Twenty Thousand Hertz Reveals Why So Many Pop Songs Sound So Similar

I play guitar - badly. I'm like Hendrix without the finger control so my rendition of "Purple Haze" sounds like the emergency broadcast warning signal. When learning years ago, I found it daunting to learn all these chords in order to play pop songs. Then, to my surprise, I discovered to my delight that pop songs use a lot of the same chords. In heavy metal, it's even more monolithic with a few power chords accompanying most death metal songs that often revolve around a unplanned visit to the devil.

In this week's episode on Twenty Thousand Hertz, the superb podcast about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds dissects the most common chord progressions in popular music. Through interviews with violinist and journalist Jennifer Gersten, and Benny Davis (the Axis of Awesome bandleader, who soared to YouTube fame with the unforgettable "Four Chords" medley), host Dallas Taylor reveals three prominent patterns that have defined hundreds of hit songs. From 18th Century classical compositions to modern-day chart-toppers, Lynyrd Skynyrd to Lady Gaga, and Bob Marley to Blink-182, the episode explains how and why these seemingly fool-proof sonic recipes work across virtually any genre and time period. 

 Dating back to the 1700s, one of the most widely used and frequently heard progressions was originally written by composer Johann Pachelbel. Often played when a bride walks down the aisle, Pachelbel's Canon has become synonymous with class and tradition. It took until the late 1960s for Pachelbel's Canon to catch on, when the most famous recording was made by French conductor Jean-François Paillard. In 1980 it was featured in the opening to Mary Tyler Moore film Ordinary People, and now it provides the foundation to an array of contemporary classics like Blues Traveler's "Hook," Green Day's "Basket Case" and, most recently, Maroon 5's "Memories." 

 

Host Dallas Taylor also breaks down the Heart and Soul Changes, or "Ice Cream Changes," which defined the sound of the '50s and '60s with songs like Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." Since then, the deliciously digestible pattern has been adopted by The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden," Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er," Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," Rebecca Black's "Friday," Taylor Swift's "ME!" and the list goes on. 

As popular as those chord changes are, though, the undisputed champion is so dominant that it's often referred to as simply, "The Four Chords." Demonstrated by Benny Davis and Axis of Awesome's mega medley, the I-V-vi-IV progression has reigned supreme through a timeless collection of hits: Blink-182's "What's My Age Again?," Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory," and that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

 

Dallas Taylor argues, however, that familiar patterns might be comfortable, but even within a predictable structure there is so much room for sonic variation: "Popular music is a kind of shared language, with repeated tropes and patterns that we're all familiar with. If a song speaks to you, then it's a good song."

Over the show's past 120 episodes, Twenty Thousand Hertz has dived deep into a myriad of musical topics, including synesthesia, perfect pitch and vocal nodes, the history of archivist Alan Lomax, rock and roll's satanic panic and the 808 drum, plus the soundtracks of Minecraft and Hamilton, the story behind McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle and more. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, the sound design source for Disney, Google, NatGeo, Netflix, Nike, Ford and more of the world's most thoughtful brands.

 

  Listen to "Progression Obsession"

 

In a recent three-day podcast conference where podcast networks introduce their new shows, there is a disturbing trend where these large networks sign up celebrities or social media "influencers" so that they can interview their friends on a podcast or overshare like on their social media posts.

 

It is shows like Twenty Thousand Hertz and others that define the best that podcasting has to offer. The reasons for that flattery is twofold. First, because shows like Twenty Thousand Hertz serve up a buffet of topics that are ideally suited for the podcast audio format. A podcast about sound captures the zenith of audio excellence.

 

Second, because excellence in podcasting relies on more than the halo of celebrity and the feigned nonchalance of sitting around in someone's den sipping expensive bourbon and tossing off strained insights like they are one-liners. It is about offering your listeners a podcast that is truly ear worthy, not just decibel dense.