i–♭III–♭VI–V

The i–♭III–♭VI–V progression moves through the natural minor's major chords before resolving with a harmonic minor dominant. The stepwise root motion from ♭III to ♭VI creates a cascading, flowing quality. This combination of modal wandering and dominant resolution appears in many emotional pop and rock songs.

Pattern: i – ♭III – ♭VI – V   Example in A Minor: Am – C – F – E

Genre: pop, rock   Difficulty: intermediate

Choose a Key

A Minor Am – C – F – E E Minor Em – G – C – B B Minor Bm – D – G – F♯ F♯ Minor F♯m – A – D – C♯ C♯ Minor C♯m – E – A – G♯ G♯ Minor G♯m – B – E – D♯ D Minor Dm – F – B♭ – A G Minor Gm – B♭ – E♭ – D C Minor Cm – E♭ – A♭ – G F Minor Fm – A♭ – D♭ – C B♭ Minor Bbm – D♭ – G♭ – F E♭ Minor Ebm – G♭ – B – B♭

Song Examples