# IV V vi iii Progression in Classical Music ?



## kwokboy (Sep 10, 2012)

Hi all
Has anyone ever seen that chord progression in Classical Music ?
(from late medieval to 20th Century)

IV V vi iii (major key) / VI VII i v (minor key)
eg: F G Am Em

or maybe its altered form....

IV V iii vi (major key) / VI VII v i (minor key)


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata (Op. 47) uses an expanded variant of this progression. It occurs near the beginning of the first movement. Listen to 0:42-1:04 in this video: 




The progression here is: I iv V7 VI iv6 ii6/4 V/III III. So, as you can hear, it's a highly embellished version of the progression that you're asking about. Also, Beethoven spices it up with chromatic chords.


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## kwokboy (Sep 10, 2012)

hey thanks for your reply.
Op47 is really...a bit too fancy haha
I am looking for something plain or less decorated

I asked because this progression is quite widely used in modern music
yet I haven't seen any classical music has /highly related to this progression
just wondering if it is a modern thing


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

kwokboy said:


> hey thanks for your reply.
> Op47 is really...a bit too fancy haha
> I am looking for something plain or less decorated
> 
> ...


The progression is perfectly mundane and has likely been used in passing countless times. Nothing modern about it. If one follows it up with ii6, V, I, it could be used to harmonize a descending major scale.


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## kwokboy (Sep 10, 2012)

EdwardBast said:


> The progression is perfectly mundane and has likely been used in passing countless times. Nothing modern about it. If one follows it up with ii6, V, I, it could be used to harmonize a descending major scale.


thanks
do you have any example for IV V vi iii ?


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I wrote you one, embellished with suspensions and passing tones, because it is easier than hunting through all of Bach's chorales. The point I was making is that the progression is so mundane that one would be unlikely to even remember hearing it. If you mean used as a repeated cycle of harmonies, then probably not, mostly because classical works don't tend to cycle through little harmonic loops like pop songs do.


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## kwokboy (Sep 10, 2012)

EdwardBast said:


> I wrote you one, embellished with suspensions and passing tones, because it is easier than hunting through all of Bach's chorales. The point I was making is that the progression is so mundane that one would be unlikely to even remember hearing it. If you mean used as a repeated cycle of harmonies, then probably not, mostly because classical works don't tend to cycle through little harmonic loops like pop songs do.
> View attachment 91210


thanks for writing that
but I am looking for examples from the period which I mentioned above....

to me this progression sounds very different
literally I can recognize this progression immediately
that's a personal thing though

actually repeating harmonic sequences wasn't a rarity
google 'ground bass' and you will find many classical works related to it


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