Harmonic Analysis
Do I need to know this?
Absolutely! But only if you’re already somewhat familiar with cadences, the seven modes in major, and intervals.
Why do I need to know this?
Even if you’re a huge fan of 4-chord songs, there might come a point where you want to play one more chord. 😛
There are many seemingly simple songs that bring along very complicated progressions, at least when it comes to analyzing them. Take, for example, those by the Beatles.
The Formula
As always, I try to keep it as simple as possible, so that even people without a PhD in physics (or music theory? :P) can understand it. 🙂
Normally, we end a song with a major chord. Of course, there’s also the parallel minor key in which the song can end. However, for this example, let’s stick with the major key.
Let’s say our song needs to end on C Maj 7, but you need a more or less usable ending. There are 3 possibilities for that.
V7 -> IMaj7
bII7 -> IMaj7
bVII7 -> IMaj7
Specifically (in chords), that means:
Now you have the opportunity to use one of these resolutions for your ending.
This variant of resolution can now be repeated countless times.
Let’s assume we take the V7 degree of C, then we have G7 -> CMaj7. Now, however, we prepare for the G7 degree by, for example, taking a bII7 degree, but this time from G.
The bII7 degree of G would be Ab, so now we have Ab7 -> G7 -> CMaj7.
Preparing with Minor for the Dominant
However, we can also use the exact same degrees in minor to prepare for the dominant 7 degree.
For this example, I’ll take all 3 variants of the ‘formula’ and add the formula again at the beginning. This time simply in minor instead of dominant 7.
V-7 -> V -> I might sound a bit confusing, but I don’t know how to write it down better. 🙂
Let’s assume that I = C.
Then the V degree of C = G.
And the V degree of G = D.
Therefore, the solution to this formula = Dm7 -> G7 -> CMaj7
- V-7 -> V7 -> I
- bII-7 -> V7 -> I
- bVII-7 -> V7 -> I
- V-7 -> bII7 -> I
- bII-7 -> bII7 -> I
- bVII-7 -> bII7 -> I
- V-7 -> bVII7 -> I
- bII-7 -> bVII7 -> I
- bVII-7 -> bVII7 -> I
The steps above would be spelled out as follows:
- D-7 -> G7 -> CMaj7
- Ab-7 -> G7 -> CMaj7
- F-7 -> G7 -> CMaj7
- Ab-7 -> Db7 -> CMaj7
- D-7 -> Db7 -> CMaj7
- B-7 -> Db7 -> CMaj7
- F-7 -> Bb7 -> CMaj7
- B-7 -> Bb7 -> CMaj7
- Ab-7 -> Bb7 -> CMaj7
Here, it is very helpful to calculate backwards each time. So, start with the C Maj7 and then apply this formula not to reach the goal but to return to the beginning of the chord sequence.
The exciting thing is that minor chords can also be mixed.
So, I can play D-7 -> Bb7 -> CMaj7 without any problems, even though D-7 is neither the V, bII, nor bVII degree of Bb7. This works because D-7 is the V degree of the V degree of C. So, I can “allow” this chord to be played before another resolution from V7 to Maj7.
How do I calculate this?
You only need a final closing chord. Let’s start again from C Maj7.
Now we only calculate backward. So, “allowed” are:
V7, bII7, bVII7.
Let’s assume we choose the V7 degree = G7 -> CMaj7.
Now, to prepare for the G7, we can again either use one of the allowed dominant 7 degrees (V7, bII7, bVII7) or simply use the exact same degrees in minor (V-7, bII-7, bVII-7).
Let’s say, just for fun, we add the V-7 degree of G7 = Dm7 -> G7 -> CMaj7.
The game can now continue endlessly. Now, we take the bII7 degree of Dm7 to prepare for the Dm7 = Eb7 -> Dm7 -> G7 -> CMaj7.
Then, add the bVII-7 degree of Eb7 to prepare for the Eb7 = Db-7 -> Eb7 -> Dm7 -> G7 -> CMaj7.
This was just a small example of a very large topic. There are, of course, many more possibilities like delayed resolutions, etc.
A few examples and the formula are written here again as chord diagrams and guitar tabs. I’ve used standard voicings. Nothing crazy or anything. 😊
A great book that explains this topic with all possible combinations is: Bruce Arnold’s “Harmonic Analysis.”
