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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Cant Buy Me Love” by The Beatles, is a song in the key of C Major, but it has an interesting harmonic structure, especially in the chorus. The song features a number of borrowed and secondary dominant chords to create tension that resolves into the tonic chord. The chorus’s progression can be seen as a series of descending minor thirds, with an unexpected shift to a ii-V-I progression which is quite popular in jazz music.

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“Blackbird” by The Beatles is a song mostly in the key of G Major. It’s known for its interesting guitar work and unconventional chord progression. The song employs a mix of functional and non-functional harmony, striking a balance between traditional diatonic harmony and more experimental harmonic ideas. The chord progression also includes several chromatic or borrowed chords (Cm, Dbdim, D# (b5), C#dim, and Ebaug).

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“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney. The song is primarily in the key of D Major and exhibits a mix of major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. This verse progression manifests the distinctive Beatles’ sound which often includes chromaticism and prevalence of secondary dominants that link the chords together, giving a smooth flow and color to the harmonic progression.

“Undone – The Sweater Song” by Weezer is a grunge rock song from their debut album, “Weezer (The Blue Album)” released in 1994. The chord progression in Verse 2 seems to blend elements from both pop and rock genres, with some diatonic chords and a borrowed chord that adds an unexpected twist.

“Heart Is A Drum” by Beck, from the album Morning Phase (2014), features a simple but effective chord progression in the key of C major. This song can be classified as alternative folk rock, and the harmonies used in the chord progression are quite common in this genre, as well as popular music in general. The progression creates a sense of nostalgia and emotional resonance, elevated by Beck’s lyricism and vocal delivery.

The Beatles – Cant Buy Me Love – Verse 2

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Chord Progression

[‘C7’, ‘F7’, ‘C’]

Chord Progression Analysis

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Here’s the expansion of the chords in Verse 2 of the song:

1. C7 -> C Dominant 7th (‘I7’)
2. F7 -> F Dominant 7th (‘IV7’)
3. C -> C Major (‘I’)

“`text
C7 (‘I7’) -> F7 (‘IV7’) -> C (‘I’)
“`

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Similar Chord Progressions

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A similar chord progression is also used in the song “You Never Can Tell” by Chuck Berry. The progression is not an exact match but follows a similar idea of using the I-IV chord movement along with dominant 7 chords to drive the progression.

This is the chord progression for the first verse of “You Never Can Tell”:

1. C -> C Major (‘I’)
2. F -> F Major (‘IV’)
3. C -> C Major (‘I’)

“`text
C (‘I’) -> F (‘IV’) -> C (‘I’)
“`

While the exact chords might be different, the use of dominant 7th chords and the I-IV movement is a common feature seen in many early rock and roll and blues songs.

Musical Analysis

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The chord progression in Verse 2 begins with a C7 (I7) chord, which is essentially a C major triad with a minor 7th (Bb) added. The addition of the minor 7th gives the chord a strong pull towards the IV chord (F or F7 in this case). It is a perfect example of a dominant 7th chord functioning as a “dominant” chord – the tension created by the Bb in the C7 chord is resolved by moving to the IV chord (F or F7). The F7 moves back to the C Major using the resolution of the dominant 7 to the root note.

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Overall Analysis

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“Cant Buy Me Love” by The Beatles is a pure example of their early rock-and-roll style influenced by blues. It uses common chord progressions in rock and blues, such as the I-IV-V progression and the use of dominant 7th chords. The song is set in C major, and makes repeated use of the I-IV (C-F) progression. A significant feature in the song is the use of the dominant 7th chords (C7 and F7), which adds some bluesy quality to the song and also serves as a transition chord to the next chord in the progression.

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Style Analysis

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This is characteristic of the early rock-and-roll and blues influenced styles of The Beatles – the use of dominant 7th chords to create tension and release, and the use of common chord progressions like the I-IV-V. The dominant 7th chords used in this song have a “bluesy” feel to them due to their origins in blues music.

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Chords in the Verse 2 section of Cant Buy Me Love by The Beatles are:

[‘C7’, ‘F7’, ‘C’]