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Related Music Theory Alchemy

The song “Something” by The Beatles has a key center in C major. However, it modulates from time to time using a variety of techniques including secondary dominance and borrowed chords. It is a fine example of George Harrison’s complex songwriting and his adroitness at seamlessly weaving together uncommon chord progressions. Harrison employs an array of chords to inject a rich, nuanced musical quality to the song.

The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” is composed in the key of A Major, but utilizes a number of chord extensions and non-diatonic chords to create a dreamy, nostalgic soundscape fitting the song’s theme of reminiscing about childhood.

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.

The song “Eight Days a Week” by The Beatles is an interesting example of pop music songwriting from the mid 1960’s. It showcases Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s ability to use common chord progressions and tweak them in a unique and recognizable way. It utilizes a simple progression in the verse but what makes it different is their use of 7th and borrowed chords. The key of the song is D major.

The provided chord progression is quite simple, with a single chord (F) repeated four times. This type of progression creates a static or stable feel, with no harmonic tension to resolve. This chord progression alone isn’t enough to give a complete musical analysis, as it’s quite minimalistic, and it’s necessary to evaluate the progression in the context of the entire song. However, I can still offer some thoughts on the progression’s possible function, style notes, and similar chord progressions.

The Beatles – Something – Verse 4

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Chord Progression

[‘C’, ‘Cmaj7’, ‘C7’, ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F/E’, ‘D7’, ‘G’, ‘G/A’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Ammaj7’, ‘Am7’, ‘D9’]

Chord Progression Analysis

The full chord names in the verse 4 are as follows, with their Roman numeral annotations:

“`
C (‘I’),
Cmaj7 (‘IMaj7’),
C7 (‘I7’),
F (‘IV’),
F (‘IV’),
F/E (‘IV/II’),
D7 (‘V/V’),
G (‘V’),
G/A (‘V/II’),
G7/B (‘V7/III’),
Am (‘vi’),
Ammaj7 (‘viMaj7’),
Am7 (‘vii’),
D9 (‘II9’)
“`

In this progression, the `C7` is a secondary dominant, which prepares for the F major chord. Additionally, `D7` is another secondary dominant, gearing towards the G major chord. The presence of these dominant 7th chords adds tension which is later resolved. `G/A` and `G7/B` are slash chords changing the bass note. Lastly, the `D9` acts as a dominant chord leading back to the initial key of C major.

Borrowed chords can’t naturally be found in the major scale but can be borrowed from the parallel minor scale. In this progression the Ammaj7 specifically can be viewed as borrowed from C minor.

“`
Ammaj7 (‘bVIIMaj7’)
“`

Similar Chord Progressions

Other artists have used similar chord progressions in their work. For example, “My Funny Valentine” by Rodgers and Hart has a descending chord progression with the use of the `Maj7` and `m7`, just like “Something”. Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from West Side Story also employs a similar descending pattern. In both of these songs, the secondary dominants and the use of major seventh and minor seventh chords add sophistication to the harmonies and create tension-resolution patterns.

Musical Analysis

In this verse, you notice a downward movement which has a sort of a fall and rise pattern. The song starts with the root note i.e., `C`, then it descends to `Am7` and immediately rises to `D9`. The `D9` chord gives a jazzy feel to the song, adding more color due to the 9th. The dominance of 7th chords is also worth noting as it adds a gentle, melancholic touch and also sets up neat resolutions.

Overall Analysis

“Something” written by George Harrison from The Beatles majorly follows the key of C major and includes a few borrowed chords. There is a usage of secondary dominants and seventh chords which lend a harmonic complexity to the song. During the course of the song, the chords shift from the major scale to the parallel minor scale.

Style Analysis

“Something” represents a mix of pop and jazz influences specifically seen in the usage of secondary dominants and the jazzy 9th chord. The descending progression was very characteristic of many Beatles’ songs, as it creates a nice lead to resolve back to the tonic. The use of slash chords is also very indicative of the Beatles’ willingness to experiment with complex harmonies.

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

[‘C’, ‘Cmaj7’, ‘C7’, ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F/E’, ‘D7’, ‘G’, ‘G/A’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Ammaj7’, ‘Am7’, ‘D9’]