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Related Music Theory Alchemy

“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.

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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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“The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel is a song from the folk-rock genre. Built on simplicity with few chords used throughout the whole song, the primary focus of the song is on the hauntingly beautiful melody and the profound lyrics. It is written in the key of Am which gives the song a melancholic and somber tone.

“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a masterful example of the band’s ability to incorporate a variety of musical elements into a rock setting. This song, in particular, unites a classic rock ‘n roll backbone with an exotic influence, likely derived from Eastern music, especially with the use of the sitar.

The song “Rocky Raccoon” by The Beatles features a intriguing chord progression typically employed in blues and folk music that creates a captivating storytelling-style musical framework. The verse using the provided chords weaves an interesting tale via major and minor fluctuations giving an emotional depth to the lyrics.

The Beatles – Maxwells Silver Hammer – Verse 5

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Chord Progression

[‘D’, ‘B7’, ‘Em’, ‘A7’, ‘D’, ‘A’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Here’s the analysis for the chord progression you provided:
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D (I), B7 (VI7), Em (ii), A7 (V7), D (I), A (IV)
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These roman numerals are all based on the D Major scale.

Similar Chord Progressions

The Beatles themselves have similar chord progressions in songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”. The ii-V-I progression is also a staple of jazz music, so you’ll find it in countless songs in that genre, like Miles Davis’s “So What” and John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”.

Here are the progressions in those songs:
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“I Want to Hold Your Hand”: G (I), Em (vi), Bm (iii), D (V)
“She Loves You”: E (I), B7 (V7), G#m (vi), C#m (iii)
“So What”: Dm7 (ii), G7 (V7), CMaj7 (I), Fm7 (ii), Bb7 (V7), EbMaj7 (I)
“Giant Steps”: BMaj7 (I), D7 (V/ii), GMaj7 (II), Bb7 (V/IV), EbMaj7 (IV)
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Please remember that these progressions are in a simplified form. You would have to adjust each song to key of D to match the progression in “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”.

Musical Analysis

The D serves as the tonic of the key. The B7 acts as a secondary dominant, resolving into the Em, which itself then resolves into the A7, another dominant chord. The A7 resolves into the D, completing a ii-V-I progression. The A at the end serves as the main dominant, leading back into the D tonic.

Overall Analysis

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles features a popular song structure and a mix of common chord progression techniques. The distinct progressions within the verse repeat throughout the song, but the chords and structures themselves are fairly common within rock and pop music. It mixes the standard I-IV-V (in this case, D-A-G) progression with the ii-V-I progression (in this case, Em-A-D), both of which are staples of songwriting in a variety of genres.

Style Analysis

The Beatles often used secondary dominants and ii-V-I progressions in their songwriting, and you can see that here. The B7-Em-A7-D progression appears in many of their songs, and is a fairly common progression in general in pop music. The use of both a secondary dominant (B7) and a dominant seventh chord (A7) give the song its characteristic ‘bouncing’ feel.

Chords in the Verse 5 section of Maxwells Silver Hammer by The Beatles are:

[‘D’, ‘B7’, ‘Em’, ‘A7’, ‘D’, ‘A’]