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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Dont Stop Me Now” by Queen has a key of F major. The song takes you on a journey of a unique blend of chords and progression. Freddie Mercury and the entire band are known for their diverse songwriting abilities, apparent in ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. The chord progression in Verse 2 hints a story-telling stalwart of pop music production – the major-to-relative-minor movement (I to vi), with some interesting additions of minor seven, major seven and diminished seventh chords, giving it a more sophisticated feel.

The key of the song “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy” by Queen is primarily in C Major. The song employs both diatonic chords (chords that naturally occur within the major scale key) and borrowed chords (chords from a parallel mode). There is a bit of modal mixture where the song borrows from an outside key, specifically the minor key, which is often used in pop music to add color and tension. You can see this in the use of some of the chords here like Fm and Eb7. The piece also utilizes secondary dominant chords and diminished chords. In the bridge, there is modulation to different keys, namely to Fm, which is a parallel minor of F, includes Eb7 (secondary dominant) and Ab (borrowed chord), and goes through sequence of V-I pattern (G7-C).

The key of the song is D major which makes it easier to analyze the chord progression according to the diatonic scale in the key of D Major.

“Someone to Love” by Queen exhibits a blend of rock and gospel music, showcasing their musical brilliance and theatrical elements. The chord progression forms a classic example of a departure from the typical I-IV-V root progression seen in much of popular western music, demonstrating Queen’s ingenious writing style.

“Paper Tiger” by Beck is a song from his album “Sea Change,” released in 2002. The style of this song is primarily alternative rock, with elements of psychedelia and baroque pop. The outro of “Paper Tiger” features a simple chord progression of E, E7, and Bm, with interesting harmonic techniques, such as secondary dominants and borrowed chords.

Queen – Dont Stop Me Now – Outro

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Chord Progression

[‘F’, ‘F7’, ‘Bb’, ‘Gm7’]

Chord Progression Analysis

– F Major (I)
– F Dominant 7 (V7)
– Bb Major (IV)
– G Minor 7 (vi7)

Similar Chord Progressions

The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ certain sections of the song follow a similar progression:

– A Major (I)
– A Dominant 7 (V7)
– D Major (IV)
– F# Minor 7 (vi7)

Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ also uses a similar progression:

– G Major (I)
– G Dominant 7 (V7)
– C Major (IV)
– E Minor 7 (vi7)

Musical Analysis

The chord progression for the outro combines a traditional I-V7-IV sequence – a common progression in many popular music genres, particularly rock. The usage of Gm7 brings a slight melodic melancholy to the end of the sequence. The movement from F7 to Bb works as a perfect 4th interval progression, resulting in the feeling of resolution; this is a key characteristic of blues and jazz progressions.

Overall Analysis

Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ contains a rich mixture of chord progressions, which is typical of the band’s complex songwriting. The outro of the song makes use of the F, F7, Bb, and Gm7 chords. This progression is in the key of F Major, with F being the tonic (I), F7 being the dominant 7th (V7), Bb being the subdominant (IV) and Gm7 being the submediant 7th (vi7). The Bb chord is a borrowed chord from the parallel minor key (F Minor) and the usage of F7 serves to add a level of tension before resolving to the Bb.

Style Analysis

This progression is indicative of Queen’s songwriting style, showcasing their traditional rock roots infused with elements of jazz and blues. This is evident in the F7 resolution to Bb, a common blues/jazz technique. Meanwhile, the usage of Gm7 is indicative of Brian May’s fondness for complex harmonies and unconventional chord choices.

Chords in the Outro section of Dont Stop Me Now by Queen are:

[‘F’, ‘F7’, ‘Bb’, ‘Gm7’]