← All lessonsModule 2 · Chords and keys
The Four-Chord Loop
Four chords that keep coming back, in hit after hit.
In this lesson you'll
- Build the four-chord loop in any key.
- Understand why it works.
- Change its mood just by changing the order.
Music in this lesson
- Let It BeThe Beatles · 1970
- With or Without YouU2 · 1987
- Someone Like YouAdele · 2011
- Don't Stop Believin'Journey · 1981
- ZombieThe Cranberries · 1994
- DespacitoLuis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee · 2017
Remember
One, five, six, four works in any key. Count up the scale, and the shape just rotates.
Five creates tension, six surprises the ear, and four slides you home.
Start on the minor chord and it turns dark. Reorder it, and it turns sweet.