Four Chords

The four chords are the I, V, vi, and IV, played here in E. Those old 50's doo-wop songs--the chords you play when you play Heart and Soul on the piano--were the same four chords in a different order (I, vi, IV, V).

There must be a cultural metaphor in the shift from the authentic cadence of the patriarchal 50s to the plagal indecision of the 1960s and beyond, but beyond this very sentence, I don't have a good theory for you on that one.

Point is, it's the same four chords in a different order.
 
Here's more. The Canon in D that everyone knows from Pachelbel might best be called "Five Chords": the I, V, vi, iii/III, IV, (I, IV) and V. Just about half of Oasis's songs use this progression--it's really pretty amazing that they got away with writing the same song over and over--along with Puff the Magic Dragon, Kylie Minogue (I should be so lucky), Aerosmith (Crying), Green Day (Basket Case) and many others.

The More You KnowTM.
 
So all I really need to learn to play the guitar is four chords? Sweet!
 
i know too many fucking chords, it makes writing songs a pain in the ass.
i blame brian wilson for making me believe i could be anything like him!
 
i know too many fucking chords, it makes writing songs a pain in the ass.
i blame brian wilson for making me believe i could be anything like him!
Nobody can be like Brian Wilson. I'm not sure the genius is worth the madness, though.
 
i know too many fucking chords, it makes writing songs a pain in the ass.
i blame brian wilson for making me believe i could be anything like him!

Same here except I blame the old blues guys (crazy fuckin chords) and David Gilmour
 
Rock's big three--IV, V and I--are more often written/heard as a ii, V, and I in jazz. But a player often then further subs out those chords for others that sound less predictable or familiar. In jazz, chords approach the infinite.
 
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