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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Landslide” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a cover of the original song by Fleetwood Mac, and it blends rock and folk styles. The song features a variety of chords which predominantly mixes major and minor chords to evoke strong emotions. The simple yet effective chord progression emphasizes the sentiment of the lyrics, illustrating the theme of introspection and feeling a loss of control.

“Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a rock song happy to embrace classical music tropes. An orchestral, string-heavy arrangement propels the song, surrounding the listener with a rich tapestry of sound. The grandiose sound of the full orchestra is bolstered by the band’s dual guitars and Billy Corgan’s characteristic singing.

“House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals is a well-known folk song that has been adapted into a blues ballad with a haunting quality. The verse chord progression features a combination of minor and major chords that contribute to its emotional intensity, while also creating a sense of tension and resolution.

The Verse 3 chord progression in Muse’s cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” is a fairly simple progression that features harmonic devices such as seventh chords, borrowed chords, and a half-diminished chord. This progression incorporates some jazz and pop influences into a stylistically cohesive and engaging harmonic landscape.

“Yet Again” by Grizzly Bear uses a repetitive verse structure that has a fairly common, major-oriented progression, but develops interest by alternating the exact sequence of chords that it employs. This gives the song a haunting but familiar atmosphere. The mixture of minor and major chords, along with the presence of a borrowed chord, creates tension and release within each verse.

The Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide – Verse 3

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Chord Progression

[‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Here’s a detailed chord progression analysis with complete chord names and their corresponding roman numeral forms:

– C Major (‘I’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– A minor (‘vi’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– C Major (‘I’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– A minor (‘vi’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– C Major (‘I’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– A minor (‘vi’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– C Major (‘I’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– A minor (‘vi’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– C Major (‘I’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– G6 (‘V6’)
– A minor (‘vi’)
– G6 (‘V6’)

Similar Chord Progressions

1. “Wonderwall” by Oasis
– Progression: Em7 (‘ii7’) – G (‘V’) – Dsus4 (‘IVsus4’) – A7sus4 (‘VII7sus4’)

2. “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin
– Progression: Am (‘vi’) – D/F# (‘II#’) – G/F (‘bVII/F’) – G (‘V’) – Am (‘vi’)

Each of these songs use similar technique of alternating between major and minor chords, creating a memorable tonal landscape that moves the listener. “Wonderwall” also uses a type of 6th chord (A7sus4) that, similar to “Landslide”, creates a unique and distinctive sound.

Musical Analysis

The structure of C – G6 – G6 – Am, repeated several times, beautifully leads into each other, building suspense before resolving back to the C. The G6 chord acts as a transition chord leading to the Am, and then once again leads back to the C, effectively outlining the tonal center of the piece.

Overall Analysis

“Landslide” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a subtly complicated piece of music. At first glance, the chord progression may seem simple, but it actually incorporates a number of rich musical techniques that give the song its iconic depth and emotional resonance. The song follows a simple yet powerful chord progression and relies heavily on the interplay between the root C major chord, the G6, and the Am minor. There is a recurring theme of returning to the G6, which creates tension and suggests feelings of melancholy or introspection.

Style Analysis

The dominant use of G6 gives a nod to the band’s alternative-rock style, as this is not a conventional chord that is traditionally used. The Smashing Pumpkins have been known for their grunge and heavy metal influences, and incorporating such chords adds a layer of musical sophistication and unpredictability to their songs.

Chords in the Verse 3 section of Landslide by The Smashing Pumpkins are:

[‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘C’, ‘G6’, ‘G6’, ‘Am’, ‘G6’]