A Closer Look at Asia's Favorite Chord Progression

Have you noticed throughout your years of music listening that Western pop and Asian pop, in broad generality, "feel" very different from each other? If you thought that there might be a certain harmonic disparity between the two, you'd be right. There is a specific harmonic unit that appears incredibly abundantly in the latter but rather rarely in the former, and it boils down to just three chords.



Here it is, the single most distinctive and frequent sound signature of East-Asian pop music, transcribed in the key of G:




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Sound familiar? It should, because it's everywhere. Here are just a handful of examples from Japan I recall off the top of my head:



"Y/N" BY SCHOOL FOOD PUNISHMENT



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"HAPPY RAINY DAY" FROM THE K-ON!! OST VOL. 1



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"BRAN-NEW LOVESONG" BY THE PILLOWS



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"STAPLE STABLE" BY CHIWA SAITO, BAKEMONOGATARI OP



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"Qit behaves predictably while being harmonically interesting.



Also observe how the B in each grouping remains consistent, but changes its role each time; it goes from being the third to serving as the root to sounding as the fifth. It acts as a tonal anchor of sorts, never allowing the "interesting" harmony to appear too foreign.



Further, the progression avoids inducing the ambiguities in tonality that result when chords move in direct semitonal parallels. For instance, the progression G-G#-A has three notes per chord that function rather like leading tones between each chord, but because the chords transition strictly in a parallel manner, much of the effect is lost without significant support from melodic and rhythmic context.



So, the simple answer as to why the progression is so popular is that it's a convenient songwriting device that pleases the ear. It has the effect of sounding exciting, grandiose, and dramatic while serving as a reliable trope to accomplish a specific compositional task. It also offers more harmonic possibilities than simply going from I directly to vi. Next time you listen to music, keep an ear out for these chords, especially if the track you're enjoying hails from the orient.



Got a question? Can you can name another track that uses these changes? Let me know in the comments.



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