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How to tell 4 from 5 by ear

By Adrian · 6 October 2026 · 6 min read

Students mix up 4 and 5 when they answer without thinking about what the chord does. Most of the time, one right question makes the confusion disappear.

Why these two get mixed up

4 and 5 are both major chords, and they sit right next to each other: in the key of E, 4 is A and 5 is B. Both take you away from home. So if you only listen for "major or minor" or "home or not home", they sound almost the same.

What makes them different is their job. 4 is movement: the song goes somewhere. 5 is tension: a chord you can't stay on, that wants to go back home. (If these roles are new to you, start with Nashville numbers explained.)

Ask the right question

When a student guesses wrong, I don't play the chord again and wait. I ask:

What feeling does this chord give you? What feeling does it create for the listener?

Not "which chord was it?", but what it does. Try it now. Both examples start at home on E, then stop on the second chord and let it ring.

Step forward, step back, sit down

In lessons, I sometimes show the feeling with my whole body. I get up from my chair, and then:

The student watches me move, and the movement makes the feeling clearer. You can do it at home too. Stand next to your chair, play one of these lines and move with it. Even better, ask someone to play it for you, so you can listen with your eyes closed.

Two more things to listen to

The feeling comes first. When you're still not sure, two more things help:

• Follow the bass. Sing along with the lowest note. One note is easier to follow than a whole chord, and on 5 you'll hear the bass wanting to land on 1.
• Listen to the melody note. The melody creates a feeling of its own. When the melody hangs too, it adds to the tension; when it sits on a home note, the moment feels calmer. You'll hear both in the song below.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus, with only 1, 4 and 5

This is the song I usually use to show the difference. I play it in E with only three chords: E is 1, A is 4 and B is 5. Press play on a line to hear the melody with its chords, or play the whole verse.

Now listen to where 4 and 5 fall:

• Lines 1, 3 and 7 end on 4. On "Jesus" and "carry" the song steps forward. The melody sings E and C♯, notes of home, so nothing pulls; the line simply moves on.
• Line 2 ends on 5. On "bear" the melody holds F♯, which leans towards E. Melody and chord hang together, and you wait for the next line to answer.
• Lines 4 and 8 make the whole trip: 1, 5, 1. A short step back on "-thing", then you sit down on "prayer".
• Line 5 starts on 5. "Oh, what peace" begins with tension, and "forfeit" brings it home.
• Line 6 has both: forward on "Oh, what", home on "needless", and back on 5 at "bear", ready for the last two lines.

Your exercise

1. Play the whole verse and move with it: step forward on A, step back on B, sit down on E.
2. Then play it without looking at the chord boxes, and say "forward", "back" or "home" on each chord change.
3. When that feels easy, say the numbers instead: 4, 5, 1.

Whenever you hesitate, don't guess. Ask the question: what feeling does this chord give me?

More: when a chord comes out wrong anyway, read How to stop freezing at the keyboard.