Progression · I–II–IV–V

I–II–IV–V Progression

13 songs from the corpus share this chord-degree set — open one to see and hear the real chords on an interactive fretboard.

RockRock And RollCountrySurf RockBeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

What I–II–IV–V means

Every song below plays chords built on these scale degrees: I = degree 1, II = degree 2, IV = degree 4, V = degree 5 — relative to whatever key that song is actually in. The degrees are the same; the real chords are different in every key, which is exactly why the same progression can sound totally different from one song to the next.

Hear it in E major

One real voicing for each degree, in a key real songs in this set are actually written in — tap any diagram to hear it strummed.

13 songs built on I–II–IV–V

Bob SegerEven NowE major: E - F# - A - B Bob SegerRock And Roll Never ForgetsE major: E - F#7 - A - B7 Elvis PresleyGuitar ManDb major: Db7 - Eb7 - Gb7 - Ab7 Elvis PresleyI Really Don't Want To KnowC major: C - D7 - F - G7 Elvis PresleyJudyG major: G - A7 - C - D7 Elvis PresleyOne NightE major: E - F#7 - A - B7 Jerry ReedKo-Ko JoeA major: A - B7 - D7 - E7 Marty RobbinsI Walk AloneC major: C - D7 - F - G Roger MillerYou Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo HerdG major: G - A7 - C - D7 Rolling StonesHonky Tonk WomenG major: G - A - C - D Stray CatsRock This TownD major: D - E7 - G - A The Beach BoysSurfin' SafariA major: A - B - D - E The Music ExplosionLittle Bit O' SoulF# major: F# - G# - B - C#

Closely related progressions

I–IV–V48 songs I–II–IV–V–vi12 songs I–II–IV–V–VI7 songs I–II–IV–V–bVII4 songs
🎭 Character: V (the dominant) has the strongest pull back to I of any diatonic chord — its own third is the key's leading tone, the single note that wants most to resolve upward. IV (the subdominant) is what produces a plagal, hymn-like “amen” cadence when it resolves straight to I, skipping V entirely.
🔄 Inversions: An inversion is the same chord with a different note in the bass — first inversion puts the 3rd on the bottom, second inversion the 5th. Try playing any chord above with its 3rd or 5th as the lowest note instead of the root: the chord itself doesn't change, but the bass line moves by step instead of jumping around, which is what makes a progression feel smoother from one chord to the next.

Learn the theory

Music TheoryRoman Numeral Analysis Music TheoryCommon Progressions by Genre

Hear any progression instantly

Build a progression in any key and hear it played back on a live fretboard, or drop in a track and see which one it's actually using.

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