Search

Related Music Theory Alchemy

“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.

“1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins is written in the A major key and showcases various examples of modal interchange, also known as borrowed chords. The song switches often between the major and minor modes, providing a dynamic interplay of moods. The outro particularly stands out due to its use of both major and maj7th chords, a somewhat unusual combination. Emaj7 adds color and complexity to the progression, as a borrowed chord from the E major scale.

**

Given by the chords you’ve provided, it appears the song “Today” by The Smashing Pumpkins is primarily in the key of D Major with occasional borrowed chords from D minor and E minor. The varying uses of D Major, D minor, and E minor really showcase the variety in Billy Corgan’s guitar writing.

**

“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John is a heart-touching love song that carries a smooth flowing blend of pop and soft rock, showing Elton John’s inclination to use diatonic (major and minor) chords, 7th chords and inversions. The song, largely stays in its home key of C major, has an interesting chord progression that shifts between the tonic, subdominant, and dominant. Internally, there are multiple secondary dominant chords and borrowing from the parallel minor, providing color and contrast.

Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen” is a song in A major key. The chord progression seems simple at first, with a repetitive motive throughout the verse but it creates a hypnotic effect that is very much in line with Tame Impala’s psychedelic style.

Bullet With Butterfly Wings

Song

All Analyses by Song

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins features a chord progression that uses a lot of power chords (fifth chords) which demonstrates its grungy, rock oriented style. It also incorporates major, minor, and suspended second chords, making it an interesting combination of simplicity and complexity.

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins is an alternative rock song released in 1995. The song is in the key of E minor and primarily uses power chords derived from the E minor scale throughout the song. Power chords or ‘5’ chords, like B5 or G5, don’t have a major or minor quality and are often used in rock music for their strong and neutral sound. The song also applies modal mixture (borrowing chords from parallel keys) for color and tension.

“The Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins essentially revolves around the use of power chords, or 5th chords, to project a raw, grungy intensity. The chord progression (B5, Em, G5), extracted from the second verse of the song, is prominent throughout. The use of power chords results in a composition that doesn’t transpose to a traditional major or minor key, but fits within a modal framework.

“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins is a rock song that alternates between heavy distortion and calm sections. Interestingly, the song is mostly in E minor, but uses a lot of power chords (5th chords) and sus2 chords which give the song a distinctively undecided, floating feeling, as these chords don’t have a clear major or minor character. The song uses a rather straightforward progression with a few deviations and embellishments which provide tension and release.

“Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins can be categorized as alternative rock. The chord progression showcases the grunge influence, with an emphasis on power chords and the use of suspended second chords which are often used to create ambiguity or tension.