Resolutions

This is not about New Year.

What makes music—chord progressions, speaking specifically—so pleasant to the ear? What makes a “I IV V I” progression sound good? Furthermore, how do we define good chord progressions? Lately in a lot of pop music I’ve been seeing a lot of “VI - VII - i” progressions (e.g. California Gurls, Tik Tok). How does the resolution to the tonic minor sound pleasing? or some unorthodox chord? For example, a progression in Fleet Foxes’s song “Blue Ridge Mountains” resolves on a B7+13 chord. What? I’ve also seen a lot of Broadway musical scores resolve on 7 chords. Last week, while performing for a musical (Snoopy, if you’re interested), I noticed many resolutions on 7 chords.

Speaking very very broadly, how do we define “good music?” Look past genres, and instead look at how the songs are constructed, and how it pleases not the masses, but the ear.

I bet that’s how Lady Gaga is so successful.