“Let It Be” by The Beatles is a song in the key of C Major. The chord progression featured in Verse 3 of the song, C – G – Am – Am/G – Fmaj7 – F6 – C – G – F – C/E – Dm7 – C, is a common progression in pop music. It has a repetitive structure and revolves around the I-V-vi-VI progression.
“All My Loving” by The Beatles is a mid-tempo pop song written in the key of E minor for the verse and D Major for the bridge and outro, featuring a distinct, upbeat walking bassline. The grey, almost mournful verses, along with the brighter, major-toned bridges and chorus, create a juxtaposition of feelings within the piece. The bridge also highlights The Beatles’ use of secondary dominants and chromaticism. Concluding in the tonic key of D Major, the song has an interesting interplay between Em and D Major throughout, which could be perceived as a Em: i, VI, III, II and D: vi, V7, I, vi, IV, ii, I progression.
“Hey Jude,” by The Beatles, is an iconic song. The chord progression is in the key of D major and it follows a sort of Variation on I-V-IV-I progression of many pop and rock songs. However, what makes this song extremely unique is its out-of-the-box structure and the experimental use of borrowed cords – it shows The Beatles’ fondness for combining elements of pop, rock and classical music and results in an emotional, powerful progression that resonates strongly with listeners.
**
“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.
**
The chord progression featured in Radiohead’s “Motion Picture Soundtrack” Verse 2 is a four-chord loop that moves from G major to C major (acting as a suspension) and B minor (with an added 9th), creating an interesting mix of tonalities and suspensions. The progression establishes G major as the tonal center but continually moves away from it, creating a sense of ambiguity.
The progression is in the key of C major. The use of the Bb major is known as modal interchange, where a chord that is not in the key is borrowed from a parallel key, which in this case is C minor. This contributes an interesting tone color to the overall sound. The chord progression does consist a use of slash chords (C/B, C/G) which adds a more complex bassline creating a more harmonically active feeling, and yielding more tension and release.
“For No One” is a song from The Beatles’ album Revolver, released in 1966. The song has a melancholic theme, represented quite well through a sophisticated chord progression that features significant use of the minor scale and infrequent use of chord extensions, such as 7th and suspended chords. It’s written primarily in C Major, but the chorus alternates between D Minor and A7, an interesting modal shift (Using structural chords from different modes).
Copyright 2025 ©
Site by kylealtenderfer.com