What do “Wichita Lineman,” “Close To You,” “Julia,” and “Alone Again Naturally” have in common? Jazz-level chord progressions hiding in plain sight. In this video, we break down how songwriters like ...

However, whichever keys the original songs are in, they do have their chord progressions – their essential formula – in common. To understand this properly, we need to introduce a bit of theory.

The chord progressions in Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” are part of a debate about just how much of a piece of music can be protected by law.