Sweet Soul Vamp · R&B / Soul
A · D
I · IV in the key of A
Two chords and a whole Motown catalogue — "My Girl" lives here.
Four bars of sweet soul vamp in the key of A, written I · IV and played quarters over a backbeat groove at around 96 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 in the key of A — 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.
- A I up at the 5th fret, spanning to the 7th, on 3 strings
- D IV at the 7th fret, on 3 strings
How it should feel
- Strum
- Quarters
- Groove
- Backbeat
- Tempo
- 96 bpm
- Key
- A
- Voicings
- Glue
The smallest possible movement between chords. The voices barely leave their seats.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | × | × | 7 | 6 | 5 | × |
| D | × | × | 7 | 7 | 7 | × |
More R&B / Soul
- Am7 · D7 i7 · IV7 in A — Dorian Vamp
- A · F#m7 · D · E7 I · vi7 · IV · V7 in A — Motown Move
- Amaj7 · C#m7 · Dmaj7 · E7 Imaj7 · iii7 · IVmaj7 · V7 in A — Slow Burn
Posted . Part of a growing library of guitar chord progressions.