Wild Thing · Rock
E · A · B · A
I · IV · V · IV in the key of E
Three chords, sixty years of garages. If it feels obvious, it is working.
Four bars of wild thing in the key of E, 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 E. 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.
- E I up at the 7th fret, spanning to the 9th, on 3 strings
- A IV up at the 9th fret, spanning to the 11th, on 3 strings
- B V up at the 7th fret, spanning to the 9th, on 3 strings
- A IV up at the 5th fret, spanning to the 7th, on 3 strings
How it should feel
- Strum
- Driving 8ths
- Groove
- Backbeat
- Tempo
- 116 bpm
- Key
- E
- Voicings
- The Fall
The top voice walks down instead. Same chords, opposite story.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | × | × | × | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| A | × | × | 11 | 9 | 10 | × |
| B | × | × | 9 | 8 | 7 | × |
| A | × | × | 7 | 6 | 5 | × |
More Rock
Posted . Part of a growing library of guitar chord progressions.