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Related Music Theory Alchemy

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.

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.

The Wind Cries Mary by Jimi Hendrix is a rock ballad with elements of blues, featuring a unique and expressive chord progression. The song is in the key of F major and the verse progression consists of 25 chords. The progression is largely diatonic, but includes chromatic lines and borrowed chords, which give the piece a rather unpredictable yet emotive quality.

“Love of My Life” by Queen exhibits a very romantic and classical style, resonant of popular ballads primarily from the classical and romantic periods. The song beautifully plays with complex harmonies, frequent key changes and borrowings from parallel keys (modal mixture), which together yield a dramatic and emotional expression. Many of the chords used, including diminished chords, fully diminished seventh, major-minor seventh chords, and usage of secondary dominants are reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic music.

“Your Song” by Elton John is an iconic pop ballad featuring a piano-driven accompaniment. Harmonically, the song displays rich and varied chord progressions within key of D major, though with a significant usage of borrowed chords and alterations that contribute to a unique and expressive harmonic language. There is a classical and cinematic air about this song establishing it as a flagship Elton John classic.

The Beatles – Rocky Raccoon – Verse 4

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Chord Progression

[‘Am7’, ‘D7sus4’, ‘D7’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘C/B’, ‘Am7’, ‘D7sus4’, ‘D7’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘C/B’]

Chord Progression Analysis

Am7 (ii7), D7sus4 (V7sus4), D7 (V7), G7 (I7), C (IV), C/B (IV/iii), Am7 (ii7), D7sus4 (V7sus4), D7 (V7), G7 (I7), C (IV), C/B (IV/iii)

The full chords are:

“`
Am7 – A-minor 7th
D7sus4 – D major dominant 7th (suspended 4th)
D7 – D major dominant 7th
G7 – G major dominant 7th
C – C major
C/B – C major / B (inversion)
“`

There are no outright borrowed chords, as each chord belongs in the key of G major, but there are two chord alterations. The D7sus4 (suspended 4th) that resolves to D7 introduces tension, and the G7 is a dominant 7th in the root position, rather than the typical tonal resolution from a V7 or V7sus4 chord to a I chord.

Similar Chord Progressions

The ii-V-I progression is one of the most common progressions in jazz and pops up a lot in popular music as well. Songs like “Creep” by Radiohead (G – B – C – Cm) and “Run Away with Me” by Carly Rae Jepsen (G – B – Am – G – B) contain similar elements to the ii-V-I progression found in “Rocky Raccoon”, though they are in different keys.

For “Creep”:
“`
G (I), B (III), C (IV), Cm (iv)
“`
For “Run Away with Me”:
“`
G (I), B (III), Am (ii), G (I), B (III)
“`

Musical Analysis

In the chord progression, you can see a clear ii-V-I progression (Am7-D7-G7) that is very popular in jazz, making the music trickier than the typical pop I-IV-V or ii-V-I progression. The C/B chord is an inversion of the C chord that creates a descending bass line from C to B to Am7, offering a sense of forward motion and driving the progression back to the beginning of the cycle.

Overall Analysis

“Rocky Raccoon” by The Beatles is noted for its eclectic blend of folk, country, and popular music styles. The song is written in G major and follows a fairly straightforward progression but with a couple of important twists.

The

Style Analysis

“Rocky Raccoon” by The Beatles reflects their talent for seamlessly mixing different musical influences. The verse chord progression has a folk or country flavor, emphasized by the G7 and C/B chords, with some jazz influences in the ii-V-I progression.

Chords in the Verse 4 section of Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles are:

[‘Am7’, ‘D7sus4’, ‘D7’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘C/B’, ‘Am7’, ‘D7sus4’, ‘D7’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘C/B’]