Pop · Beginner · minor key

i–iv–♭VI–♭VII

i – iv – ♭VI – ♭VII — Moody and anthemic — a staple of emotional rock choruses.

Chord shapes in E minor (standard tuning)

Using a different tuning? Open it in the Looper — it finds playable shapes for whatever tuning you choose.

How the chords work

Written in Roman numerals, this progression is i – iv – ♭VI – ♭VII — in A minor that is Am – Dm – F – G. Each numeral is a step of the scale; upper case is a major chord, lower case minor.

• i — the minor home chord.
• iv — the minor four chord: darker and more emotional.
• ♭VI — a major chord borrowed from the minor key: epic and dramatic.
• ♭VII — a major chord a whole step below home, borrowed from the minor key — classic rock swagger.

i–iv–♭VI–♭VII in all 12 keys

Practice ideas

• Beginners: play one strum per chord and say the chord names out loud, then two strums, then a steady down-down-up-up-down-up pattern.
• Change keys with a capo: keep the E minor shapes and move a capo up — the capo calculator shows which fret gives the key you want.
• Solo over it: loop it in the Looper and improvise with the E minor pentatonic or E natural minor or E blues scale — the scale pages show every position and play a backing track.
• Train your ear: the progression ear trainer mixes this with similar progressions until you can tell them apart.

Similar progressions

• Minor-key axis (i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII) i – ♭VI – ♭III – ♭VII
• i–♭VI–♭VII–♭III i – ♭VI – ♭VII – ♭III
• i–♭III–♭VII–♭VI i – ♭III – ♭VII – ♭VI
• i–♭III–♭VI–♭VII i – ♭III – ♭VI – ♭VII
• i–♭VI–♭VII–v i – ♭VI – ♭VII – v
• i–iv–v–♭VI i – iv – v – ♭VI

← i–♭VI–♭VII–♭III · i–v–iv–i →

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