- #1: The Evanescence Progression
- #2: The John Williams Progression
- #3: The Sentimental Progression
- #4: The Love Progression
- #5: The Axis of Awesome Progression
Just a word of caution…you might want to grab a box of tissues before we begin.
Intro to Sad Piano Chord Progressions
Today’s lesson on how to play sad piano music is in the key of C major. The examples on the lesson sheet are perfect for intermediate piano students. However, beginners can also play many of the examples by making just a few tweaks. For example, feel free to omit right-hand harmony notes as needed. In addition, you can replace left-hand broken chord patterns with block chords instead. In fact, the complete lesson sheet is downloadable from the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership. You can also easily change the key of this lesson with a single click using our Smart Sheet Music.
Throughout the lesson, we will refer to chords with chord symbols and their corresponding harmonic function. If you do not have experience using Roman numerals (aka “the number system”) to analyze chords, be sure to visit our course on Bach Prelude in C Harmonic Analysis (Levels 1–3) for further practice. In addition, the musical examples in this lesson include triads, 7th chords, 6th chords, sus chords, add2 chords and chords with extensions. If some of these chord types are unfamiliar to you, then you will also want to bookmark our Piano Chords—The Definitive Guide for further reference.
The 5 Sad Piano Chord Progressions
Alright, let’s dive into the first of our sad piano chord progressions.
#1: The Evanescence Progression
Our first example, the “Evanescence Progression” is perfect for beginner piano students since it only uses two diatonic chords. Specifically, this progression moves from the major 1-chord to the minor 3-chord (I→iii).
This progression is named after the gothic rock band, Evanescence, who’s 2003 breakout single “My Immortal” prominently features this chord progression and earned them a Grammy award nomination.
Once you become familiar with the characteristically melancholy sound of this chord progression, you will learn to recognize it instantly. Here are a few examples of this sad chord progression in songs representing various genres.
Evanescence
“My Immortal” (Live-2017)
Plain White T’s
“Hey There Delilah” (2006)
Alexandre Desplat
“Elisa’s Theme” (2006)
If you are searching for sad piano chord progressions, this is one you simply must know. Therefore, let’s look at how to play this progression on piano.
While the I→iii chord progression is beautiful on its own merit, Jonny is also employing another piano technique here to magnify the expressiveness of this melody. Specifically, Jonny is using a piano arranging technique which he calls interval rocking. The interval rocking technique creates beautiful melodic textures by pairing alternating chord tones. The diagram below illustrates how to use this technique.
The interval rocking technique is a great for harmonizing melodies and for creating elegant piano accompaniment textures. For additional examples on how to apply interval rocking to your playing, check out the following courses:
- O Holy Night Contemporary Piano (Level 2, Level 3)
- Cocktail Jazz Piano Accompaniment (Level 2, Level 3)
Alright, let’s check out our next sad piano chord progression.
#2: The John Williams Progression
Our second chord progression is nicknamed the “John Williams Progression” and it is one of the most effective sad piano chord progressions you’ll find. This progression also uses just two chords, the major I chord and the minor iv⁶ chord (I→iv⁶).
The effect of this sad piano chord progression is a bit more gut-wrenching than our first example. That’s because this progression draws on the duality of a compositional technique called modal mixture (aka modal interchange). This technique simultaneously mixes chords from C major and C minor. As a result, the listener is left with complex and conflicting emotions such as “bitter-sweetness” or “despairing hope.” In fact, the listener may not even be able to explain why they are crying at all.
We have nicknamed this progression the “John Williams Progression” after the legendary film composer’s use of this progression on “Princess Leia’s Theme” in the original Star Wars film. This chord progression is also featured prominently in the intro to Natalie Cole’s 1987 remake of “When I Fall In Love.” Another example of this sad chord progression occurs in the film Moulin Rouge! in which actress Nicole Kidman sings a memorable rendition of “One Day I’ll Fly Away.” The tune was originally released in 1980 by vocalist Randy Crawford and written by Will Jennings and pianist Joe Sample. Incidentally, Crawford’s performance of the tune with the Joe Sample Trio at the 2006 North Sea Jazz Festival is a must-see.
