Bass Exercises: The I IV And V Chords

The I IV And V Chords Exercises

Bass Exercise #1: Wild Louie

You may recognize this I, IV, and V progression from songs like Wild Thing and Louie Louie. The example just plays roots to each of the three chords.

Bass Exercise #2: Bamba and Shout

This I, IV, V progression is the same as La Bamba, Twist and Shout, and many other songs. Notice in bar 2 we go to the higher root notes while in bar 4 we go to the lower ones. It works either way.

Bass Exercise #3: Using I IV and V Triads

Now we are outlining the G (I) and C (IV) major triads to create a more interesting bassline.

Bass Exercise #4: I IV I V Progression in A

This I IV I V chord progression in A Major is like the song Brown-Eyed Girl and many others. This is a different fingering for major triads than I showed you, but it is very common to play them this way.