The Mario Cadence (♭VI–♭VII–I): the Super Mario “level complete” progression
The Mario Cadence is the three-chord progression ♭VI – ♭VII – I — the triumphant fanfare you hear when Mario slides down the flagpole at the end of a level. It borrows two chords from the parallel minor and resolves up to a bright major tonic, which is exactly why it sounds like victory.
Below we explain how it works and why it lifts, then you can play it in any key with the interactive tool — no need to jump between pages.
Play the Mario Cadence in any key
Pick a key and hear it. Switch instruments, see the chord diagrams and Roman numerals, and loop it — all on this page.
How the Mario Cadence works
Where it comes from
It is the iconic “stage clear” / flagpole fanfare from Super Mario Bros., written by Koji Kondo. The same rising, heroic gesture turns up across video game music and film scores — from Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy victory fanfare to countless training-montage cues — which is why so many people recognise it instantly without knowing its name.
The formula: ♭VI – ♭VII – I
Take a major key and borrow the ♭VI and ♭VII major chords from its parallel minor, then resolve to the major I. In C major that is A♭ – B♭ – C. Both borrowed chords are plain major triads, so the whole cadence is just three major chords — easy to play, instantly effective.
Why it sounds triumphant
Two things do the work. First, the bass climbs by whole steps — ♭6 → ♭7 → 1 — an unbroken ascending push that the ear reads as gathering momentum. Second, the ♭VII acts as a dominant-style approach to the tonic without using a leading tone: instead of the tense half-step pull of a normal V–I, you get a confident whole-step step-up. The result is arrival without anxiety — pure resolution.
Other names for it
Because the borrowed chords come from the Aeolian (natural minor) mode, it is sometimes called an Aeolian cadence. It is a cousin of the jazz “backdoor” resolution (♭VII7 → I), which approaches the tonic from the same ♭7 direction — though the backdoor typically uses a dominant 7th and lands on a I that is often a IMaj7, so the two are related rather than identical.
Play it in other keys
Each key has its own page with chord diagrams, fingerings and a key-specific note:
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the Mario Cadence?
Because its most famous use is the level-complete fanfare in Super Mario Bros., composed by Koji Kondo. The ♭VI–♭VII–I progression plays as Mario finishes a stage, and the tune became one of the most recognisable musical moments in gaming — so the cadence took its nickname.
What songs and games use it?
Beyond the Super Mario Bros. stage-clear fanfare, you hear the same ♭VI–♭VII–I rise in Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy victory fanfare, in The Legend of Zelda, and in film cues built for triumphant arrivals such as training montages. Any short, rising, three-chord “you did it” moment is likely this cadence.
Is the Mario Cadence the same as the backdoor progression?
They are close relatives, not twins. Both approach the tonic from the ♭7 side, but the jazz backdoor usually moves ♭VII7 → IMaj7 with dominant-seventh colour, while the Mario Cadence is three plain major triads (♭VI – ♭VII – I) and leans on the whole-step bass climb for its heroic lift.
What are the Mario Cadence chords?
They are the ♭VI, ♭VII and I major chords of your key. In C that is A♭ – B♭ – C; in G it is E♭ – F – G. Use the tool above to see the chords and diagrams in any of the 12 keys.