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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.

“Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” is a pop song by Elton John from the album “Caribou,” released in 1974. The song is set in the key of C Major, with some interesting chord changes and borrowed chords that are rich and reflective of Elton John’s unique harmonic style. The chorus especially impresses with unexpected chord shifts, demonstrating a sophisticated songwriting technique.

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins is an alternative rock song released in 1995. The song is in the key of E minor and primarily uses power chords derived from the E minor scale throughout the song. Power chords or ‘5’ chords, like B5 or G5, don’t have a major or minor quality and are often used in rock music for their strong and neutral sound. The song also applies modal mixture (borrowing chords from parallel keys) for color and tension.

The chorus of Taylor Swift’s song “ME!” employs a bright and catchy chord progression that’s emblematic of pop music’s joyful and exuberant character. This progression underpins the song’s themes of self-affirmation and positivity, making it an infectious and memorable part of the track.

The chord progression in the chorus of Beck’s “Think I’m In Love” is a fairly simple one that revolves around two key centers, Ab major and Eb major. The main chords used are based on the I-IV-V structure which is common in rock and pop music. It features a major I-IV relationship and an unexpected chord, F major, which adds some harmonic interest.

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’]