This is a lookup-table skill, not a teaching skill.
| You ask | Where to go |
|---|---|
| "Give me a progression that can produce an X feeling" | This skill |
| "Why does this progression work" | mc-harmony |
| "How do I change this progression to make it sound better" | This skill §4 ＋ mc-harmony §7 |
Which sections to read by task
| Task | Read |
|---|---|
| Find a progression by mood | §1 Mood reverse-lookup table |
| Want a progression that has "exactly that flavor" | §2 The eight famous progressions |
| Browse by category | reference.md |
| Tired of the progressions on hand | §4 Eight transformations |
| Worried the progression is too clichéd | ★ §3 |
| Transposition | reference.md §5 |
Boundaries
| Not covered here | Where it belongs |
|---|---|
| The principles, functions, and whys of harmony | mc-harmony |
| The nine-step process of reharmonization | mc-harmony §7 |
| Modulation | mc-modulation |
| Progression vocabulary specific to a certain style | mc-style-*(L3). ★ This skill's vocabulary leans J-POP; Chinese pop harmony vocabulary is not listed separately;K-POP and Western pop have no corresponding L3 skill, use this skill's general tables and declare it in the spec sheet (see reference.md §11) |
| Full category table, famous-song index, transposition table | reference.md |
1. Mood reverse-lookup table
| Mood | First choice |
|---|---|
| Bright／powerful | I–IV–V–I ／ IV–V–I–VIm ／ pop-punk progression |
| Setsunai／emo (heart-wrenching) | Royal Road progression 4536 ／ C–E7–F–Fm ／ IVm type (C–Fm–C) |
| Warm／grounded | C–Dm–Em–F ／ C–Am–F–G ／ C–Gm7·C7–F |
| Stylish／urban | Marusa progression ／ Ura chord progression ／ ii–V–I ／ F/G dominant substitution |
| Melancholic／enka／kayōkyoku | Am–G–F–E ／ Am–Dm–E7–Am ／ minor ii–V |
| Grand／epic ballad | C–Bm7(♭5)·E7–Am type ／ 8-bar canon ／ descending-bass cliché |
| Sudden turns／complex | Em–F–Am–G ／ F–Dm–G–Em·E7 ／ C–B7–Em7–E♭ |
| Danceable | F△7–E7–Am–C7 + four-on-the-floor ／ C7(9,13)–F7(9,13) riff |
2. The eight famous progressions
Below, all are Key = C(minor-type Key = Am). Degrees are for thinking, letters are for handoff,dual notation。
2.1 Royal Road progression (4536)
IV△7 – V7 – IIIm7 – VIm7 F△7 – G7 – Em7 – Am7
The name is just the degrees 4-5-3-6.4 and 5 are major chords, 3 and 6 are minor chords— this drop of "from bright to dark" is exactly the source of setsunasa. Along with the canon progression, it is one of the two great aces.
| Variant | Effect |
|---|---|
IV△7–V7–III7–VIm7（F△7–G7–E7–Am7） |
III becomes dominant seventh → stronger crying tone, stronger pull toward VIm |
IV△7–V(onIV)–IIIm7–VI7（F△7–G/F–Em7–A7） |
The slash chord in bar 2 is the **"kyun" (heart-throb) point** |
2.2 Canon progression
I – V – VIm – IIIm – IV – I – IIm – V C – G – Am – Em – F – C – Dm – G
Inversion form C–G/B–Am–Em/G–F–C/E–Dm–G lets the bassDescending stepwise along the scale(C-B-A-G-F-E-D-G)
= bass line cliché.
- Four-chord simplified form
C–G–Am–Emequally standard;ending Em→G loops better(the final dominant chord flows smoothly back to the tonic) - For the chromaticized version (bass C–B–B♭–A–A♭–F#–G), see reference.md §4
2.3 Komuro progression (6451)
VIm – IV – V – I Am – F – G – C
Starts with a minor-key color → resolves stably to major. The sound of the golden age of 1990s J-POP.
Close relative Am–G–F–C(6541, stepwise descending bass, more lyrical).
2.4 Marusa progression / Just The Two Of Us (4361)
IV – III7 – VIm – I F – E7 – Am – C
Stylish, urban, emo—synonymous with city pop / neo-soul. E7 is asecondary dominantpointing to Am, i.e. the "emo point." It can be used as a one-off accent, or looped for the whole song,"almost any melody placed on it sounds stylish"。
Seventh-chord reinforced version F△7–E7–Am–C7 with a four-on-the-floor kick → techno/dance.
2.5 Pop-punk progression (1564)
I – V – VIm – IV C – G – Am – F
Bright, powerful, universally usable.
Same set of chords with a different starting pointyields the common variant 4156(F–C–G–Am) and 6415（Am–F–C–G）；
Whether the first and last chords are major or minor determines the overall brightness or darkness.
2.6 Loop progression (1625)
I – VIm – IIm – V C – Am – Dm – G
Seventh-chord version C–Am7–Dm7–G7 equally standard.It sounds somewhat retro today; deliberately using that retro quality is a valid choice.
The 2→5 in the second half is exactlytwo-five: IIm is a substitute for IV, and the bassleaps up a fourth, which is stronger than 4→5.
Typical usage：
C–Am–F–Gloop three times,switch to this progression on the fourth time, as the trigger for entering the next section.
2.7 Reverse loop (2516)
IIm – V – I – VIm Dm – G – C – Am
★ Key understanding: it is not arranging the chords backwards, but rathertwo structural groups— "the motion-function group (2→5) first, the tonic-function group (1→6) second."
Seventh-chord version Dm7–G7–C△7–Am7：does not start from the tonic, and the two-five winds back to the tonic from the opposite direction.
2.8 Dream Come True progression
I△7 – VIIm7 – IIIm7 – IIIm7(onII) C△7 – Bm7 – Em7 – Em7/D
Its character changes drastically with tempo and melody. Variant C△7–B7–Em7–G7(VIIm7→VII7) is even more tear-jerking;
the dominant seventh at the end strengthens the motion back to the tonic.
3. ★ Cliché warning line: which progressions generative models will give you by default
This section is unique to this library; it is not in the Japanese source text.
Under prompts like "pop / emotional / ballad," the generation backendwill with high probability output the following by default：
| Progression | Why it is dangerous |
|---|---|
I–V–VIm–IV（1564） |
The most overusedfour chords in the world. The model's first instinct |
VIm–IV–I–V（6415） |
A rotation of the same set, equally overused |
I–VIm–IV–V（1645） |
A template since the 1950s |
IV–V–IIIm–VIm（4536） |
The first instinct in a J-POP context |
This does not mean it cannot be used. The criterion is:
Did you "choose" it, or did you "default" into it?
Three countermeasures(increasing in strength):
- Keep the progression, change the form—use at least two of the eight transformations in §4, especiallyChange the starting pointandbass line design
- Keep the progression, change the harmonic rhythm— don't do one chord per bar. Moving where the chord changes is more effective than changing the chord itself
- Replace it— from reference.md §3 sentimental category / §4 jazz standards category, pick one with equivalent function
★ The most effective one is actually item 2, because the model is heavily trained on "what the chord is", but is weak on "when the chord changes"—harmonic rhythm is a cheaper means of differentiation。
Self-check action: run your progression through the table above.
If it hits, write a line in the ARR-SPEC's form[].note saying "why I still chose it".
4. Eight transformations: turn one progression into ten
These techniques can be applied to any progression in this library.
| # | Technique | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Change the starting point | The same set of chords starting from a different chord (1564→4156→6415; 1625→2516). ★ Whether the start and end are major or minor determines bright or dark |
| 2 | Seventh-chord-ization / add9-ization | Add sevenths to everything (Am–Dm–Em→Am7–Dm7–Em7) for an instant modern pop feel; add9-ization (Amadd9–Fadd9–Gadd9) is lighter and softer |
| 3 | III→III7 (secondary dominant) | ★ The fastest "crying tone" switch. Any diatonic chord can be preceded by a secondary dominant (A7/B7/C7/D7/E7) |
| 4 | Slash-chord-ization (bass line design) | Use inversions to make the bass move stepwise (Canon C–G/B–Am–Em/G…), or chromaticize it (C–G/B–B♭–F/A–Fm/A♭–D/F#–F/G). ★ The dominant chord can be replaced with F/G(= G7sus4(9)), more subtle and refined |
| 5 | Insert sus4 | Insert Vsus4 before the V at the end of a section (F→Gsus4→G), emphasizing "this chapter is over".Adding it only on the last passalso works |
| 6 | Two-five-ization | Split out a IIm7 before the V (E7→Bm7(♭5)–E7; G7→Dm7–G7). The Gm7–C7 pointing to IV brings a warm surprise |
| 7 | Beat adjustment and splicing | A 4-bar pattern can be compressed to 2 beats per chord;splice 4-bar patterns that suit your taste into 8 bars, and a melody will naturally emerge |
| 8 | Borrowing from the parallel key | IV→IVm, or add ♭VI/♭VII/♭III, and you immediately get setsunasa or rock grit |
★ Item 7 is the most underrated in this section:splicing two 4-bar patterns is far easier than inventing an 8-bar pattern, and the effect is even better.
5. Correspondence with ARR-SPEC fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
form[].harmony |
Degree notation.Progressions copied from this skill must be converted to degrees, don't copy the letters |
form[].harmony_letters |
Letter notation. Transpose according to meta.key , see the table in reference.md §5 |
form[].note |
★ If you used a progression on the §3 warning line,write here why you still chose it |
| lint #9 | At least one section must have a non-diatonic chord—items 3, 6, and 8 of §4 can all satisfy this |
6. Must pass after use
- progression has been converted todegrees, not copied letters directly
- Letter notation is transposed to the actual
meta.keykey - Checked the §3 warning line; if it hit, the reason was written
- The harmonic rhythm is not one bar per chord throughout the whole song
- At least one variation from §4 was used (unless you deliberately want that original feel, and state so)
- The chorus and verseare not the same progression repeated as is(the same progression with a different harmonic rhythm also counts as a variation)
Appendix: Sources and bias statement
- "Motto! Omoi doori ni sakkyoku ga dekiru hon", "Dekiru Zero kara hajimeru sakkyoku chō nyūmon", "Puro no kyokuzukuri tekunikku"— §1, §2, §4 and the entire classification table.
- ★ Bias statement: this vocabularyleans J-POP(Ōdō, Komuro, Marusa, Dorikamu are all names used in the Japanese industry). It ishighly applicable to Chinese-language pop and city pop, and its coverage of EDM, hip-hop, and Western rock is insufficient. Those are filled in by the L3 style layerrespectively—do not treat this table as "all of popular harmony."
- Progression vocabulary of Chinese-language pop: →
mc-style-chinese-pop - Progression of jazz standards: →
mc-style-jazz - Full classification table (Ōdō J-POP type / sentimental type / jazz urban type / minor type / cliché line type / 8-bar large-scale), famous songs → progression index, transposition table, all in reference.md。