Pop Chord Progressions

Let's first get started with the world's most common pop chord progression. 
Exploring this progression in both major and minor, and with multiple variations, will give you a great starting point to writing pop songs with various flavours!

From Beethoven to The Beatles, nearly all musical artists have at some point written material using these two chords in succession. 
The relationship between the I and V chord is as fundamental to harmonic theory as an oven is to baking, so let's start with breaking down this progression in both major and minor keys so that we can get a feel for what makes this harmonic shift so timeless.

While the I-IV progression gives us a very major start to our harmonic story, the i-iv progression can be one of the gravest sounds available. 
We also explore variations of this timeless harmonic shift, and then extrapolate full progressions from that point forward.  Lots offered in this class, so buckle up!

Starting your harmonic movement with a more subtle shift from I-ii or i-iio can help keep your harmonic story close to home without feeling stagnant.
With i-iio offering a sinister diminished sound, the I-ii can setup the most popular chord progression in Jazz:
I-ii-V-I

With both of these progressions offering a sinister start to your harmonic choices, we find that this shift is often where classical harmony starts us (along with I-V-I).  Part of the reason for this is that these chords don't share any notes in common, so there's plenty of melodic options to accompany these two chords.
While seemingly simple in nature, this progression can offer a variety of variations, and as a result plenty of emotional range.

Moving chords by the interval of a third can allow a melody to remain unchanged between the harmonic shift, as many of the notes in the first chord are common with the notes in the second chord. 
I-vi is how we start 'Heart and Soul', but also has plenty of other options. 
As a side note, i-bVI is one of my favorite harmonic shifts, and I will often add plenty of color to both of these chords.  You'll hear this sound often in cinematic scores and epic commercials.

An understated harmonic shift, this movement will often create a sort of psych-out effect.  What starts major quickly becomes minor, or vice versa!  I-iii first resonated with me in the Edward Scissor Hands sound track by Danny Elfman.  Just like the conflicted nature of that story, what seems like a bright and colorful neighbourhood has a dark secret.

From James Bond movies, to bigband jazz scores, to modulations by The Beatles, this variety of simple progressions offers a lot of fun movement between chords and strays away from the more conventional harmonic approaches.

As a fun add-on, I decided to include this class since the harmony within bridges of songs can often feel unfamiliar.  Giving you numerous approaches to navigating this seldom used section, you'll be ready to harmonically develop your bridges like a pro!