Description
In music theory we use Roman Numerals to number the chords; upper case for Major chords, lower case for Minor (and diminished with a circle). We also refer to the chords by these names which relate to their function in a chord progression:
After learning and playing a good number of songs, music students will notice that certain chord progressions keep being used over and again. Many times I've heard the question, "Why do we use these three chords - I, IV, V - as the standard chord progression?" In order to understand the answer to this we need an overview of Functional Harmony.
Functional Harmony is the science of understanding how changing chords can suggest goal-directed motion in music.
Each of these chords has a specific function as follows:
Examples include everything from simple nursery rhymes, to classical masterpieces, to jazz standards, to modern pop tunes.
To answer the original question, many songs use I-IV-V chord progressions in order to make use of the basic principles of Functional Harmony:
I (Tonic) --> IV (Sub-dominant) --> V (Dominant) --> I (Tonic)
The result can be described as such:
I (Tonic) - "This is where we start from."
IV (Sub-dominant) - "This is where we go somewhere new, looking for something else or trying something new. Tension is being built."
V (Dominant) - "This is where we build the most tension, we are far from home on our journey."
I (Tonic) - "This is where all the tension is resolved. We've returned home to a familar place from our journey to far away, new different places."
Lesson Info
