I–IV–V · A♭ major

A♭ – D♭ – E♭

IA♭ · A♭ C E♭

IVD♭ · D♭ F A♭

VE♭ · E♭ G B♭

A♭ – D♭ – E♭: the three primary chords of A♭ major, and the skeleton of the blues, rock and roll and folk — “Twist and Shout” and “La Bamba” are this progression with one chord repeated.

Smooth voicings — root in the left hand

The right hand takes whichever inversion is nearest, so it moves by a step or two instead of jumping.

A♭ I · root position

1 · 3 · 5 over A♭ in the bass

D♭ IV · second inversion

5 · 1 · 3 over D♭ in the bass

E♭ V · second inversion

5 · 1 · 3 over E♭ in the bass

Why it works

Between them the three chords contain every note of the major scale, which is why so many melodies can be harmonised with these three alone.

I–IV–V in every key

C major D♭ major D major E♭ major E major F major F♯ major G major A♭ major A major B♭ major B major

More progressions in A♭

ii–V–I in A♭ major ii–V–i in G♯ minor I–V–vi–IV in A♭ major vi–IV–I–V in A♭ major I–vi–IV–V in A♭ major

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