I–IV–V, "one, four, five", is the three-chord trick: the home chord and the two major chords on either side of it in the circle of fifths. In C major it is C – F – G. Folk, blues, country, early rock and roll and a lot of punk are made of nothing else, and every other progression on this site is, in some sense, a decoration of it.
Why it works
I, IV and V are the only three major chords in a major key, and between them they contain every note of the scale, so any melody in the key fits. IV is a fifth below home and pulls gently back to it; V is a fifth above and pulls hard. Going I to IV feels like opening a door, going to V feels like leaning forward, and returning to I feels like arriving. Because the three chords are so clearly different in function, a listener can follow a song's shape without hearing anything else.
All three chords live on the white keys of C major. G is sounding: G, B and D.
Orders and variants
I–IV–V–IV
The rock and roll loop, with V falling back to IV instead of home.
I–V–IV
The backwards version, which sounds like classic rock.
In minor
I–iv–V, the minor cadence, with the major V borrowed from harmonic minor.
- I–IV–V–I (C – F – G – C): the full cadence, one bar each.
- I–I–IV–V and I–IV–I–V: the folk and country shapes, with home held longer.
- The 12-bar blues: I, IV and V stretched over twelve bars; see the 12-bar blues progression.
- With sevenths (C7 – F7 – G7): every chord as a dominant seventh, the blues colour.
Songs built on it
- La Bamba, Ritchie Valens (1958)
- Twist and Shout, the Top Notes (1961), the Isley Brothers (1962), the Beatles (1963)
- Hang On Sloopy, the McCoys (1965), as I–IV–V–IV
- Wild Thing, the Troggs (1966)
- Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones (1976)
Related progressions
Piano sounds by the Salamander Grand Piano (Alexander Holm), CC BY 3.0.
