am-F. Most pop songs employ basic diatonic harmony, which only gives you six different chords to work with (I don't think anyone uses the seventh, which is a half-diminished). One can only be so creative given such a limited tonal palatte and other constraints in song structure. Hence the similarity in many of these songs.

Can anyone name all the songs he goes through?

Farhad2000says...

I recognized only a few of them modern ones but I looked around and someone did it on YouTube already.

Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Adam's Song - Blink 182
Not Pretty Enough - Kasey Chambers
Amazing - Alex Lloyd
Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
Glycerine - Bush
Heaven Coming Down - The Tea Party
Superman - Five For Fighting
High - Lighthouse Family
Sway - Bic Runga
Soul To Squeeze - Red Hot Chili Peppers
She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
With Or Without You - U2
Fall At Your Feet - Crowded House
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Scar - Missy Higgins
Let It Be - The Beatles
Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson
Can You Feel The Love Tonight - Elton John

rembarsays...

jlee22, I agree that that's what the guy was trying to show, but I didn't really enjoy it because the songs *aren't* that similiar, due to the fact that they might use the same chords, perhaps even the same chord progression, but they don't break the chords the same way, thus creating novel harmonies with which to work. It felt like the guy was smooshing lyrics into a melody that they didn't quite fit. It also didn't help that he was a bit heavy-handed on the piano.

But maybe I'm just a bitter musician.

choggiesays...

...I'm a bitter musician because I have never had enough cash at once for a Selmer Mark IV....or a contrabass clarinet, or any of those high-priced horns......and also cause the only LP's pressed anymore, have Japanese liners, and are also, cost prohibitive....


... take that back, i have had the cash all at once b-4, but spent it on bullshit....

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