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Related Music Theory Alchemy

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“When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars is in the key of C major. The song relies heavily on diatonic chords and uses a structure that is common in popular music, especially ballads. It follows conventional diatonic chord progressions and also incorporates non-diatonic chords for added tension and resolution.

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The piece “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars showcases a common pop ballad structure that follows a typical 4-chord progression with common tone substitution as well as some chords borrowed from the relative minor. Its simplicity is one of its strengths as it allows the focus to fall on Bruno’s vocals and the lyrics, which matches the direct, emotional content of the song effectively.

“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys is highly complex and represents an exceptional use of harmonic structuring. The richness of the piece lies in Brian Wilson’s innovative and unpredictable songwriting, who was making significant use of modulation at the time, constantly shifting keys, in this case especially during the transition bridge.

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a rock song that alternates between heavy distortion and calm sections. Interestingly, the song is mostly in E minor, but uses a lot of power chords (5th chords) and sus2 chords which give the song a distinctively undecided, floating feeling, as these chords don’t have a clear major or minor character. The song uses a rather straightforward progression with a few deviations and embellishments which provide tension and release.

“Perfect” by The Smashing Pumpkins is written in the key of D major. The song takes a relatively standard and common approach in chord progression, particularly with the cyclical variations that have the onset within a classic pop/rock realm. The tonality and mid-tempo pacing give the song a melancholic and nostalgic tone.

Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man – Bridge

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Chord Progression

[‘F’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Em/G’, ‘D7’, ‘Dm7’, ‘G’]

Chord Progression Analysis

F (‘IV’), G (‘V’), C (‘I’), G/B (‘V’), Am (‘vi’), Em/G (‘iii’), D7 (‘V7 of V’), Dm7 (‘ii7’), G (‘V’)

Similar Chord Progressions

A similar progression can be found in “Let It Be” by The Beatles, which in a key shift, has a comparable progression in its verses:

C (‘I’), G (‘V’), Am (‘vi’), F (‘IV’)

John Legend’s “All of Me” also shares a similar progression to the verse of “When I Was Your Man”:

F (‘IV’), G (‘V’), Am (‘vi’)

In both these songs, just like in “When I Was Your Man”, the progression helps to create a song with strong emotional resonance. It’s a favored choice of many singer-songwriters, allowing the melody and lyrics to take center stage.

Musical Analysis

These chords create a typical pop ballad feel mostly due to the repetition of the IV-V-I progression, which is very common in pop music. But the usage of G/B and Em/G gives the progression a bit more complexity, it creates an emotional impact due to the bass line descending stepwise from G to E.

The D7 chord is a secondary dominant, specifically the dominant of the dominant (V of V), leading us to the G chord. The D7 to Dm7 creates a switch from a major to minor tonality, adding more emotional depth. This change is often used in music to provide a feeling of tension or melancholy.

Overall Analysis

“When I Was Your Man” is a pop power ballad with a chord progression that tends to lean towards traditional pop and soul structures. It’s set in the key of C Major. However, the song has a few interesting deviations from the standard pop song structure.

Style Analysis

Bruno Mars is known for blending a variety of music styles including R&B, soul, pop, funk, and reggae. He also takes influence from older artists and songs, frequently incorporating elements of vintage or nostalgic music into his songs. “When I Was Your Man” takes cues from classic soul and pop ballads, and the emotional depth of the lyrics is matched by the chord progressions.

Chords in the Bridge section of When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars are:

[‘F’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Em/G’, ‘D7’, ‘Dm7’, ‘G’]