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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Sometimes It Snows In April” is commonly recognised as a hauntingly beautiful ballad that features gentle, intricate piano work and tender vocals. Musically, it explores a slightly complex harmonic structure that creates a profound emotive sound spectrum.

“Kiss” by Prince is a classic example showcasing Prince’s unique and complex songwriting abilities. The song is written in the key of A major. The distinctive funk rock style is primarily expressed via dominant and suspended chords. This combined with Prince’s rhythmically tight and syncopated guitar playing gives the song its infectious groove.

“Right Where It Belongs” by Nine Inch Nails is a song characterized by its melodic and harmonic structure. It has a unique yet familiar sound, blending pop and alternative rock elements with its rich chord progression and powerful melody.

“Heartbreaker” by The Rolling Stones is a rock song that exhibits some fundamental rock and blues progressions and chord changes. The chorus of the song is a three-chord progression [E, G, C] that repeats four times.

The chord progression in the chorus of Beck’s “Think I’m In Love” is a fairly simple one that revolves around two key centers, Ab major and Eb major. The main chords used are based on the I-IV-V structure which is common in rock and pop music. It features a major I-IV relationship and an unexpected chord, F major, which adds some harmonic interest.

Prince – Sometimes It Snows In April – Chorus

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Chord Progression

[‘Aadd9’, ‘E/G#’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘E/G#’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘G#7’, ‘F#7sus4’, ‘F#7’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘Bbsus2’, ‘Bsus2’, ‘F#7add11’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘E’]

Chord Progression Analysis

The chords for the chorus are as follows:

– ‘Aadd9’ (‘I add9’)
– ‘E/G#’ (‘V6’)
– ‘Aadd9’ (‘I add9’)
– ‘E/G#’ (‘V6’)
– ‘Aadd9’ (‘I add9’)
– ‘G#7’ (‘V/V7’)
– ‘F#7sus4’ (‘VI7sus4’)
– ‘F#7’ (‘VI7’)
– ‘Aadd9’ (‘I add9’)
– ‘Bbsus2’ (‘bII sus2’, borrowed from Phrygian)
– ‘Bsus2’ (‘II sus2’)
– ‘F#7add11’ (‘VI7 add11’)
– ‘Aadd9’ (‘I add9’)
– ‘E’ (‘V’)

Similar Chord Progressions

Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin contains a similar use of added tone chords and modal mixture:
– ‘Am’ (‘i’)
– ‘G#dim’ (‘vii dim’)
– ‘C’ (‘III’)
– ‘D’ (‘IV’)
– ‘F’ (‘VI’)
– ‘G’ (‘VII’)
– ‘Am’ (‘i’)

‘Hey You’ by Pink Floyd has a comparable chromatic mediant move and usage of sevenths and suspended chords:
– ‘Em7’ (‘i7’)
– ‘D/E’ (‘IVadd9/1st inv’)
– ‘Em’ (‘i’)
– ‘A/C#’ (‘IV/1st inv’)
– ‘D7’ (‘V7’)

Musical Analysis

Prince uses a combination of standard I-V chords (Aadd9, E) along with inversions (E/G#), seventh chords (F#7sus4, F#7, G#7), and suspended chords (Bbsus2, Bsus2) which provide tension and variety while maintaining a strong sense of tonality. The use of the bII sus2 (Bbsus2) chord, which is borrowed from the Phrygian mode, is a particularly interesting choice that further creates harmonic tension and ambiguity.

Overall Analysis

The progression for the chorus of “Sometimes It Snows In April” by Prince exhibits a rich mixture of non- diatonic chords and borrowed chords. The tonal center of the song is A, but it doesn’t strictly follow a specific major or minor scale, creating an interesting blend of light and dark tonalities. This characteristic is a common feature in Prince’s works, showing his notable talent for blending the traditional with the unconventional.

Style Analysis

Prince’s harmonic language in ‘Sometimes It Snows In April’ is a good example of his soulful and complex writing style. His use of add9 and sus2 chords give the piece very lush and open sonorities, while the IV7 and V7 chords provide bluesy and jazzy tensions. The flattened II from the Phrygian mode offers an exotic twist characteristic of Prince’s innovative songwriting.

Chords in the Chorus section of Sometimes It Snows In April by Prince are:

[‘Aadd9’, ‘E/G#’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘E/G#’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘G#7’, ‘F#7sus4’, ‘F#7’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘Bbsus2’, ‘Bsus2’, ‘F#7add11’, ‘Aadd9’, ‘E’]