Wild Thing · Rock
A · D · E · D
I · IV · V · IV in the key of Am
Three chords, sixty years of garages. If it feels obvious, it is working.
Four bars of wild thing in the key of Am, written I · IV · V · IV and played driving 8ths over a backbeat groove at around 116 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 · IV in the key of Am. 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 10th fret, spanning to the 12th, on 3 strings
- D IV up at the 10th fret, spanning to the 12th, on all six strings
- E V up at the 7th fret, spanning to the 9th, on 5 strings
- D IV up at the 3rd fret, spanning to the 5th, on 3 strings
How it should feel
- Strum
- Driving 8ths
- Groove
- Backbeat
- Tempo
- 116 bpm
- Key
- Am
- Voicings
- Low & Wide
Open-voiced shapes down the neck — wide, ringing, cinematic.
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 | × | × | 11 | × | 10 | 12 |
| D | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| E | × | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| D | × | × | 4 | × | 3 | 5 |
More Rock
- A · G · D · A I · ♭VII · IV in Am · The Big Climb
- A · D · E · F#m I · IV · V · vi in Am · Happy Song
- E · A · B · A I · IV · V · IV in E · Wild Thing
- D · C · G · D I · ♭VII · IV in D · The Big Climb
Posted . Part of a growing library of guitar chord progressions.