Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Chord Progressions and Key Signatures


Tech
 Share

Recommended Posts

Not sure if anyone knows this motown classic well enough to help me out..?

It starts with an E7 in the verse, then goes up to an A major, then back down to E7.. which all makes sense enough. I think technically this puts it in the key of A major (since E7 must be the V degree) but if I'm wrong please let me know.

What I'm really struggling with is the modulation in the bridge - it goes up to a G#7, C#m, F#m, B7sus...

for the life of me, I can't figure out what key that modulation is! I think I'm just being dense because it doesn't sound too complicated, but I just can't get my head around the theory of it. if anyone could give me a hand, I'd be very grateful :)

cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Joebass' post='1182203' date='Mar 30 2011, 01:57 PM']It's all in E. The verse chords are: D/E, E.[/quote]

thanks for the reply :) even if it's in E though I'm still not sure where the bridge chords come from?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure about the chord flavour (7, minor, sus, etc), but the root notes of the bridge are all part of the E major scale. They are the III, VI, II and V in the scale.

Don't think this answer the whole of your question, but that's as far as I can help :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Joebass' post='1182238' date='Mar 30 2011, 02:13 PM']They're all chords within the key of E: III(7) VI II V(sus)[/quote]

thanks again, sorry to keep on at you, I was just being an idiot about the III dominant 7, I was thinking it had a major third in there because it wasn't minor but of course that's not the case. thanks again guys *facepalm*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The G#7 is being used as what most people call a 'secondary dominant' - i.e a 7th chord that is not built upon the 5 of the key. It leads into the C#m (V-i) like you would see in a minor sequence. Make sense?

Interestingly, C# minor is the relative minor of E, the key you happen to be in. So, if the tune's tonal center was C#m, then G#7 would more likely than not be used as the V chord.

As mentioned above, all other chords are in E. They just keep going V-I until you reach you home key again. F# to B = V-I. B to E = V-I. Some people call this a cycle of fifths sequence. It is often used as a turnaround or to set up a modulation.

Hope this all makes sense!

Edited by mrpink1991
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...