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  3. IV - I

IV - I

Also known as the plagal cadence, or amen cadence.

The gentler ending: subdominant to tonic instead of dominant to tonic. Churchgoers know it as the amen sung at the end of hymns, and pop uses it whenever a song should land softly rather than triumphantly.

Hear it in different keys

In C major

IV F I C

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In F major

IV Bb I F

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Heard in

Famous songs built on this progression. Learn the loop above and you can play along with them.

Each key above has a MIDI download with every chord played back to back, ready to drop into any DAW or notation program.

Roman numerals show scale degree and quality: uppercase for major, lowercase for minor, a small circle for diminished. Tap any chord above to open its full page, with a diagram and playback.