The passamezzo antico was a ground bass or chord progression

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

 popular during the Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

 and known throughout Europe in the 16th century. The progression is a variant of the double tonic

Double tonic

A double tonic is a chord progression, melodic motion, or shift of level consisting of a, "regular back-and-forth motion," in melody similar to Bruno Nettl's pendulum type though it uses small intervals, most often a whole tone though may be almost a semitone to a minor third .It is extremely...

: its major mode variant is known as the passamezzo moderno

Passamezzo moderno

The Gregory Walker or passamezzo moderno was "one of the most popular harmonic formulae in the Renaissance period, divid[ing] into two complementary strains thus:"....

.

The sequence consists of two phrases

Phrase (music)

In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...

 as follows: (For an explanation of this notation see Chord progression

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

)

i	VII	i	V
III	VII	i V	i

In the key of A minor this gives:

Am	G	Am	E
C	G	Am E	Am

The romanesca

Romanesca

Romanesca was a song form popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was most popular with Italian composers of the early Baroque period...

 is a variant of the passamezzo antico where the first chord is chord III (ie, a C in A minor). A famous example is "Greensleeves

Greensleeves

"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song and tune, a ground of the form called a romanesca.A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves". It then appears in the surviving A Handful of...

".

The passamezzo antico chord changes are found, knowingly or not, in modern popular music culture: Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

's debut album Some Hearts has two examples, "Before he Cheats" (a big US hit in 2006) and "Starts with Goodbye". "Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...

" by Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

is essentially a variant of the progression.