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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Let It Happen” by Tame Impala is characterized by its psychedelic and experimental nuances. It features an overall bright and uplifting tone despite its use of some more complex chords. The song ska common in pop music. The chord progression in question has a strong melodic sensibility demonstrating Kevin Parker’s ability to incorporate complex musical ideas into a pop format.

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 chord progression in the verse 1 of “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin features just two chords: D and E. This fairly simple progression, used repetitively throughout the verse, creates a strong and energetic foundation for the song. The style of the song reflects 1960s heavy rock, and the simplicity of the chord progression adds to the rawness and drive of the music.

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“Girl” is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album “Rubber Soul”. The song is written in the key of E minor and it showcases the band’s ability to incorporate non-diatsubject resorting to non-diatonic progressions and utilizes various seventh chords to establish a more sophisticated and jazzy soundid progression. It’s important to note their use of the Dorian mode, which adds to the melodic and harmonic sophistication of the song. Moreover, the song exhibits the lyrical and songwriting depth of The Beatles.

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The chord progression in Welcome To The Machine by Pink Floyd features a combination of diatonic chords and some extensions to create a lush, ethereal sound. The progression mainly circulates around the key of E minor, with added color tones and an emotional center created by the interplay of chords such as the major 7th and the addition of the 9th degree to certain chords.

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’]