Japan’s favourite chord progression and why it works
The “royal road“ progression (王道進行, Ōdō shinkō) is to Japan what “the axis progression“ is to the Western world. This chord progression comes up time and time again across Japanese music, to the point that to many listeners, the progression has a “Japanese“ sound to it.
SOURCES:
The Quintessential VGM Chord Progression:
Recipe for an anime song:
The anime chord progression:
Rick Ashtley is a magical girl:
My own original music is available on Spotify: 🎶
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0:00 Introduction
0:45 Japanese examples
2:36 Western examples
4:33 why does it work?
8:35 Piano outro