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Related Music Theory Alchemy

Let It Happen’ by Tame Impala employs an accessible and effective chord progression, usual in pop/rock music, yet has unusualness due to the usage of the G#sus4 chord, providing a unique tonal flavor and emotional quality. There is a striking use of harmonic contrast and a continuous return and release of tension throughout the song. This creates an immersive cyclical quality, complementing the song’s theme of embracing inevitable moments and experiences.

“The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala is in the key of E Major. The track has a unique blending of psych pop and synthrock, combining a funky bass line with Tame Impala’s signature synth timbre. Its harmonic structure is moderately complex and features some compelling chord progressions, with a few borrowed chords.

The chord progression in the verse of “Congratulations” by MGMT is an interesting blend of conventional pop and classical harmonies with some use of borrowed chords. The progression features mostly diatonic chords in the key of G major, but there are moments of modal interchange and suspensions that add color and tension to the progression.

The song “Get You” by Daniel Caesar features a smooth and soulful chord progression that reflects the style of contemporary R&B and neo-soul. The chords provide a sense of warmth and sincerity that complements the song’s intimate lyrics. The progression is primarily diatonic, but with some borrowed chords, which adds an interesting color to the music.

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins features a chord progression that uses a lot of power chords (fifth chords) which demonstrates its grungy, rock oriented style. It also incorporates major, minor, and suspended second chords, making it an interesting combination of simplicity and complexity.

Tame Impala – Let It Happen – Verse 1

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Chord Progression

[‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’]

Chord Progression Analysis

In Verse 1 we can see a three-chord progression that repeats. The progression in Roman numerals would look like: I – vi – bVII, assigning roman numerals according to the A Major scale. Even though G# does not naturally come in the A major or A minor scale, here it’s being used as a borrowed chord. It’s not notated as such because it is not a “typical” borrowing from the parallel minor.

Full Chord name (‘Roman Numeral)
“`
A Major (‘I’)
F# Minor (‘vi’)
G# Suspended 4 (‘bVII’) (borrowed)
“`

Similar Chord Progressions

Memoirs by Röyksopp has a similar progression. It employs bVII – I in its repetition, like Tame Impala’s Let it Happen:

A major (‘I’, Tonic)
G Major (‘bVII’, Subtonic – borrowed chord)

The Birds Pt. 1 by The Weeknd also uses a modal borrowing technique in the chord progression:

F# Major (‘I’, Tonic)
E Major (‘bVII’, Subtonic – borrowed chord).

Though these songs might not sound identical due to differences in arrangement, tempo, and instrumentation, the underlying chord progressions share a similar structure to “Let It Happen”.

Musical Analysis

The constant modulation through the use of a ‘borrowed’ chord – G#sus4 – provides an ambiguous, floating quality to the music. This gives an otherworldly sense to the track, propelling the listener into a psychedelic, trance-like state.

Overall Analysis

Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen” is a song in A major key. The chord progression seems simple at first, with a repetitive motive throughout the verse but it creates a hypnotic effect that is very much in line with Tame Impala’s psychedelic style.

Style Analysis

This hypnotic style fits well within Tame Impala’s psychedelic music idiosyncrasy. Use of the suspended 4 chords further adds to the ambiguity and continuous flow of the song, which circles back again and again to A Major.

Chords in the Verse 1 section of Let It Happen by Tame Impala are:

[‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’, ‘A’, ‘F#m’, ‘G#sus4’]