I–vi–IV–V chord progression
The 1950s progression: doo-wop, early rock and roll, and every slow dance since.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 Am F G | Open chords | Play along |
| G | G Em C D | Open chords | Play along |
| D | D Bm G A | Barre chords, or capo 2 with C shapes | Play along |
| A | A F♯m D E | Barre chords, or capo 2 with G shapes | Play along |
| E | E C♯m A B | Barre chords, or capo 4 with C shapes | Play along |
| F | F Dm B♭ C | Barre chords, or capo 5 with C shapes | Play along |
| B♭ | B♭ Gm E♭ F | Barre chords, or capo 3 with G shapes | Play along |
| E♭ | E♭ Cm A♭ B♭ | Barre chords, or capo 3 with C shapes | Play along |
02
Songs that use it
- “Stand by Me” – Ben E. King
- “Every Breath You Take” – The Police
Chords only, as usually played. The songs themselves aren’t included.
03
The change to practise
In C the slowest change is F → G: 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–vi–IV–V in C04