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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Can’t Buy Me Love,” a song by The Beatles, exhibits a style that’s emblematic of their earlier work, with a clear, upbeat tonality and an elegant yet straightforward chord progression. The tune is predominantly centred in the key of C major, but it utilizes both major and dominant 7th chords to create tension and resolution, modulating away from the home key. The particular progression you’ve given, ‘C7’, ‘F7’, ‘C’, isn’t rare and demonstrates the Beatles’ precision and understanding of pop and rock music’s creative possibilities.

The song “Penny Lane” written by the Beatles is in the key of A major. The structure of Verse 4, specifically, has a very effective use of both diatonic (belonging naturally to the key) and borrowed chords (taken from a different key or mode). They have incorporated secondary dominants, pivot modulation, and modal interchange which reflect their knowledge of musical theory and compositional skills.

“A Star Is Born – Shallow” by Misc Soundtrack uses common chords found in pop music and combines them in a fresh way. The progression makes use of diatonic chords and even includes a borrowed chord from the parallel minor key. It showcases a feasible balance of tension and resolution, often transitioning through a variety of chord inversions to add color and depth to the harmonies. The song moves around the circle of fifths, which allows for smooth transitions between keys.

“Exit Music (For a Film)” by Radiohead features a unique and somewhat complex chord progression, particularly in the second verse. The song can be viewed as being in A minor, with various borrowed chords and non-diatonic chords. The chord progression reflects Radiohead’s experimental and innovative approach to harmony and songwriting.

“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.

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’]