Analysis of 680,000 Chord Progressions: Music, Data, and Simplicity An examination of the chords underlying popular songs provides insights into music trends. Chris Dalla Riva’s study of 680,000 songs, featured on Can’t Get Much Higher , reveals changes in musical composition and their implications for popular music's evolution. Key Findings: Major Chords Prevalent: G major and C major are the most frequently used chords, making up nearly a quarter of all chords in the dataset. These chords are commonly found in genres such as country and pop. Genre Differences: Country music predominantly uses major chords (G, C, D, A, F), which together constitute 61% of all country chords. Jazz, in contrast, utilizes a wider range of chords, with these same chords comprising only 39%. Chord Complexity by Genre: Jazz is notable for its frequent use of 7th chords, which appear 2.5 to 13 times more often in jazz compared to other genres. Punk heavily employs power chords, while genres...