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.