Chord stories

The Mario cadence

The Mario cadence is three major chords stepping up to home: ♭VI, ♭VII, I. In C major that is A♭, B♭ and C. It gets its name from Koji Kondo’s music for Super Mario Bros. (1985), where it ends phrases with a fanfare, but it is far older than the game.

Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

homethe acheheroiccinematic

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The Mario cadence

♭VI | ♭VII | I | I

Chord chart The chords of C major ›

A♭, B♭, C: two chords borrowed from C minor, stepping up to the major tonic.

The rock ending

♭VI | ♭VII | I | I

Chord chart The chords of E major ›

C, D, E in E: the same move in an open guitar key.

A♭

Standard

♭VI in C

4R5R35RA♭E♭A♭CE♭A♭

B♭

Standard

♭VII in C

R5R35B♭FB♭DF

C

Standard

I: home

R3RCEGCE

Where the name comes from

The name was coined in 2011 by the blogger behind Game Music Theory, writing about the overworld theme of Super Mario Bros., who said it would do until better terminology was found. The post points out that Kondo did not invent the move: it runs through his music and that of composers he inspired, from the end-of-level fanfare to the airship victory fanfare of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Why it sounds triumphant

A♭ and B♭ are borrowed from C minor, so for two chords the music sounds dark and heroic. Then each chord steps up a whole tone, A♭ to B♭ to C, and the last step lands on the bright major tonic. Because B♭ is not the usual dominant (G), the ending sounds less like a full stop and more like a fanfare.

On guitar

Play it as power chords or barre chords with the same shape moved up two frets at a time: A♭ at the fourth fret, B♭ at the sixth, C at the eighth, all on the low E string. That parallel move is a staple of rock endings, and the second progression above shows it in E: C, D, E, with open chords.

Not the backdoor cadence

The backdoor progression also comes home from ♭VII, but from a seventh chord and usually after iv7: Fm7, B♭7, C in C. It is a jazz move, smoother and darker. The Mario cadence uses plain major chords and a ♭VI, and sounds like a victory. Both are on the chord progressions page.

Questions

What is the Mario cadence?

A ♭VI–♭VII–I cadence: in C major, A♭, B♭, C. It is named after the Super Mario Bros. music by Koji Kondo, where it ends phrases with a fanfare.

Who named the Mario cadence?

The writer of the Game Music Theory blog, in 2011, who said the name would do until better terminology was found.

What is the difference between the Mario cadence and the backdoor cadence?

Both come home from ♭VII. The Mario cadence uses plain major chords, ♭VI–♭VII–I; the backdoor uses seventh chords, usually iv7–♭VII7–I.

How do I play the Mario cadence on guitar?

In E with open chords: C, D, E. Or as barre chords moved up two frets at a time: A♭ (4th fret), B♭ (6th), C (8th).

Sources

More chord stories: The forbidden chord, The saddest chord, The four chord song, The Picardy third, The most beautiful chord, The happiest chord, and famous chords such as the Tristan chord and the Hendrix chord. Also: the guitar chord library, the chord finder and the chords in every key.