I–ii–IV–V chord progression
A smooth climb up the scale, common in pop, gospel and worship songs.01
In every key
Roman numerals name each chord by its place in the key: I is home, IV and V are the major chords around it, ii, iii and vi the minor ones. The same pattern works in any key.
| Key | Chords | How to play it | Practise |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C Dm F G | Open chords | Play along |
| G | G Am C D | Open chords | Play along |
| D | D Em G A | Open chords | Play along |
| A | A Bm D E | Barre chords, or capo 2 with G shapes | Play along |
| E | E F♯m A B | Barre chords, or capo 2 with D shapes | Play along |
| F | F Gm B♭ C | Barre chords, or capo 3 with D shapes | Play along |
| B♭ | B♭ Cm E♭ F | Barre chords, or capo 3 with G shapes | Play along |
| E♭ | E♭ Fm A♭ B♭ | Barre chords, or capo 1 with D shapes | Play along |
02
Songs that use it
Countless songs use this progression in one part or another, usually in a verse or chorus.
Chords only, as usually played. The songs themselves aren’t included.
03
The change to practise
In C the slowest change is C → Dm: nothing stays down, so land all fingers as one shape.
Play along in time
Chordbyte plays the progression with a metronome and a one-bar count-in, shows each chord as it comes, and has four strumming patterns from one strum per chord to “old faithful”. Pick a key in the table above, or start in C.
Play I–ii–IV–V in C04