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“Landslide” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a cover of a popular folk-rock song by Fleetwood Mac. In this song, The Smashing Pumpkins show their alternative rock style, while also paying homage to the folk-rock genre and especially to the founder of Folk-Rock “Fleetwood Mac”. The chords used throughout the song are predominantly composed in the key of G major, with the occasional use of a common borrowed chord (Am) from the G minor key.

“Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins draws from the band’s unique style of alternative rock influenced by a distinct palette of harmonic choices. Particularly in the songwriting of Billy Corgan (the band’s primary songwriter), the band tends to use a mix of common and uncommon chords, together with a tendency of exploring different tonalities. Often, the chord changes are driven by guitar inversions, suspensions, or additions.

The Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide – Chords

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Chord Progression

[‘A’, ‘D’, ‘G’, ‘B’]

Chord Progression Analysis

The chord progression provided ‘A, D, G, B’ would usually translate to the chords in the key of D Major as: A Major (V), D Major (I), G Major (IV), B Minor (vi), however without the exact voicing of these chords or the full structure, the following analysis would be limited.

Deeper into the song, the progression seems to be around C Major to G6 to Am, which constitutes a IV-I-ii progression in the key of G Major. Considering the D/F# as the V chord with the third in the bass (first inversion), the progression becomes IV-I-ii-V. The Em serves as the vi chord.

“`
G Major (‘I Major’)
C Major (‘IV Major’)
A Minor (‘ii minor’)
D Major / F# (‘V Major / third in the bass’)
E Minor (‘vi minor’)
G6 (‘I sixth’)
“`

Similar Chord Progressions

1. “Let It Be” by The Beatles follows a similar chord progression. The key is C Major and the chords are: C (I), G (V), Am (vi), F (IV).
2. The song “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley also has a comparable progression in the key of C Major: C (I), G (V), Am (vi), F (IV).
3. The classic “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King mirrors this progression in a different key, A Major: A (I), F#m (vi), D (IV), E (V).

All three songs share a common, timeless progression that delivers the IV-I-ii-V or I-vi-IV-V chord changes, which can evoke strong emotional responses from listeners.

Musical Analysis

The constant variation between major and minor chords creates an interesting blend of consonant and dissonant sounds, evoking powerful emotions and adding intensity to the narrative of the lyrics. The alternating pattern of major and minor chords lends to the emotive quality of the song.

Overall Analysis

“Landslide” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a cover of the original song by Fleetwood Mac, and it blends rock and folk styles. The song features a variety of chords which predominantly mixes major and minor chords to evoke strong emotions. The simple yet effective chord progression emphasizes the sentiment of the lyrics, illustrating the theme of introspection and feeling a loss of control.

Style Analysis

The chord progression adopts a folk-rock athmosphere that is signature to The Smashing Pumpkins’ style, that embraces melancholic lyrics and delivers them in a vocally distinct way. The induced falling and rising melodies in this song perfectly blends with the sentiments of the lyrics, causing them to appear more introspective and poignant.

Chords in the Chords section of Landslide by The Smashing Pumpkins are:

[‘A’, ‘D’, ‘G’, ‘B’]