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.
Across the Universe by The Beatles is a melancholic, introspective piece set in the key of D major, imbuing an overall sound spectrum that’s somber with a hint of hopeful resolution. The chord progression utilizes both diatonic and borrowed chords, making it both unusual and interesting.
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“Girl” is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album “Rubber Soul”. The song is written in the key of E minor and it showcases the band’s ability to incorporate non-diatsubject resorting to non-diatonic progressions and utilizes various seventh chords to establish a more sophisticated and jazzy soundid progression. It’s important to note their use of the Dorian mode, which adds to the melodic and harmonic sophistication of the song. Moreover, the song exhibits the lyrical and songwriting depth of The Beatles.
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The chord progression in Kali Uchis’ “Loner” features a mix of major, minor, and augmented chords, which contributes to the song’s unique sound and emotional depth. The progression has an unconventional and intriguing quality, while still maintaining a sense of harmonic coherence.
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” composed by Paul McCartney, is a pop song that sits in the key of D Major throughout. However, it does borrow chords from the parallel minor. This technique, known as modal interchange or borrowed chords, is common in popular music and especially in classical compositions by iconic bands like The Beatles.
“Hey Jude” goes through a clear progression, switching through the keys of D major, A major and G major. Like many Beatles songs, it cleverly varies between these keys in keeping with the melody and mood of the piece. The complexity of this progression is part of the song’s charm and helps exemplifies the band’s creative approach to composition.
The outro of ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles is a prime example of a repeated chord progression, specifically a repeated loop of D-C-G-D. This progression is repeated throughout the last significant section of the song, often referred to as the “na na na” section, essentially becoming a kind of mantra or chant that brings the song to a sustained and palpable resolution.
“Hey Jude,” written by The Beatles, charts a classic journey from tonic to dominant, with a detour through the subdominant and the minor dominant. It starts with a D chord (I), moves onto A (V), then A7 (V7) and back to D (I). The interlude features the progression D (I) – D7 (I7) – A7 (V7). This clever progression creates a momentary modulation to the key of G with the D7 chord, creating an interesting harmonic shift.
“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.
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