“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a masterful example of the band’s ability to incorporate a variety of musical elements into a rock setting. This song, in particular, unites a classic rock ‘n roll backbone with an exotic influence, likely derived from Eastern music, especially with the use of the sitar.
“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a famous Rock song heavily influenced by the Indian classical form of music called Raga rock. The song is written in E minor and it has a very distinctively descending minor key tonality. The chords progression in the verse sequence doesn’t follow the conventional rules of western tonal harmony as it navigates through various key centers, showcasing the bands exploration of exotic and unconventional songwriting.
“Beast of Burden” by The Rolling Stones uses a common rock arrangement with a focus on the V, I, and vi chords. The distinguishing factor for this particular progression is its consistent use of inverted chords to create more linear, and stepwise, bass lines.
“Wild Horses” by the Rolling Stones is performed in the key of G major. However, the initial chord progression beginning on B minor gives it a modal feel, specifically borrowing chords from G Lydian mode (IV of D Major). It’s an interesting mixture of folky rock with a touch of the blues, and the chord progression is largely based around the typical I-IV-V progression found in many rock songs, but with many deviations and additions.
Key: G Major
“Glory Box” by Portishead from the album Dummy (1994) presents a haunting and somewhat melancholy ambience commonly found in their trademark trip-hop style. This song, in particular, draws from a palette of jazz-influenced harmony. The chords used, their extensions, and inversions, conjure complexity beyond basic triadic harmony. The chord progression listed appears to be in the key of D minor and employs common jazz techniques like ii-V-I progressions and usage of the half-diminished chord.
“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.
–
“Paint It, Black” is in E minor key, with verse 3 having an exciting harmonic progression: Em – B – Em – B – Em – D – G – D – Em – Em – D – G – D – A – B. The chord progression suggests that the Rolling Stones utilise borrowed chords to impose an air of ambiguity that reflects the song’s lyrical themes. Additionally, this song is a blend of rock and raga rock style and exemplifies the Stones’ 1960s exploration into psychedelia and Eastern musical styles.
“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a famous Rock song heavily influenced by the Indian classical form of music called Raga rock. The song is written in E minor and it has a very distinctively descending minor key tonality. The chords progression in the verse sequence doesn’t follow the conventional rules of western tonal harmony as it navigates through various key centers, showcasing the bands exploration of exotic and unconventional songwriting.
“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a masterful example of the band’s ability to incorporate a variety of musical elements into a rock setting. This song, in particular, unites a classic rock ‘n roll backbone with an exotic influence, likely derived from Eastern music, especially with the use of the sitar.
**
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones is built around major tonality and uses direct and simple progressions. It also features what are known as additive chords (Gadd9) – chords to which notes are added beyond the common triad. The song commences in the key of G Major, indicated by the G, Gadd9, and C chords. These chords progress in an almost continual cyclical pattern across the verses. Here, the dominant chord (D) in the key of G Major is absent, which grants a tonal ambiguity to the song. Interestingly, the song takes a departure into a different key later on which will not be included in this analysis as it pertains to the Verse only.
**
**
“Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones is a classic rock track steeped in the blues tradition. The song is played in the key of G Major and primarily uses chords G, C, A, and D.
**Chorus
“Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones is a classic rock song heavily influenced by country and blues. The song is characterized by both major and minor chords, primarily G, C, A, and D. The song is in the key of G major from the verse 1 progression you provided, and it has elements of both I-IV-V and I-V-vi-IV.
Verse 1
“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.
“Heartbreaker” by The Rolling Stones is a classic rock song that utilizes a chord progression that is stereotypical of the genre. The verse and chorus unfold in the key of E minor, with the verse using primarily a cycle of Em7 and Am7. In terms of musical mood and expressivity, the progression conveys a melancholic yet energetic feeling, which is characteristic of the rock genre.
The chord progression can be divided into three main sections (please see the details below). The first section is based around the I chord (C), the second section introduces the IV chord (F), then it returns to the I chord. The third section introduces a borrowed chord (bVII – Bb from C Mixolydian), a V chord (G), then returns to the I chord with a brief excursion back to the V chord. There is repetition in this section with the return to the I chord.
“Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones, off their 1971 album Sticky Fingers, is in the key of C major, and primarily uses the chords C, F, G and Bb. This song showcases the band’s blues rock influences, built on a repetitive, riff-driven chord progression. The use of I, IV, V, and a borrowed bVII (Bb), which is common in the blues, creates an appealing and familiar sound, helping the song resonate with listeners.
“Dead Flowers” by The Rolling Stones, from their album “Sticky Fingers” (1971), features a fairly straightforward repetitive chord progression of D, A, G, D in the verse. The key here is D Major. This common progression falls into a I-V-IV-I pattern known as a “plagal cadence”. It’s a progression which consists of a major key followed by its dominant (V), then its subdominant (IV), taking us back to the tonic (I).
Copyright 2025 ©
Site by kylealtenderfer.com