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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles is a track that showcases the band’s fondness for creating complex and textured compositions by combining multiple melody lines with innovative chord sequences in a pop rock context. It features numerous musical styles, including pop, rock, and music hall, which reflects the band’s eclectic musical influences. The Coda of the song takes place in the key of D major.

“Penny Lane” by The Beatles is an eclectic and elegant piece of music evident in its rhythm, harmony, melody, and lyrics. It is predominantly in the key of A Major, but it has several key changes and introduces chords that are non-diatonic, giving it a progressive and unexpected feel.

“Paint It Black” plays with minor tonality, which isn’t extremely common in rock and roll music of the era. The song is in the key of E minor and uses the chords Em, B, D, G, and A. The verse has an interesting use of harmonies, incorporating the minor i, major V, minor iv, major bIII, and major IV chords.

“Lost Cause” by Beck from the album “Sea Change” showcases a melancholic and heartfelt mood with a slow tempo, exuding a sense of introspection and vulnerability. The song can be described as a folk-rock ballad with subtle touches of country and indie rock.

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“Viva la Vida” mostly utilizes a four-chord progression thorough the song which is fairly common in popular music. The verse we are focusing on replicating the verse goes like this: C – D – G – Em. The chord progressions are pretty simple, catchy and give the song an uplifting feel.

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The Beatles – Maxwells Silver Hammer – Verse 2

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Chord Progression

[‘D’, ‘B7’, ‘Em’, ‘A7’, ‘D’, ‘A’, ‘E7’, ‘A7’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Here is the roman numeral analysis and full chord names of Verse 2:

– D Major (I)
– B7 Major (VI7)
– E Minor (ii)
– A7 Major (V7)
– D Major (I)
– A Major (V)
– E7 Major (II7)
– A7 Major (V7)

The E7 Major (II7) and B7 (VI7) are the borrowed chords.

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Borrowed Chords: E7 Major (II7), B7 Major (VI7)
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Similar Chord Progressions

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”

– D Major (I)
– A Major (V)
– G Major (IV)
– D Major (I)

The Monkees’s “I’m a Believer”

– G Major (I)
– D Major (V)
– C Major (IV)
– G Major (I)

These songs employ similar use of dominant and subdominant chords, although the role of secondary dominants is more pronounced in the Beatles’ progression.

Musical Analysis

Chord progression touches different diatonic chords of D Major, the tonic home key. The sudden switch to B7 serves as a secondary dominant that introduces E minor, the subdominant of D major. This is a great example of a chromatic secondary dominant, which The Beatles were known for using. Further, the E7 acts as a secondary dominant to the A7, the dominant of D Major.

Overall Analysis

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney. The song is primarily in the key of D Major and exhibits a mix of major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. This verse progression manifests the distinctive Beatles’ sound which often includes chromaticism and prevalence of secondary dominants that link the chords together, giving a smooth flow and color to the harmonic progression.

Style Analysis

Pick out any Beatles song, and more likely than not, you’ll find it peppered with secondary dominants. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is no exception. The song features a cheerful, upbeat tempo and tone despite its dark lyrical content, a classic Beatles contrast. Time signature is 4/4, maintaining a constant easy beat.

Chords in the Verse 2 section of Maxwells Silver Hammer by The Beatles are:

[‘D’, ‘B7’, ‘Em’, ‘A7’, ‘D’, ‘A’, ‘E7’, ‘A7’]