References and Resources

4 chords: Music videos: The axis of awesome. YouTube. (2011, July 20). https://youtu.be/oOlDewpCfZQ?si=uOJaak17XcjEl4oM 

This compilation of Common Progression songs serves as a useful reference to observe just how common the Common Progression really is. It is by no means exhaustive, even for the year in which it was released, and more songs are added to the pile each year. 

Capuzzo, G. C. (2004). Neo-Riemannian theory and the analysis of pop-rock music. Music Theory Spectrum, 26(2), 177 - 200. 

https://doi.org/10.1525/mts.2004.26.2.177

This paper helped expand my understanding of how many different forms theoretical analysis can take, and the many challenges that a new system of analysis must be able to tolerate. It was instrumental in my decisions to design a system that could analyze any number and quality of chords. 

Chord progression trends. Songs With The Same Chords. (n.d.). https://www.hooktheory.com/trends

 As referenced elsewhere on this site, this database was helpful in quantifying just how prevalent the Common Progression really is in popular music. They also have a feature that allows the user to search the database by inputting a chord progression to find other songs with the same progression, which helped inspire me to create a way to compare progressions that match in variable degrees.

Pasek, B., & Paul, J. (2019). The greatest showman: Music from the motion picture soundtrack. HAL LEONARD.

This is the songbook I used to check the exact chords found in my analysis.

Warner music. (2017). The greatest showman original motion picture soundtrack [CD].

The music of The Greatest Showman. I haven’t seen the film since it came out, but regular listening to the soundtrack helped my analysis. Sadly. 

White, C. WM., & Quinn, I. (2018). Chord context and harmonic function in tonal music. Music Theory Spectrum, 40(2), 314–337. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90026032

 This study was very informative in understanding the (far more advanced) ways that technology can be used to analyze music, and particularly the challenges of analyzing popular music using traditional analytical tools.