# Four chord question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 12, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455 "2023-12-12T04:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/21 "2023-12-13T16:41:08Z")
Probably. I’ll check later. The only one with a minor iv should be the Vampire song. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/22 "2023-12-13T17:38:26Z")
Yes, all of those should be vi. Damn Roman numerals. I should just start using Nashville and 1, 4, 5, 6-. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/23 "2023-12-13T17:38:56Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Hmm, trying to think of a song in my songlist that uses _fewer_ than three chords… My band covers “Feelin’ Alright,” Joe Cocker’s version. That’s the only one we do. It’s funny, but sometimes simple chord songs are the most fun to play, because you simply have to spice it up and add variety or it gets boring (for the audience, too). By the end of “Feelin’ Alright” I have dipped deep into my lick inventory. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/24 "2023-12-13T22:35:35Z")
As someone who plays totally by ear, I play different chords without realizing I’m playing different chords. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/25 "2023-12-13T22:39:14Z")
There’s gazillions of two-chord songs. Here’s one of my favorites. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_PQtrsr2JX8/maxresdefault.jpg "Oliver Morgan - Who Shot The LaLa") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PQtrsr2JX8&t=1) ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/26 "2023-12-14T02:29:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Has anything been written pop-wise in this century using more than four chords? Nothing comes to mind > > If nothing comes to mind, it’s because you’re not listening to pop music. I dunno, let’s take Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” which is all over the place still: That’s predominantly a I-III-IV-iv progression (still four chords, but not the usual four chords If you are going to tell me I’m mistaken, citing a 4 chord song seems an odd choice to prove your point. 🙂 Regardless, yes, I know there are exceptions and I know not all pop music is horribly dumbed down. Perhaps I was exaggerating as much as Sheeran was. The Lizzo song you cited, however, is refreshingly good. That’s a really interesting chord progression that works well. I appreciate you sharing that. I still think those are the exception, not the norm. The vast majority of pop music I’ve heard in recent years is ridiculously simple and I’ve heard more than you give me credit for. Yes, there were countless I IV Vs written back in the day, but there was also a lot of sophisticated chord changes and modulations written by people who understood enough about music to utilize them in a pleasing way. Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” comes to mind. You just don’t hear enough of those complexities anymore. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/27 "2023-12-14T02:34:09Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > If you are going to tell me I’m mistaken, citing a 4 chord song seems an odd choice to prove your point. 🙂 Ummm… > [@pulykamell](#): > > In the chorus you get an additional ii and a V, so we’re up to six chords. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/28 "2023-12-14T02:41:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ummm… You’re the one that described it as “still four chords, but not the usual four chords”. And at any rate, that chord progression sounds so forced, as if it was just done to be different. Nothing about it sounded pleasing to me. So yeah, more than four chords that never should have been put together in the first place, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/29 "2023-12-14T02:48:57Z")
Oh well. It’s a great progression, IMHO. The Hollies “The Air That I Breathe” and Radiohead’s “Creep” use it in the verses, too. Even David Bowie in “Space Oddity.” All solid songs. I-III-IV-iv just tugs on my heartstrings. That III chord is just so sweet and majestic there, and then followed by a plaintive, nostalgic IV-iv. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/30 "2023-12-14T03:40:07Z")
Eh, it’s a chord progression that has always grated on me like nails on a blackboard, ever since I heard the Hollies do it. I do understand that it is pleasing to many people’s ears, just not mine. Regardless, I’ll end the hijack that I started with an exaggeration in response to Sheehan’s exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/31 "2023-12-15T01:48:03Z")
If it’s this interview, he actually says “I can play you every song, **in the pop charts right now** with four chords.” (my bolding) At the end, he does say that it’s just the current state of the industry, but then names some exceptions. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ApQzx9PNRQk/hqdefault.jpg "Ed Sheeran bet he can Play Any POP Song With Just 4 Chords - RTL LATE NIGHT") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApQzx9PNRQk) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/32 "2023-12-15T02:26:20Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Hmm, trying to think of a song in my songlist that uses _fewer_ than three chords… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TsSuueEGQSM/maxresdefault.jpg "Harry Nilsson - Coconut (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsSuueEGQSM) ---
**Author:** ![ColdBrew50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@ColdBrew50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdBrew50)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/33 "2023-12-15T11:25:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If it’s this interview, he actually says “I can play you every song, **in the pop charts right now** with four chords.” So, he’s an idiot? That’s what I get from that. I’ve got no evidence to the contrary. Unless he’s referring to seventh chords and various chords that functionally substitute for such chords with some upper extensions. Like an Em7 could be the same as a Cmaj7, 9. Or, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/34 "2023-12-15T16:07:07Z")
> [@ColdBrew50](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > If it’s this interview, he actually says “I can play you every song, **in the pop charts right now** with four chords.” ⁢ > > So, he’s an idiot? That’s what I get from that. I’ve got no evidence to the contrary. > > Unless he’s referring to seventh chords and various chords that functionally substitute for such chords with some upper extensions. Like an Em7 could be the same as a Cmaj7, 9. Or, whatever. ⁢ No. My point is that he’s talking about a much smaller subset of songs that people were assuming. It’s not every song, but just the pop songs that were on the chart at the time of the interview. He’s clearly not talking about seventh chords, as he demonstrates them in the clip. As people guessed, it is I V vi IV. It’s not surprising to me at all that he’d be able to get away with only triads. Not a lot of pop uses jazz chords, and sevenths are usually optional unless they are in the melody, in which case he could just sing it. Honestly, as long as you stay diatonic, I don’t find anything unusual about being able to play songs using those chords. All the notes of the scale are covered, most of them twice. Sure, it wouldn’t necessarily be the original chords, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, I’d love an example of a fully diatonic song that wouldn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/35 "2023-12-15T20:50:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s not every song, but just the pop songs that were on the chart at the time of the interview. Yeah that’s a very different claim. Heck, Rick Beato might agree that every song in what passes for today’s pop charts could be played with just four chords. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/36 "2023-12-15T21:53:36Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Yeah that’s a very different claim. Heck, Rick Beato might agree that every song in what passes for today’s pop charts could be played with just four chords. Interestingly, I just watched a YouTube video where he critiqued the Top 20 (I think it was 20), and other than (I think) two songs, he dismissed them as weak compositions with minimal chord changes and uninteresting melodies and development. So, yeah… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/37 "2023-12-15T22:20:42Z")
Yeah, he’s got a whole series where he goes through the Top 10. One recent one he really liked Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night Away,” which is a bit amazing for me, as he comes across as such a grouch about modern music. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/38 "2023-12-15T22:24:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > In fact, I’d love an example of a fully diatonic song that wouldn’t work. Yeah, if you’re staying fully diatonic, it would be difficult to come up with something where you can’t make it work. Like a ii chord you can usually cover with a IV. A iii can take a I. And that basically covers all your bases. If you have a vii for some reason, a V will probably be close enough. It’ll be close enough for government work. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/39 "2023-12-15T23:57:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > vii Actually, vii° to be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-chord-question/994455/40 "2023-12-25T17:43:15Z")
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