kennethreitz
ce93f429a2
Publish the Obsidian vault's Knowledge folder as /knowledge (881 notes, 67 folders), with a Knowledge item in the nav and footer. - scripts/import_knowledge.py regenerates data/knowledge from the vault: slugged paths, folder notes as index pages, wikilinks resolved to site links (or plain text), callouts, highlights, and Dataview tables rendered statically. Personal notes are withheld via an exclusion list plus a privacy guard. - tuftecms/core/knowledge.py builds a concept index from note titles and aliases. First mentions on ordinary pages link to their Knowledge note (capped, never in headings, code, links, or sidenotes); Knowledge pages list related notes and where they're mentioned across the site; other pages get a Related Knowledge block. - Knowledge URLs join sitemap.xml (so the sweep test covers them), never displace existing legacy slugs, list alphabetically, and mermaid diagrams render client-side only on pages that have them.
2.3 KiB
description, source
| description | source |
|---|---|
| Four chords, a thousand songs. | obsidian-knowledge |
I-V-vi-IV
Four chords, a thousand songs.
The Progression
The I–V–vi–IV is the most famous chord loop in modern pop — the so-called "four chords" that a comedy act can string a medley of dozens of hit songs through without changing a single shape. It moves from the tonic to the dominant, drops to the relative minor, and lands on the subdominant before circling back to the top. The result is a loop that feels both uplifting and quietly emotional, endlessly repeatable without fatigue.
Its genius lies in the vi. Where a plain I–V–IV would stay relentlessly bright, the swing through the relative minor introduces a shadow — a moment of longing — before the IV lifts the phrase back toward resolution. The progression never fully cadences; it just keeps turning, which is exactly why it works so well under a chorus meant to be sung again and again.
Structure
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Roman numerals | I – V – vi – IV |
| Example in C | C – G – Am – F |
| Chords used | Major Triad (I, V, IV), Minor Triad (vi) |
| Character | Anthemic, warm, bittersweet-optimistic |
| Function | Tonic → Dominant → Relative minor → Subdominant |
In Practice
Nicknamed the "axis" progression, it powers an astonishing share of chart music across pop, rock, and country: "Let It Be," "With or Without You," "Don't Stop Believin'," and "Someone Like You" all lean on it. Its four rotations — starting the loop on a different chord each time — yield the vi-IV-I-V and the Fifties Progression among others, a family of interrelated cycles built from the same four chords.