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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“Dont Let Me Down” by The Beatles is a song that’s heavily grounded in the key of E Major, with some interesting use of borrowed chords for a richer, more emotional harmonic texture. The song is a fine example of The Beatles’ songwriting style, which often involves mixing diatonic chords with chromatic passing chords, borrowed chords, and secondary dominants.

“Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles is a song that displays the remarkable depth of harmonic creativity found in their songwriting. The chord progression in the Chorus 4 section of the song is particularly complex. This progressions illustrate the band’s ability to exploit common harmonic devices such as diatonic pivots, modal mixture, and deceptive resolutions, in order to produce beautifully unique and captivating chord sequences.

The chord progression in the chorus of “Kids” by MGMT is a repetitive and catchy sequence that features four chords, showcasing MGMT’s characteristic electronic pop and psychedelic rock sound. The progression is in the key of A Major, and the chords follow a vi-IV-I-V pattern.

Vance Joy’s “Riptide” is a remarkably simple yet highly effective song written in the key of C Major. The song follows a repetitive I-vi-IV chord progression, which is only varied in the bridge where a minor seventh chord introduces tension before leading back to the song’s major tonality.

The song “Yesterday” by The Beatles is in the key of F major and spans chord I to VI. It is characterized by a deeply expressive melody and distinctive harmony. The chord progression seems simple, yet it makes full use of secondary dominants, borrowed chords, and subtly shifting tonal centers for narrative, which is a trademark of The Beatles’s songwriting style.

The Beatles – Dont Let Me Down – CHORUS

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Chord Progression

[‘E’, ‘F#m’, ‘F#m7’, ‘Amaj7/B’, ‘E’, ‘F#m’, ‘F#m7’, ‘Amaj7/B’, ‘Esus4’, ‘E’]

Chord Progression Analysis

E (I), F#m (ii), F#m7 (ii7), Amaj7/B (IV7/5), E (I), F#m (ii), F#m7 (ii7), Amaj7/B (IV7/5), Esus4 (Isus4), E (I)

Below are the full chord names along with their roman numerals as per your request:

“`shell
E Major (‘I’)
F# Minor (‘ii’)
F# Minor Seventh (‘ii7’)
A Major Seventh over B, also known as A Major Seventh with B in the bass (‘IV7/5’)
E Major (‘I’)
F# Minor (‘ii’)
F# Minor Seventh (‘ii7’)
A Major Seventh over B, also known as A Major Seventh with B in the bass (‘IV7/5’)
E Suspended Fourth (‘Isus4’)
E Major (‘I’)
“`

Similar Chord Progressions

Okay, now let’s look at a few other songs that demonstrate

Musical Analysis

The Beatles often used borrowed chords in their music, but in this chorus, there are no borrowed chords, instead they’ve got the simple diatonic chords (I, ii, IV) and common secondary chords like the ii7 and IV7/5. The use of the slash chord, Amaj7/B, creates a suspension feeling before resolving back to E major. The Esus4 chord is a common device to create tension before resolution to E Major.

Overall Analysis

As this song has a distinct classical rock sound, you’ll see a mixture of major and minor chords. The progression is in the key of E major. The use of seventh chords and suspended chords provides a dense harmonic texture.

Style Analysis

In terms of the Beatles’s style, this chord progression is quite representative of their later, more experimental period. The combination of simple major and minor chords with more complex seventh and suspended chords is very characteristic of their style. This harmonic complexity, combined with their strong melodic writing, is one of the reasons why their music is often used to demonstrate advanced concepts in pop music theory.

Chords in the Chorus section of Dont Let Me Down by The Beatles are:

[‘E’, ‘F#m’, ‘F#m7’, ‘Amaj7/B’, ‘E’, ‘F#m’, ‘F#m7’, ‘Amaj7/B’, ‘Esus4’, ‘E’]