Navigate I to IV with triads
“The IV chord in bar 5 raised the harmonic stakes — it is the second A line, the echo that deepens the call. In harmonic terms, moving to the IV creates a lift while staying in the same key. Your triad change tracks that lift.”
Feel the IV chord lift at bar 5 in Sweet Home Chicago. Johnson's guitar texture shifts there — can you hear what changes? That harmonic movement is what your triad change is tracking. The new triad should feel like an arrival.
Muddy Waters — Long Distance CallWeek 2 of Month 1. Building stable form, time, and groove.
Day 9 of 26 in this phase.
AMF Systems Today
A major triad shape (IV over E blues)
A-C#-E on strings 5-4-3, root position, clean
Switch E triad → A triad at bar 5
Change triad at the IV chord — feel the arrival
I and IV triads, bars 1–8
Bars 1–4 E triad, bars 5–8 A triad, roots bars 9–12
Listen Before or After
Muddy Waters
“Long Distance Call”
How the IV chord lifts the energy — the harmonic stakes rising