Royal Road

IV–V–iii–vi · 王道進行 · C major · IV–V–iii–vi

Play this pattern

Royal Road is a chord pattern you can play in any key. The degrees are IV–V–iii–vi.

Swells a little, then settles into minor. Extremely common in Korean and Japanese ballads and anime themes.

Patterns are common chord moves. They are not the chart of a recorded hit.

Patterns are named by theory. Play them in any key that fits your voice.

Each song page has a chord chart, fingerings, and the same song in every key.

The pattern

IV – V – iii – vi

F · G · Em · Am

Chord chart

Chord chart
1	F	G	Em	Am

How to sing it

The first two chords climb brightly and the last two fall into shadow, so sing the front of the phrase big and set the back of it down. Around 130 BPM in a fast chorus, four bars fly by in a moment.

In every key

In every key
Keys	Chord chart
C major · Written in this key	F · G · Em · Am
Db major	Gb · Ab · Fm · Bbm
D major	G · A · F#m · Bm
Eb major	Ab · Bb · Gm · Cm
E major	A · B · G#m · C#m
F major	Bb · C · Am · Dm
F# major	B · C# · A#m · D#m
G major	C · D · Bm · Em
Ab major	Db · Eb · Cm · Fm
A major	D · E · C#m · F#m
Bb major	Eb · F · Dm · Gm
B major	E · F# · D#m · G#m

Heard in

夜に駆ける (Racing into the Night) · YOASOBI. The chorus is IVM7–V–IIIm7–VIm7, this pattern played with sevenths. The original is in E♭ major, the chorus mixes in another progression, and the ending modulates.
Into the New World (Dasi Mannan Segye) · Girls Generation (SNSD). C–D/C–Bm–Em in G major. The second chord is an inversion with the bass held on C rather than a plain V, so the bass moves less than in this pattern.
plot twist (Cheot Mannameun Gyehoekdaero Doeji Ana) · TWS. B♭–C–Am–Dm in F major, the same four slots as this pattern. Guitar charts often write it in D with a capo on the third fret, so the chord names in a chart can look different.
Rough (Siganeul Dallyeoseo) · GFRIEND. D♭–E♭–Cm–Fm in A♭ major; some sources spell the same chords C#–D#. This describes the section where these four chords cycle, not the whole song.

These songs use this pattern. This is not their chord chart: real recordings differ in key, rhythm and the chords they add.

Public-domain songs with this pattern

No Songbook entry uses this pattern as a run of chords.