Axis Rotation
In C it is Am, F, C, G. Those are the four chords of the axis progression, started one step further along, and nothing else about them changes. Your ear still hears a different home.
- 4 chords
- starts on the vi
- 12 songs below
same family
The progression
vi - IV - I - V
Why it works
Your ear decides where home is mostly from where a loop starts and where it lands. Begin on the vi and the minor chord becomes the centre, so the same four chords that sounded cheerful now sound wistful. Nothing about the harmony has moved. What moved is the listener.
Hear it in context
Twelve songs that begin on the minor chord. Play the axis first and then this rotation, and the same four chords arrive somewhere else.
- Behind Blue Eyes
- Save Tonight
- Complicated
- Numb
- Kids
- Apologize
- Grenade
- Counting Stars
- Clarity
- Let It Go
- All of Me
- Shivers
Make it yours
- Try all four starting points
There are four rotations and each one is a usable progression with its own character.
- Watch the last chord
Whatever you end on has almost as much say in where home is as what you start on.
- Let the melody vote
If your tune keeps landing on the minor, the rotation starting there will feel more natural to sing.
When to reach for it
When the axis is right for your song but the mood is not. Rotating costs nothing and changes everything about how the loop lands.
When to leave it alone
When the song needs an actual key change. Rotation shifts the centre without leaving the key, which is a smaller move than it sounds.