Find Thousands of Songs That Use These Common Chord Progressions

By Austin

You can play thousands of songs using common chord progressions (like the I-IV-V). And today, you'll learn how to quickly find all this music.

In fact, you’ll learn 3 different ways.

Option 1: Manually Search for Songs by Chord Progression

This "Search Songs by Chord" tool below lets you find tunes using whatever chords you enter. So to find songs with the I-IV-V chord progression, do a search of G C D. Then run another search of G# C# D#.

Do this a total of 12 times - for all 12 keys.

Option 2: Use Buttons to Search by Popular Chord Progressions

You can use clickable buttons to search by chord progression.

For example...

Below are all 12 variations of the I-IV-V. Click the first button to see 3-chord songs that use C,F,G. Then click the next button for even more music.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the I-IV-V Chord Progression

C,F,G

D,G,A

E,A,B

G,C,D

A,D,E

You can find even more search buttons by skipping to 6 common chord progressions.

But be sure to come back. There's one more method to cover.

Option 3: Instantly Search by Chord Progression (in All 12 Keys)

Use the All Keys filter when running chord searches. This premium feature lets you search any group of chords – transposed up/down in all 12 keys – at once.

Check out the video below to see the All Keys filter in action.

Song Search Buttons for 6 Common Chord Progressions

Below are 6 of the most popular chord progressions – complete with clickable search buttons to save you time. They're all identified with their Roman numerals. I’ve also borrowed some nicknames from my buddies at Musical U:

I-IV-V: the Popular Kid

I-IV-V: the 12-Bar Blues

I-V-vi-IV: the Sensitive One

ii-V-I: the Jazz Cat

I-V-vi-iii-IV: Pachelbel's Canon

vi-V-IV-III: the Andalusian Cadence

A word of caution.

It's best to think in chord “groups” and not “progressions.” For example, a search of G,C,D will produce any I-IV-V song - even if the 3 chords appear in a different order.

In other words, there’s no difference between:

Pop songs that use the I-IV-V chord progression.

12-bar blues with a I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-V-I-I sequence.

Songs That Use the I-IV-V Chord Progression (Popular Kid)

The I-IV-V chord progression is a staple of popular music. You see it everywhere, including in:

La Bamba by Ritchie Valens
I Still Haven't Found What I’m Looking For by U2
Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

There are more than 20,000 songs in the search index that use the I-IV-V chord progression. And they all use one of the clickable 3-chord combinations below. With the All Keys filter, you can use C,F,G as your seed chords.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the I-IV-V Chord Progression

C,F,G

D,G,A

E,A,B

G,C,D

A,D,E

Back to Table of Contents

Search Songs by Chords

Songs That Use the 12-Bar Blues Chord Progression (I-IV-V)

There’s no dedicated search option for the 12-bar blues chord progression. That’s because all variations of the I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-V-I-I sequence use the same chords as the I-IV-V (with repeats).

But when doing searches of the I-IV-V, you can use Genre filters to isolate "Blues" songs.

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Search Songs by Chords

Songs That Use the I-V-vi-IV Chord Progression (Sensitive One)

The I-V-vi-IV chord progression is arguably the most popular of all cadences. It’s what the Axis of Awesome uses in the viral video below.

Here are a few more examples of this common chord progression:

Stand by Me by Ben E. King
With or Without You by U2
If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan
All Too Well by Taylor Swift

For a more complete list of songs with the I-V-vi-IV chord progression, click any of the buttons below. If you're using the All Keys option, just input C,G,Am,F as your starter chords.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the I-V-vi-IV Chord Progression

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Search Songs by Chords

Songs That Use the ii-V-I Chord Progression (Jazz Cat)

According to UberChord,

The ii-V-I chord progression is the stalwart of the jazz idiom.

About 80-90% of all Jazz and American Songbook classics are comprised mostly, if not solely, of ii-V-I progressions.

This hasn’t been my own experience when searching jazz chord progressions. And I don't think you'll find many standards. But you’ll definitely see popular songs like:

Sunday Morning by Maroon 5

Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega

Working Class Hero by David Bowie

Wanted Man by Johnny Cash

To see even more songs with the ii-V-I chord progression, click any of the buttons below. If you're using the All Keys filter instead, use Dm,G,C as your seed chords.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the Jazz Chord Progression

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Search Songs by Chords

Songs That Use the I-V-vi-iii-IV Chord Progression (Pachelbel's Canon)

Johann Pachelbel probably wasn’t the first composer to use the I-V-vi-iii-IV chord progression. But his Canon in D is the best known example.

Pachelbel’s version uses I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (with some chords repeating). But variations of this popular chord cadence can also be found in:

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley
Enchanted by Taylor Swift
One Tin Soldier by Peter, Paul, and Mary
C U When U Get There by Coolio

Below are clickable premade searches of songs with the I-V-vi-iii-IV chord progression. If you're using the All Keys option instead, try C,G,Am,Em,F as your starter chords.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the I-V-vi-iii-IV Chord Progression

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Search Songs by Chords

Songs That Use the vi-V-IV-III Chord Progression (Andalusian Cadence)

The Andalusian Cadence uses 4 descending chords that give a very "flamenco" vibe. And you’ll likely see a lot of Spanish-language music when you search for the vi-V-IV-III sequence.

It's also one of the oddest chord progressions in the bunch. For starters, the iii (minor) has been replaced with a III (major). In addition, there’s no Tonic (i.e. “I”) to help resolve the song. That's why it feels like the vi-V-IV-III chord progression is constantly in motion.

Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles is a prime example. Runaway by Dion is another.

Click any of the buttons below for songs that use the Andalusian Cadence chord progression. Or use the All Keys filter with Am,G,F,E as your starter chords.

Click Any Button Below

Search Songs with the vi-V-IV-III Chord Progression

Back to Table of Contents

Search Songs by Chords

Search Your Own Chord Progressions

We just covered some of the most common chord progressions in music. But you're not limited to these specific cadences. Search any combination you want, and you'll find a ton of songs that are all playable with your original starter chords.

So sign up and start doing your own chord progression searches.

And as always, happy strumming.

-Austin

Posted in Blog