The progression
The royal road (王道進行, ōdō shinkō, “royal road progression”) is IVmaj7 – V7 – iii7 – vi (often vi7). In C: Fmaj7 – G7 – Em7 – Am7. It is the signature progression of J-pop, anime and Japanese video game music. It is also called koakuma (小悪魔コード進行, “little devil”), a name coined by the producer Seiji Kameda on an NHK broadcast in 2014.
Functional analysis
| Chord | Fmaj7 | G7 | Em7 | Am7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree | IVmaj7 | V7 | iii7 | vi7 |
| Function (Riemann) | S | D | Dp/Tg | Tp |
- IV → V: rises toward the dominant and builds anticipation.
- V7 → iii7: a “soft” deceptive cadence: instead of the tonic (C), its stand-in Em arrives (which contains E G B, two notes of C).
- iii → vi: descending-fifth motion (Em → Am), like a small cadence in A minor.
The result: tension toward the major that resolves into the minor. It is “bittersweet,” emotional, and perfect for choruses.
Voice leading (example)
- Fmaj7: A C E F
- G7: B D F G (or G7/F: the seventh in the bass)
- Em7: B D E G
- Am7: C E G A
The notes E and G often stay common, and the bass descends F – G – E – A or, with G7/F, stays on F and drops to E: the G7/F variant (third inversion) is typical of orchestral pop.
Variants
| Variant | C major | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| With resolution | Fmaj7 G7 Em7 Am7 Dm7 G7 C | links up to a ii–V–I (cycle of fifths) |
| With secondary dominant | Fmaj7 G7 E7 Am7 | E7 = V/vi, more dramatic |
| With tonic | Fmaj7 G7 Cmaj7 Am7 | less “deception” |
| With ii | Dm7 G7 Em7 Am7 | |
| With viiø | Fmaj7 Bø7 Em7 Am7 | |
| In minor | bVImaj7 bVII7 v7 i (Fmaj7 G7 Em7 Am in A minor) | same notes: it is the royal road read from the relative minor |
In minor, the reading iv7 – v7 – IIImaj7 – VI is another variant that is often cited.
Examples
- Sources trace one of the earliest uses to Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara by Yumi Arai (1974).
- Recent J-pop: YOASOBI, Yoru ni Kakeru (2019) and many anime songs.
- In the West the same IV–V–iii–vi sequence appears in Silk Sonic, Leave the Door Open, Taylor Swift, Starlight and others, according to the analyses collected on Wikipedia.
Typical harmonic rhythm
In J-pop, often 2 chords per bar (one chord every 2 beats) in the chorus, at 140–180 BPM, or 1 chord per bar in ballads at 70–90 BPM.
Producer exercise
- 4 bars in C at 150 BPM: Fmaj7 – G7 – Em7 – Am7 (1 per bar), then Dm7 – G7 – C (2 bars).
- Piano with open voicings + pizzicato strings in eighth notes + pop-rock drums with eighth-note hi-hat.
- Write a melody that rises over the first two bars and falls over the last two (arch contour), with a long note on E over Am7 (the fifth, consonant and bright); then try the B (ninth) for a more suspended color.
Related
Deceptive cadence and variants, the “Just the Two of Us” progression (丸サ進行), K-pop and modern pop progressions, Riemann functions, advanced harmonic rhythm.