The I-iii-vi-IV progression I-iii-vi-IV
Level: EssentialMode: 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.
iiiEm
The mediant — the most ambiguous, ethereal diatonic degree, halfway between tonic and dominant. It shares notes with both and never quite commits — dreamy.
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.