Home / Progressions / I–IV–V
Progression · Rock

1-4-5 Chord Progression (I–IV–V)

Three major chords and nothing else — the harmonic skeleton under rock, blues and folk.

The Progression

Key of E major
Key
IIVV

Why It Works

Hear It Played Through

Load the whole progression into the Studio.

Drop I–IV–V straight into the interactive looper, hit play, and hear the full sequence cycle.

Play I–IV–V in the Studio →

Questions about the I–IV–V progression

Why are I, IV and V the three chords everyone learns first?

Because they are the only major chords built from the notes of the major scale, and together they harmonise every note in it. That means you can accompany most simple melodies in a key with nothing but these three, which is exactly why folk, blues and early rock lean on them so heavily.

What key is this I-IV-V in?

E major. E is the I, A is the IV and B is the V. E is a favourite key for guitar because all three chords sit in open position and the low E string doubles the tonic root underneath them.

How is this different from a 12-bar blues?

A 12-bar blues uses the same three chords but fixes them into a 12-bar form and makes all three dominant 7ths. A plain I-IV-V has no set length and uses straight major triads, so it sounds bright and resolved rather than gritty and unsettled.

Related progressions & chords

12-Bar BluesBluesMixolydianRock EChordAChordBChord