Ed Sheeran successfully defended his copyright court case, what is chord progression and why do so many songs use it?

Question

I watched a video where he demonstrated that many songs use the same tune / Chord progression (?). What is chord progression and why was the one in question essentially uncopyrightable?

In: 531

Answer 1

Chords are different groupings of musical notes played at the same time that make a nice harmonic sound. A chord progression is when going through the song the chords are changed in sequence that builds a foundation for the song.

Good chord progressions sound good so they’re used a lot. Here’s an 11 year old YouTube video called “4 Chords” that demonstrates this whole concept. https://youtu.be/oOlDewpCfZQ

(I do not know specifically what chord progression is in question in this case though)