Chord & FretPop · axis — Ukulele
What is the Pop · axis progression?
The Pop · axis progression is C → G → Am → F (I – V – vi – IV), in the key of C. Read as harmonic function it moves tonic → dominant → tonic → subdominant, cycling as a vamp with no full cadence. Play one chord per bar and let it loop.
Four chords, a whole story: C (I, home) → G (V, time to come back) → Am (vi, home) → F (IV, the stroll). Hit play. First pass, just listen. Second pass, follow with your finger on the names — and notice that by the second-to-last chord, your body already knows C — home — is coming.
Ukulele
With only four short strings and no bass note, the ukulele lives in a bright, high register; it sketches the chords and leaves the low end to a voice or another instrument. For bright pop songs and gentle ballads the ukulele fits like a glove, adding an airy sparkle; heavier rock, blues and funk want the punch and bass it simply does not have. Its home chord C keeps its lowest note on C and rings 3 open strings.
Circle of Fifths — See the key's diatonic chords and its secondary dominants · use it in Chord & Fret
Save this progression in Chord & Fret♪ The groove underneath is the tresillo: 3+3+2. Count "one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two" tapping your leg and you've found the engine of half the world's pop..
Reharmonize — Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize the progression in a tap · try it in Chord & Fret
Learn each chord of the trip
This is one shape of C. In Chord & Fret, you open every position of all 4 chords in this progression along the neck — on any instrument, and hear each one. Open in Chord & Fret →
Metronome — Drill this change in time, with tap tempo and subdivisions · open in Chord & Fret
Want to change keys without redoing any of this? In the Chord & Fret app you drag and the whole neck rewrites itself — it's on the app stores.