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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Love of My Life” by Queen exhibits a very romantic and classical style, resonant of popular ballads primarily from the classical and romantic periods. The song beautifully plays with complex harmonies, frequent key changes and borrowings from parallel keys (modal mixture), which together yield a dramatic and emotional expression. Many of the chords used, including diminished chords, fully diminished seventh, major-minor seventh chords, and usage of secondary dominants are reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic music.

“Love of My Life” is a stunning ballad written by Freddie Mercury of Queen. The song is written in the key of A major and is primarily played on piano. It features a sophisticated and somewhat unconventional chord progression that serves as the foundation for Mercury’s versatile vocal performance. It’s arguably one of Queen’s more classical-influenced pieces and makes use of borrowed chord techniques frequently, which are commonly associated with the band’s flirtation with different musical styles, including rock, classical, and opera.

“House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals is a well-known folk song that has been adapted into a blues ballad with a haunting quality. The verse chord progression features a combination of minor and major chords that contribute to its emotional intensity, while also creating a sense of tension and resolution.

“I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles is one of the band’s early hits noted for its crafty melodic hooks and harmonic structure attesting to their evolving musical sophistication. The chord progression of Verse 3 is a great reflection of this, using classic pop songwriting techniques such as the predominant use of I, IV and V chords along with a borrowed chord from another mode, that add to the emotional depth of the song.

The chord progression in Verse 3 of Daniel Caesar’s “Get You” consists of a mix of diatonic chords and borrowed chords from the parallel minor. The overall tonality is in the B minor key. The smooth, soulful sound of the progression is achieved through the use of minor chords, mixed with major seventh chords, and the cycle of fifths progression in some measures.

Queen – Love Of My Life – Verse 3

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Chord Progression

[‘Bm’, ‘F#m’, ‘G’, ‘D’, ‘F#’, ‘Bm’, ‘F#m’, ‘B’, ‘Cdim’, ‘B’, ‘Em’, ‘A’, ‘D’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Bm (‘ii’), F#m (‘vi’), G (‘bIII’ – borrowed from the minor scale), D (‘I’), F# (‘V/vi’ – secondary dominant), Bm (‘ii’), F#m (‘vi’), B (‘V’), Cdim (‘viio/vi’ – secondary leading-tone chord), B (‘V’), Em (‘ii’), A (‘V’), D (‘I’)

“`Borrowed chord: G (‘bIII’)“`

Similar Chord Progressions

1. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles: [‘Am’, ‘Am/G’, ‘Am/F#’, ‘Am/F’, ‘Am’, ‘G’, ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘C’, ‘C#dim’, ‘Am/C’, ‘G’, ‘D’, ‘E’]
2. “Hotel California” by The Eagles: [‘Bm’, ‘F#’, ‘A’, ‘E’, ‘G’, ‘D’, ‘Em’, ‘F#’]
3. “Blackbird” by The Beatles: [‘G’, ‘G#dim’, ‘A’, ‘Am7’, ‘G/B’, ‘C’, ‘Cm’, ‘G’, ‘C’, ‘D’]

These songs also use a mix of simple and complex harmony including secondary dominants, borrowed chords, and complex chord voicings, similar to “Love Of My Life”. In particular, they all feature a change in tonal centre at some point in their progression, which is a harmonic trait shared with Queen’s composition.

Musical Analysis

The chord progression has a good mix of stability and instability. It starts in D Major, quickly shifts into the relative minor (Bm), and then uses a borrowed chord from the B minor scale (G) to lead back to D Major. This temporary ‘modulation’ into the parallel minor is indicative of Queen’s use of chromatic harmony to add color and contrast to their music. The use of secondary dominants (F# and B) and secondary leading-tone chord (Cdim) further emphasizes tension and release, creating musical interest.

Overall Analysis

“Love Of My Life” by Queen, especially Verse 3, showcases a mix of simple and complex harmony, with many secondary dominants, borrowed chords, and diminished chords contributing to varying and shifting tonal centres. This makes for an emotional and contextually appropriate progression that fits well with the song’s lyrical content.

Style Analysis

Queen often used complex harmony and secondary dominants in their music, which gives their compositions a dramatic and theatrical quality – a feature that is extremely evident in “Love of My Life”. Their use of diminished chords, borrowed chords, and frequent modulation are hallmarks of their unique, rock-based take on classical harmony.

Chords in the Verse 3 section of Love Of My Life by Queen are:

[‘Bm’, ‘F#m’, ‘G’, ‘D’, ‘F#’, ‘Bm’, ‘F#m’, ‘B’, ‘Cdim’, ‘B’, ‘Em’, ‘A’, ‘D’]