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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John is a heart-touching love song that carries a smooth flowing blend of pop and soft rock, showing Elton John’s inclination to use diatonic (major and minor) chords, 7th chords and inversions. The song, largely stays in its home key of C major, has an interesting chord progression that shifts between the tonic, subdominant, and dominant. Internally, there are multiple secondary dominant chords and borrowing from the parallel minor, providing color and contrast.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, is characterized by a lush, cinematic melody that encapsulates John’s knack for crafting pop ballad choruses. Its base key is D Major, showcasing a mix of diatonic, dominant seventh, and borrowed chords. Its diverse chord progression is reflective of Elton John’s diverse influences, which include pop, rock, blues, and classical music.

The song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles is cheerful and upbeat, with accessible melodies that catch the audience’s attention immediately. The rhythm is contagious and gives a happy atmosphere to the whole song. It is a perfect example of the early influences of rock ‘n’ roll on The Beatles, with a chord progression that is quite common in pop/rock music but showcases The Beatles’ ability to create fresh and unique melodic ideas.

“Cant Buy Me Love” by The Beatles, is a song in the key of C Major, but it has an interesting harmonic structure, especially in the chorus. The song features a number of borrowed and secondary dominant chords to create tension that resolves into the tonic chord. The chorus’s progression can be seen as a series of descending minor thirds, with an unexpected shift to a ii-V-I progression which is quite popular in jazz music.

The chord progression for Radiohead’s “All I Need” chorus features a simple and repetitive structure, with a strong emphasis on the tonic (C major) and its relative minor (E minor). The progression then ends with a brief move to the dominant (G major), before returning to the tonic. This accessible sequence reflects the song’s emotional vulnerability and simplicity, while also showcasing the band’s ability to create emotional depth in their music.

Elton John – Can You Feel The Love Tonight – Chorus

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Chord Progression

[‘G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Em’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Em’, ‘G/D’, ‘C’, ‘Am’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Em’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Em’, ‘G/D’, ‘C’, ‘Am’, ‘G’, ‘C/D’, ‘C/G’, ‘G’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Here’s the Roman numeral analysis of the listed chord progression, and their full chord names:

“`
G (I)
D/F# (V6)
Em (vi)
C (IV)
G (I)
C (IV)
A/C# (♭II6, borrowed chord)
D (V)
C (IV)
G/B (I6)
Em (vi)
G/D (I6/4)
C(IV)
Am (ii)
G (I)
C (IV)
A/C# (♭II6 , borrowed chord)
D (V)
G (I)
D/F# (V6)
Em (vi)
C (IV)
G (I)
C (IV)
A/C# (♭II6, borrowed chord)
D (V)
C (IV)
G/B (I6)
Em (vi)
G/D (I6/4)
C (IV)
Am (ii)
G (I)
C/D (IV6/4)
C/G (IV6/4)
G (I)
“`

The line beginning with ‘G’, ‘D/F’ and so on is your original list of chords.

Similar Chord Progressions

1) The song “Let it Be” by The Beatles exhibits a similar chord progression, primarily using the I-IV-V (G-C-D in its case) with the sparing use of vi (Em) and ii (Am). Their original progression: [‘G’, ‘D’, ‘Em’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘D’]

2) The song “The House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals follows the I-IV (Am-C) progression while occasionally using the V (E) and borrowing a D (ii) from G major. The original progression is [‘Am’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘F’, ‘Am’, ‘E’, ‘Am’].

Note that these are not exact matches, but they share similar elements with the progression in “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”. The borrowed chord and inversions utilized by Elton John distinguishes his song from these examples, thus further expressing his unique style.

Musical Analysis

This song is built largely upon the I-IV-V-vi-ii progressions, traditional in many pop songs. The A/C# chord is borrowed, likely from D Major’s chords as it is the fifth of D. This borrowed chord adds a unique flare to the standard pop ballad progression, adding a sense of leading towards the ‘D’ chord. The inclusion of inversions, chords whose root notes are not the lowest note of the chord, further adds to the uniqueness of the song.

Overall Analysis

“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” is a pop ballad written in the key of G major. The progression makes traditional use of the G major chord scale with a notable exception of a borrowed chord A/C#.

Style Analysis

Pop ballads like this tend to lean heavily on emotionally evocative melodies and chord progressions, and Elton John, with his characteristic blend of pop and classical elements, makes full use of these techniques. The chord progression is smooth, with seamless transitions between chords enabling Elton John’s famous melodic style to shine through.

Chords in the Chorus section of Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John are:

[‘G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Em’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Em’, ‘G/D’, ‘C’, ‘Am’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Em’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘A/C#’, ‘D’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Em’, ‘G/D’, ‘C’, ‘Am’, ‘G’, ‘C/D’, ‘C/G’, ‘G’]