Why is this new Japanese chord progression everywhere now?

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📙Chapters
0:00 The Marusa progression
0:28 Japanese examples
0:43 Western example
0:48 How did it become popular?
1:49 What makes it work?
4:08 Different variations
4:50 What makes it sound Japanese?

[lyanporto]

"why are you being minor" sure is a sentence

[paulgilbert]

Because it's sounds jazzy, i used this progression almost in every gigs i've played. If you want a pop song to sound a little bit jazzy, than using this progression is a must.

[bzargoodboy]

"Do you actually wanna go back home, then why are you being minor?" Quote of the century

[nordv]

Every vocaloid song use this progression, I've been dealing with them for 9 years and is recognizable as f. Also, thanks for doing this video, I transcribe vocaloid songs and I always wondered how this progression is underused in western music, I've seen its usage in so many beautiful and creative ways.

[Fanchen]

The v, I, then back to IV, is really just a ii-V-I in IV.

[claudeimanuel]

I appreciate how bro explained this in both an abstract and logical way AWHYEAH

[PaldenGyatsoYolmo]

0:52 bro I can't unhear rickroll in this

[dianethepunk]

Like a lot of recent trends with popular Japanese music, this has its roots in American R&B and soul. This shows up ALL the time in Motown, with one of the most prominent uses being in All I Do Is Think Of You by The Jackson 5, later sampled by J Dilla in Time: Donut of the Heart.

[EvaFuji]

I've always called this the "just the two of us" progression or VI v i (in the relative minor). It and its variations are extremely popular and I was wondering why nobody ever talked about it.

[philipvargas]

"Do you actually want to go home, then why are you being minor?"

That made me laugh quite a bit, lol. Great video man.

[pingyn]

My brain just clicked and i litterally just understood chord notation thanks to this video. thank you!!

[unitangel]

This is so well articulated. Loved how you explained the way each chord feels.

[vinsonja]

Love the video and music! Here's a dumb and quick breakdown for anyone curious:

Dominant Chord: Major triad + minor 7th, root note = V of the key. (e.g., Key is C Major, Dominant of C is G7)
Secondary Dominant: Same, but root not =/= V of the key (e.g., Key is C Major, Secondary Dominant of F is C7).

How to add a Secondary Dominant to Am in F-Am-Gm-C7 (Key of C Major):

1. Find Am's dominant: E7.
2. Insert it before Am.
3. Result: F-E7-Am-Gm-C7 (IV-III7-vi-v-I7).

A dominant chord has a minor 7th because its linked to the Mixolydian Mode (but that's for another day 😁).

Would love to see you make a video on "Anticipation", when the first beat of the a measure is placed on the "and" of the 4th beat of the measure before it (a staple in japanese music).

[loutlander]

0:08 though of 'Comedy' by Gen Hoshino straight away!

[bann]

props for the shena ringo reference! that's where i learned this progression first as well

[PCDisciple]

Yoru ni Kakeru is jpop perfection, love the chord progression. I’m always looking to understand chord progressions and variations, nice video my man

[Unknownqm]

I love this progression and hear it a lot in Japanese music specifically. It has so much emotion and I just love to hear and also play it. Also a lot of the time I hear the iii and a III (with the added 7) acting as a secondary dominant to the vi, which I think makes the journey from the 3 to the 6 feel so much more emotional, making it feel like it’s reached a home that’s just more unfulfilled than anything. Great vid tho!

[tylwythteg]

This progression breakdown was so effortlessly explained and presented. I'd noticed it before in some songs, but I didn't think it was that prevalent. Awesome. 👌

[TheLogicalStar]

This progression alongside IV V iii vi are my absolutely favs to hear in music. Earned a sub for the descriptive analysis!

[dominiksipos]

The way you explain how the chords feel to you is genius. I really enjoyed this.