The I-III-vi-IV progression I-III-vi-IV
Level: AdvancedMode: major
Piano sound loads on first tap. Resolved in the key of C — every chord links to its full analysis.
What each degree does
ICmaj
Feels like home — complete rest, where the piece departs from and returns to. The major tonic, where everything settles.
IIIEmaj
The MAJOR third degree — a striking chromatic mediant (the 'Creep' colour), a major triad where the diatonic mode called for a minor iii.
viAm
The relative minor — the tonic's reflective shadow. It often replaces I in a deceptive cadence, where you expected home and its sad side arrives instead.
IVFmaj
A step out from home into the light — the subdominant. It sets up the dominant or resolves with a plagal ('amen') colour, opening space without sharp tension.