I VII iii VI

[Dr88s]

My wife just asked me to learn a song to accompany her singing.

 

I sat down with the recording and worked out the chords. I was very taken with the progression in the chorus which sounds bold and ballsy yet very pleasing.

 

Since starting to hang out here, I have been trying REALLY REALLY hard to think of progressions as relative rather then absolute chords. (Maybe one day I can finally stop reaching for that transpose button)

 

The chorus works out to I VII iii VI.

 

I realize that most western music rehashes the same set of progressions over and over again, but I don't recall hearing this pattern offhand (and even after some thought, and even after a Google search). Is this a common pattern? Can anyone think of other songs that use it?

[Jazz+]

No 7ths??? What are the chord symbols?

 

[Dr88s]

G major , F# major , B minor, E major.

 

I had never heard the song before- Stop by Sam Brown.

[zephonic]

G major , F# major , B minor, E major.

 

I had never heard the song before- Stop by Sam Brown.

 

To my ears, that song is in B minor. With the relative major key being D, that would make this specific progression IV maj, III7, VI min, II7.

 

 

My first thought upon seeing I-VII-III-VI was a Latin kind of sound, like C7-Bb7-E halfdim-A7 or something...

[Paul Harrison]

The song is in Bm, and the chorus starts G F# Bm E = VI V i IV (1:17 in the video ... nice Hammond solo by Bob Andrews at 3:00 too).

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4yOa3tBrB8

 

[marino]

It's much easier to understand if you think of the F# (and perhaps the E) not as simple majors, but as dominant chord(s). The F# tends to the Bm, so you can use the 5th mode of B harmonic minor to enrich it. Also, this establish the modulation not from G to F#, but from G major to B minor - much closer, just one step on the circle of fifths.

To analise the E chord, we would need to know what follows it.

[Paul Harrison]

The chorus goes basically like this.

 

G F# Bm E

G F# Bm E

G A Bm F#m,A Bm

[bluzeyone]

Can see why it intrigued you. Definetly an uncommon path. I like those.

[MorayM]

Very cool, I might have to steal it next time I do a duo gig (with the organ solo ) I've only heard Bonamassa doing this song, didn't realise it was hers originally.

[Paul Harrison]

Here's a rough recording (raw PA mix) of the first time we tried it at a rehearsal with our soul/jazz/chill band = vocal, guitar, keys (Hammond XK1c + Ventilator, Kurzweil SP4-7), drums.

 

Stop

 

 

[Dave E]

Same basic changes as "What You Won't Do For Love"

[Tusker]

That's a beautiful song.

 

To my ears, that song is in B minor.

^What he said^

 

The chorus begins with a deceptive cadence ... referenced humorously in Benjamin Zander's brilliant Ted Talk:

 

http://htmlgiant.com/craft-notes/the-deceptive-cadence/

 

Deceptive cadence gets a mention at 10.35 in the video below. "I tell my students, if you have a deceptive cadence, be sure to raise your eyebrows, then everybody will know."

 

[video:youtube]r9LCwI5iErE

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Thanks for posting that - his attitude opens SO many possibilities.

[bluzeyone]

That's a beautiful song.

 

To my ears, that song is in B minor.

^What he said^

 

The chorus begins with a deceptive cadence ... referenced humorously in Benjamin Zander's brilliant Ted Talk:

I

http://htmlgiant.com/craft-notes/the-deceptive-cadence/

 

Deceptive cadence gets a mention at 10.35 in the video below. "I tell my students, if you have a deceptive cadence, be sure to raise your eyebrows, then everybody will know."

 

[video:youtube]r9LCwI5iErE

 

Love it! Don't go home. Go "minor".

[Theo Verelst]

I've not played the song in a band, but at the time, I think around the same time as "Still got the Blues", I might have played it a bit.

 

To me it sounds like Bminor, Gb_minor, and most of the time a Eminor(7)add9, with more or less standard variation like a 2minor (C# minor) and a possible sus chord here and there, and for extending into harder and interesting territory, organ players will recognize all kinds of "full out" filling possibilities like D major, G major_major-7th, chromatic descends with major chords all over the place, and the organ solo suggests (and maybe has mixed in) those ideas.

 

Remember, this song is song with classical skills of the singer, and in fact your version has the singer sound a bit low, which requires Sam to as it were take the proper classical scales, which have the proper feel of the song in them, and stretch them out and fit them to the always the same organ (almost equal temperament) tunings, which creates interesting harmonic build up and tension.

 

Band is sound is cool, I can't help it I search for the complexities of the original A grade productions, I love them. actually I found the CD sound somehow better than the youtube, but hey it's free and ok..

 

T.

 

[Jazz+]

I have played this progression thousands of times:

 

||: G7 F#7(#9,b13) | B-7 E7 :||

 

It's a super common jazzy B-7 jam vamp ("Grover Washington jazz style" chord progression)

 

It is the ubiquitous:

 

bVI7 V7(#9 b13) i-7 IV7

[Philip Clark]

Duplicate post. Sorry.

 

I loved that record. I was just wondering the other day what happened to her.

[GovernorSilver]

Thanks, Tusker! Great TED presentation by Zander and I've always loved that Bobby Caldwell classic.

[bluzeyone]

Jazz+, Mr. Ferris, Tusker, just to name a few, you cats really got it together! Helped me so much through the years. B.t.w. Jazz+, still working through them fourths.

[Dr88s]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Much to address:

 

To my ears, that song is in B minor. With the relative major key being D, that would make this specific progression IV maj, III7, VI min, II7.

 

Indeed. The four chords alone, though, sound fine by themselves, even out of the context of the song - so to keep things simpler I wrote it out with the first chord representing the I, though it's clearly not. Mea culpa.

 

It's much easier to understand if you think of the F# (and perhaps the E) not as simple majors, but as dominant chord(s). The F# tends to the Bm, so you can use the 5th mode of B harmonic minor to enrich it. Also, this establish the modulation not from G to F#, but from G major to B minor - much closer, just one step on the circle of fifths.

To analise the E chord, we would need to know what follows it.

 

Marino, I will have to purge my brain of all extraneous thoughts and sit down at the piano later to fully understand what you are getting at. I'm still shaky with modes. All those years of strictly classical training from sheet music without any thought as to why it 'works'. Thanks.

 

Can see why it intrigued you. Definetly an uncommon path. I like those.

 

It really struck me when I played just the chords without all the backing orchestration. Different. Bold.

 

Here's a rough recording (raw PA mix) of the first time we tried it at a rehearsal with our soul/jazz/chill band = vocal, guitar, keys (Hammond XK1c + Ventilator, Kurzweil SP4-7)

 

Thanks for this. It's always nice to hear a bit of a broken down version without all of the production. She herself has played solo versions on live TV - just her and the piano.

 

Same basic changes as "What You Won't Do For Love"

 

Not familiar with that tune. Next on the playlist.

 

Band is sound is cool, I can't help it I search for the complexities of the original A grade productions, I love them. actually I found the CD sound somehow better than the youtube, but hey it's free and ok.

 

On the other hand, less is sometimes good too!

 

 

 

Deceptive cadence gets a mention at 10.35 in the video below. "I tell my students, if you have a deceptive cadence, be sure to raise your eyebrows, then everybody will know."

 

Great clip. Such a wonderful speaker.

 

I have played this progression thousands of times:

 

||: G7 F#7(#9,b13) | B-7 E7 :||

 

It's a super common jazzy B-7 jam vamp ("Grover Washington jazz style" chord progression)

 

It is the ubiquitous:

 

bVI7 V7(#9 b13) i-7 IV7

 

I've never played jazz. Straight from 20 years of classical to rock n' roll cover bands. Can you suggest tunes to listen to to hear this progression at play?

 

Thanks to all those who replied, as always.

[bluzeyone]

Jazz+, I see what your talking about I think. Are you talking a common vamp if the tune was in "A"? Like a turnaround?

[Jazz+]

_

 

Here's a less common vamp that sounds great. Let's see how you all analyze this one:

 

Key signature = no flats or sharps

 

||: C | G- | F | F- :|| C fine

[Jazz+]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Much to address:

 

 

 

I have played this progression thousands of times:

 

||: G7 F#7(#9,b13) | B-7 E7 :||

 

It's a super common jazzy B-7 jam vamp ("Grover Washington jazz style" chord progression)

 

It is the ubiquitous:

 

bVI7 V7(#9 b13) i-7 IV7

 

I've never played jazz. Straight from 20 years of classical to rock n' roll cover bands. Can you suggest tunes to listen to to hear this progression at play?

 

Thanks to all those who replied, as always.

 

It's a really big R&B "Earth Wind and Fire" type of groove progression:

||: Dmaj7 C#7#9|F#-7 B7 :||

"What You Won't Do For Love" Bobby Caldwell

It is a cover band classic!

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA2M8-csDDg

 

 

 

[MonksDream]

_

 

Here's a less common vamp that sounds great. Let's see how you all analyze this one:

 

Key signature = no flats or sharps

 

||: C | G- | F | F- :|| C fine

 

It's in C major. The I-IV-IVm is one of the world's most common cadences. The G- functions as an incomplete C9 chord. So:

 

||: I | I7 (V of IV) | IV | IVm :||

 

What do I win??

[Jazz+]

Perfect analysis, good job.