Search

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 song “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John is brilliantly harmonized, showcasing the great musical arrangement skills of John at his best. Primarily, the song is based in the key of C Major and uses a variety of moving bass lines over mostly diatonic chords in the verses and choruses. There are some key modulations and borrowed chords that give the harmony a rich and complex quality which sets it apart from many contemporary pop songs.

Verse

The chord progression of “Because” by The Beatles demonstrates the band’s profound exploration of harmony. The song starts in the key of C# minor, revolves around this key, and includes various modulations and tonicizations to explore chords beyond the key. It heavily employs secondary dominants and borrowed chords, particularly the diminished 7th chords, which is not uncommon in Beatles’s songs. The chord progression has a dreamy and fluid flow due to these harmonic explorations.

“Penny Lane” by The Beatles is a pop rock song released in 1967. Musically, the track displays characteristics of the “Baroque pop” style combine with psychedelic pop. The composition is multifaceted with complex chord progressions inspired by classical music, as well as elements of the British music hall style, specifically brass band influences throughout.

Tame Impala – Let It Happen – Verse 1

Add To Favorites Remove From Favorites

< All Analyses

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’]