Chord progression · D♭ major

Three-chord rock (I–IV–V–IV) in D♭ major

The three primary chords of a key — the backbone of rock ’n’ roll, folk, country and punk. Learn this and you can play along with thousands of songs.

Heard in “La Bamba” – Ritchie Valens, “Twist and Shout” – The Isley Brothers and many more.

Chords in D♭ major
D♭→G♭→A♭→G♭
Numerals
IIVVIV

Play along

4 bars of 4 beats, looping · pick a key above to transpose

1D♭I
2G♭IV
3A♭V
4G♭IV

Strum pattern: ↓   ↓↑  ↑↓↑ (down, down-up, up-down-up) — count “1 2 & 3 & 4 &”. Learn this strum →

The chords

I D♭
4fr×1D♭2A♭3D♭4F1A♭
1A♭2D♭3F4D♭
C4FD♭A♭D♭ F A♭
IV G♭
1G♭3D♭4G♭2B♭1D♭1G♭
4B♭1D♭3G♭2B♭
C4D♭G♭B♭G♭/D♭
V A♭
4fr1A♭3E♭4A♭2C1E♭1A♭
1A♭2E♭4A♭3C
CE♭A♭A♭/C

Piano voicings use inversions so each chord is as close as possible to the one before — your hand barely moves. Switch to “Root position” to compare.