Happy Song · Rock
D · G · A · Bm
I · IV · V · vi in the key of D
Four chords you can sing almost anything over. Adam teaches these early, because once they are under your fingers you have a few hundred songs.
Four bars of happy song in the key of D, written I · IV · V · vi and played driving 8ths over a backbeat groove at around 132 beats per minute. The chord shapes are below, and you can hear the whole thing play (and slow it down) without an account.
Opens in the Progression Lab. No account, nothing to sign in to. Ten minutes of playback a day, and an hour with a free account.
What the chords are
This is I · IV · V · vi in the key of D. The degree of each chord is what makes the progression recognisable in any key, so the same four moves transpose anywhere once you know them by number.
- D I up at the 2nd fret, spanning to the 4th, on 3 strings
- G IV up at the 3rd fret, spanning to the 4th, on 3 strings
- A V up at the 5th fret, spanning to the 6th, on 3 strings
- Bm vi at the 7th fret, on 3 strings
How it should feel
- Strum
- Driving 8ths
- Groove
- Backbeat
- Tempo
- 132 bpm
- Key
- D
- Voicings
- The Climb
The top voice steps upward through the progression — a melody rising inside the chords.
The shapes
Low E on the left, high e on the right. 0 is an open string, × is one you do not play.
| Chord | E | A | D | G | B | e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | × | × | 4 | 2 | 3 | × |
| G | × | × | × | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| A | × | × | × | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Bm | × | × | × | 7 | 7 | 7 |
More Rock
Posted . Part of a growing library of guitar chord progressions.