Chapter 7 Flashcards
borrowing and the rise of rock
what is chord borrowing?
Let’s draw up this enlarged family, which involves recognising minor chords on the scale degrees of l, 4, and 5 (previously thought of as exclusively major), while ‘filling in the gaps’ ,’with major chords on the scale degrees of b3, b6, and 7 (sometimes referred to as
chromatic points when used in a major key).
The ‘Parallel ‘ Master Source - C Major and C Minor
The Beatles put each of the borrowed triads to work in a range of novel ways throughout their songwriting. This chapter goes through some applications for each chord in this enlarged framework, starting with the new minor chords.
McCartney gets right to the heart of the iv sound by having the melody exploit the only non -diatonic note in the chord: the C natural that acts as the b3rd of the Am chord. Though now it doesn’t drop by that lone semitone to B - as in the ‘ IV- iv’ minor cliche - it lives and breathes in its own right, leaping up to the 5th of the key scale, producing the melancholy effect of the opening line.
Most importantly, the dissonance created by the iv needs resolving and Paul manages to do this in two ways, returning first to I directly, and then by suggesting imminent resolution through a ii- V. The fact that the verse thwarts this set -up, moving instead to new pastures, adds to the sense of meandering that characterises this song.
The principle to take from both these songs is simply that ‘iv can substitute directly for IV’ - replacing it entirely.
the opening to the bridge in ‘I’ll Follow The Sun’ demonstrates neatly how The Beatles appear to conceive this ‘borrowed iv ‘ as originating from the very same ‘IV-iv-I’ ‘trick’ that they heard and favoured so much in the early days.
Just think for a minute about this ii -iv-I sequence. Isn’t the ii just a relative minor substitution for IV ? Replace the IV and we’re back where we started! ‘Variations on a theme’, as John Lennon would say. But it was with precisely such variations that The Beatles distanced themselves so cleverly from cliche.
John Lennon was equally familiar with iv, using it in a wide range of songs. For a Lennon example of a straight ‘iv for IV’ swap, look no further than the verse of ‘Nowhere Man’. The song may start out as a Three-Chord Trick, before the Em adds initial interest, but we soon swoon as Gm replaces G in the final line of the verse.
Lennon was using a determined iv-I cadence on With The Beatles to reconcile the potential Aeolian ambiguity in the verse of ‘All I’ve Got To Do’ (remember the effect of an opening vi chord?):
Notice also the preceding ii chord, which gives the effect of the extended ii -iv-I of ‘I’ll Follow The Sun’. Lennon’s use of both the ii and the iv here allows him to avoid the up - beat predictability of the IV (major) until the chorus (‘and the same goes for me’) by which time we are ready for it after the melancholy feel of a long stretch of minor chords.
It seems The Beatles were highly aware of the power of precisely this juxtaposition. Dig out ‘The Night Before’ to hear a predictable IV (en route to a V-I) being trumped by another mood -altering ‘iv’, again with the 6th in the melody. And what better ‘harmonic
rethink’ to accompany the very line: ‘Now today l find that you have changed your mind’ (0.23- 0.27)7
Lennon was still milking the same contrast as late as ‘Real Love’. Once again here’s ‘iv supporting a touching melodic 6th “ and one that lends subtle depth to the pre - chorus section, ahead of the conventional A major that follows in his favourite Four -Chord Turnaround.
But Lennon’s use of the minor subdominant surely reached a peak in ‘The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill’. It first features proudly in the sing-along chorus - one that’s, repeated identically in another key three semitones away, and each time with the melody line using the
b3 of the highlighted chord.
But this use of iv in the chorus is nothing in comparison to Lennon ‘s exit from the minor -key verse:
A humble setting, but that’s precisely why it makes the point so well. For this moment can be seen purely as a ‘borrowed v minor’, a chord that MacDonald perceptively suggests was used not to ‘pique classical ears by creating modal instability in the melody line but because going to A major would have been too obvious’.
And it’s a change that obviously fascinated John Lennon, too. For while it may have been light years removed from this early, hysteria-fuelled Beatlemania context the same ‘I-v’ move would later be responsible for some memorable, psychedelic unease in
‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. Here it defines the plunging denouement at the end of the line ‘Let me take you down ‘cause I’m going to .. .’
Here again the v proves a sure -fire method of creating tension and interest, particularly when providing support for
b7th in the melody.
Check out too, how, in the ballad context of ‘She’s Leaving Home’, a ‘I-v’ creates a dreamy backdrop for the teenage girl as she tip- toes downstairs on ‘Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock’.
Note how the minor dominant contrasts with the regular, major V, which itself resumes at the end of each verse, before the return
to E major.
Finally, the appearance of the same chord in two Lennon songs, ‘Julia’ and ‘Sun King’, helps us to make some interesting
observations in terms of substitution analysis (both songs in the key of C for ease of comparison).
Both extracts are harmonically similar, with the one differing chord easily explained as a simple ‘vi. -for -I’ substitution. Meanwhile,
the v minor itself can be seen as a substitute for a tonic dominant seventh chord that would have added flavour directly ahead of another secondary dominant. Play the ‘Sun King’ sequence as C7- A7 to hear the familiar sound. But, instead, Lennon effectively
harmonises the line using a standard jazz device known as the ‘Dominant Minor Substitution Rule’.
The Dominant Minor Substitution Rule
‘when a dominant seventh chord appears, you can substitute a minor chord a fifth above’ Hence Gm7 emerges as an effective substitute for a C dominant chord. The basic chords share two common tones, while the
substitute now also introduces implied 9th and 11th flavours in terms of the parent key. The following chart sets out the relationship.
In ‘Julia’, the Gm works especially well as the F and A notes in the melody create pretty ~ b7th and 9th extensions that reinforce the dreamy theme. In ‘Sun King’, the b3 of the chord (Bb) acts to extend in the harmony the descending chromatic line begun by the melody as C drops to B. The latter represents a great example of the way that harmony acts to subtly develop an idea even though the melody may have taken a different path.
To confirm our understanding of these harmonization principles, compare ‘Sun King’ with the famous opening line of ‘Something’, which features the same three -semitone drop of 1-7-b7-6, but this time in both the
melody and the harmony.
Notice how the sense of security provided by the opening 8- bar chorus is so poignantly - if fleetingly - questioned as we jump to
the rogue chord on the words ‘when everybody has gone’, reinforcing the lyric perfectly with a tinge of sly knowingness. It’s really no surprise that Mann singled out this precise moment , another that neatly encapsulates The Beatles’ novelty just as surely as the ‘v’ of ‘I’ll Get You’.
Just to confirm this , let’s see how that C major chord - the bVI from E minor - gatecrashes the party in E major, in true ‘borrowed’ style.
Locating the ‘borrowed ‘ ‘Flat Submediant ‘ - ~ bVI
In both Perkins’ and Holly’s great rock ‘n’ roll classics the bVI appears as the only departure from the Three -Chord Trick. But
what a departure! Given the extreme rarity and novelty of such a move there would seem no question that The Beatles were
influenced by this pair of songs. Nevertheless, in keeping with our theme of songwriting development, they duly perfected the idea
by also featuring the very specific non -diatonic notes that the chord introduces - in the melody. It is the C and G natural notes in
the tune - notes that are facilitated by this C chord - that create The Beatles’ knock- out punch.
We can also explain the power of this change in terms of an extreme substitution : for theory tells us that as long as there is one common tone between two triads
we can substitute one/or the other. E major and C major do share the lone E note, and so ~ bVI
can substitute for I.
While the ‘I-bVI-I’ move was integral to ‘ It Won’t Be Long’, the re - emergence of the same chord change as a throw -a way gesture at the close of ‘Till There Was You’, a few tracks later, shows the nonchalant facility with which The Beatles could incorporate exotic
harmony at will. Even in 1963, we find a string of elaborate codas confidently featuring dramatic twists and exceptional attention to detail. The closing bars of this cover are a case in point.
Not content with that brief disorientating slide back from the dominant to the bV, the tonic then alternates with bVI to give us something far tastier than any of our familiar cadences. In terms of our theoretical framework, we’ll soon see how this deceptive wrap- up can actually be rationalised as a super -slick alternative to the Plagal cadence.
Meanwhile, despite a few precedents such as these in early sixties pop, Mann was right in suggesting that bVI
represented extreme
novelty in pop music in 1963. Nevertheless, The Beatles had already used it for an earlier landmark in Beatlemania, their very own ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ :
An Fm chord would have supported the C melody note just fine (as the 5th of the chord) but it wouldn’t have ‘rocked’. It wouldn’t
have been rock. It is that minor third interval - an element that is steadily emerging as one of the secrets to the sound of rock (here between the roots of IV and bVI) that drives the song at this point.
Compare this with McCartney’s ‘When I’m Sixty Four’, which this time does deliver an ‘F- Fm -C’ with no bVI chord in sight. This time the recorded version finds McCartney’s bass hanging on the F root as the woodwind drops from A to Ab to make the implied iv chord, before returning to the root.
But in the Abbey Road song, McCartney delivers the relative major of Dm - the F chord instantly avoiding the cliche, in favour of a hard -edged blues -rock sound. The difference is everything as the bVI chord - combined with Paul’s frantic
vocal delivery - leaves the listener in no doubt as to his anguish.
The bVI7 pre-dominant
And from here it’s only a short step to seeing the principles at work in various Beatles originals. Here are two examples - one early and one late - but each using the same idea of a bVI7-V7 to create , this time , an Imperfect cadence when wrapping up a section
ahead of the tonic
he was still using the idea as late as Abbey Road, for those ‘mean
old man’ l’ dirty old man’ pay-off phrases that form such a great recycled hook.
If there is certainly a formulaic touch to all these bVI7s as they head so predictably to the dominant, Paul McCartney ‘s use of the chord in ‘Honey Pie’ features a slice of novelty that arguably belongs in the list of the top - to coolest Beatles chord changes. Just listen to the opening move as the verse jumps from G to Eb7
let’s not forget the lyrical match - for the fact that the unhinged chord in question appears over the words ‘crazy’ and ‘frantic’
arguably sends it right to the top of the class in any appreciation of Beatles song-writing.
‘Lend Me Your Comb’, a song that appears to have been a fixture in Beatles live sets. There’s no mistaking the rogue chord that appears in the intro as the opening tonic makes its first move from E-G natural (a ‘borrowed’ bIII before moving on to the IV and V. Although nobody knew it at the time, this was rock music in the making. The Beatles were clearly so taken with the sound that they presumably couldn’t resist making a fleeting gesture to ‘Lend Me Your Comb’ when it came to ‘Please P lease Me’. Guitarists all know the moment: that seemingly off- the -cuff ascending figure (first at 0.13) that adds some serious ‘balls’ to the proceedings.
This was the first of several musical factors that distanced ‘Please Please Me’ from the predictable (if catchy) Four -Chord Cycles of ‘How Do You Do it ?, the song that was originally earmarked as their second singJe .
Here is another songwriting ploy that has remained a defining idea in pop music far beyond The Beatles: hear it equally on The Who’s ‘I Can See For Miles’; in Sam & Dave’s soul standard ‘ Hold On I’m Coming’ and on Robbie Williams’ driving signature anthem , ‘Let Me Entertain You’.
The chorus of ‘Back In The USSR’ also features this same run after a verse sequence in which the bIII first appears after the IV . What could have been a Three -Chord Trick emerges as pure rock as the C chord delivers the line ‘Didn’t get to bed last night’.
For a George Harrison example, the
bIII creates a vital downbeat reference point in ‘Think For Yourself , over the line ‘To say about the things that you do’ Again, ‘ bIII- IV ‘ with a return to the tonic is the plan.
Strangely enough , the deeply rod.), sound of bIII-IV was being used by The Everly Brothers as far back as 1957, on classics like ‘Bye Bye Love’ and ‘Wake Up Little Suzie’ (if only very specifically and fleetingly on the intros to those songs). I t’s as if the chord itself, with its dark undertones, represented overly daring, almost forbidden fruit in those early days.
the even more primitive ‘ I-bIII-I’ , would reappear later in the dark blues -rock strains of ‘Helter Skelter ‘ (‘And I see you again) and ‘Yer Blues’ (,If I ain’t dead already’).
The idea of a song returning to base with a ‘ bIII to I drop’ is another bluesy stalwart that gets reincarnated as a defining idea in standards ranging from ‘Voodoo Chile’ to ‘Midnight Hour ‘ only to be picked up again and again by generations of rock bands in
genres from Punk to Britpop.
the emergent sound of bIII can be seen not only in the fleeting riff of ‘Please Please Me’ but also in the self- contained instrumental that ends that same song.
Here The Beatles conjured, out of nowhere, a progression lasting just a few seconds (and not repeated elsewhere in the song), yet one that succinctly encapsulates a sound that would be built upon by generations of rockers. The permutations of bII and bVI are
particularly interesting when constructing four- chord , rock- based classics.
Think of Traffic’s ‘Gimme Some Lovin “, which after a lengthy vamp on a bluesy E tonic, finally explodes into life with I -bIII-IV-bVI
Fast-forward to Nirvana’s landmark grunge album , Nevermind, as the historic guitar lick of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ cycles around I-IV-bIII-bVI with the latter two chords reminding us once again of the potential for up -a fourth root movement between these two
members. [Intro/Riff]
Em A G C
~bVII as a ‘pre -dominant ‘ -fuelling the V7
‘All My Loving’, back on With The Beatles, is a useful starting point. Here the chord appears suddenly towards the end of an otherwise strongly diatonic stretch of E major chords that begins, with that ‘poppy’ ‘ii - V-I-vi’ sequence referred to in Chapter 3. But notice how the second time that the all- important dominant appears it is not the ‘ii’ that primes it as we have come to
expect , but the bVII
Here is a great example of The Beatles getting the chords to ‘do the work’ in a song. For while that melodic F# (on ‘true’) is supported as the 3rd of the D, so it would have appeared happily as the root of the preceding ii - or indeed as the 5th of the following V7. In this sense, the D chord can be regarded as superfluous to the proceedings. Yet its role as a means of propelling the song
forward to this ‘hanging’ V is confirmed by comparing it with the more conventional ‘IV- V -I’ that now seems to decelerate the song as it wraps up the 16- bar verse. But then the harmonic ebb and flow at these specific moments is one of the very reasons why the
song works so well.
Let It Be’ sees another development of this principle in the distinctive instrumental interlude that closes the song. While, at first sight, the passage may appear to be rather more elaborate than our earlier examples (and the chordal activity is very busy) we can still pick out the same defining bVII-V move prior to the appropriately hymnal Plagal cadence (now in its distinctive ‘church organ’ setting).
Guy Chambers makes a point of praising the voice-leading in this very move, while Ian Hammond also highlights the clash of the Bb in the ‘Chromatic Subtonic’ (a grander name for the bVII) and the B natural and how this dichotomy gives the song ‘just that
extra little kick’. As with the borrowed
bIII , so the role of the bVII has been to give generations of pop songs a ‘kick’ of varying intensity.
American rock writer Askold Buk points out that this ‘ bVII-V7 move is integral to the sound of several rock, soul and R’n’B classics, including ‘Proud Mary’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Wilson Pickett’s ‘(In The) Midnight Hour’ and Otis Redding’s ‘Dock Of The Bay’. Meanwhile Citron sees it as prevalent in American Country music, with writers like Glen Campbell and Jim Webb adopting it for what is now colourfully referred to as an ‘open prairie feeling’
American rock writer Askold Buk points out that this ‘ bVII-V7 move is integral to the sound of several rock, soul and R’n’B classics, including ‘Proud Mary’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Wilson Pickett’s ‘(In The) Midnight Hour’ and Otis Redding’s ‘Dock Of The Bay’. Meanwhile Citron sees it as prevalent in American Country music, with writers like Glen Campbell and Jim Webb adopting it for what is now colourfully referred to as an ‘open prairie feeling’
The main lesson of this simple cycle is to see how the dissonant 4th degree of the parent scale is supported not as the root of the IV
(which less inspired ‘harmonisers’ could easily have settled for), but as the 5th of the more novel bVII chord.
But, having seen the role of the 3rd and 5th of the bVII in supporting the melody, it’s fair to say that the ‘rocky’ flavours of the chord become most apparent when the melody mirrors the root. In other words, in songs where the bluesy b7th of the chromatic scale is brought into the proceedings harmonised by the bVII chord itself
As we move towards the harder rock flavours of bVII , let’s take a look at the verse of ‘The Word’. Don’t be fooled by The Beatles’ irresistible pop melody and exacting vocal arrangement; the verse structure here is the very model of a classic rock progression.
‘Lovely Rita’ represents a great case study as it features runs in fifths using both a ‘flat side’ and a conventional ‘sharp side’ sequence (on the right- hand side of the circle). Let’s look first at the latter , which will help us contrast Paul’s (not so) subtle ploys as
the differing lyrical themes so expertly tie in with the music. The full cycle lets us literally follow Paul’s ‘seduction plan’ in graphic detail.
First up then is the familiar ‘vi-II-V-I’ root movement of the chorus , the most standard of pop sequences used here to effect an innocent introduction to the lady herself. However, these fresh sounding, ‘poppy’ undertones depicting the singer’s fantasy give way to the more ‘knowing’ sound of the borrowed chords (certainly by the time we get to his true intentions in Verse 4).
The IV chord may be no great shakes as a ‘default’ opening destination for a new idea, but watch how - from there - McCartney runs down in fifths to give us a sequence containing a distinctive pair of borrowed major triads that the chromatic cycle encompasses: bVII and
bIII . And the lyrics could hardly track the musical shift any better as , in a later verse, ‘When are you free to
take some tea with me’ becomes ‘took her home , I nearly made it’, with the bVII chord (and its root in the melody) coming in to play just when we need its raunchy effect.
Notice how McCartney actually spoils the symmetry of his own ‘flat side’ progression by temporarily abandoning the move of a fifth after the bIII and substituting a tonic chord in place of the bVI7 that would have led smoothly down by a half- step to the V7
Had he gone for this alternative harmonisation (the E melody note would have been supported comfortably by the 3rd of the C
chord in a ‘common tone’ substitution) McCartney would have matched the ultimate flat-side Cycle Of Fifths conjured so perfectly by his hero , Buddy Holly. Here is the textbook bridge of ‘Everyday’, which, not surprisingly, emerges as having been a favorite Beatles live cover between 1957- 62.
Notice how McCartney actually spoils the symmetry of his own ‘flat side’ progression by temporarily abandoning the move of a fifth after the bIII and substituting a tonic chord in place of the bVI7 that would have led smoothly down by a half- step to the V7
Had he gone for this alternative harmonisation (the E melody note would have been supported comfortably by the 3rd of the C chord in a ‘common tone’ substitution) McCartney would have matched the ultimate flat-side Cycle Of Fifths conjured so perfectly by his hero , Buddy Holly. Here is the textbook bridge of ‘Everyday’, which, not surprisingly, emerges as having been a favorite Beatles live cover between 1957- 62.
Notice how for each of the first two four- bar phrases, both V-I and IV -I resolutions are shunned in favour of this alternative rocky upstart. This makes for a more primitive touchstone than ‘Another Girl’ which still relies on both these conventional cadences at
important points of rest in the sequence. Here though , the bVII chord not only supports the b7 note in the melody but its suitably driving, ‘parallel’ return to base manages to musically symbolise emerging sixties youth - whether he is ‘working like a dog’ or ‘sleeping like a log’.
At a stroke, the resulting sound distanced The Beatles from fifties rock ‘n’ roll, R’n’B and country, on the one hand, and pure pop on the other
‘Help!’ provides one of the most clearly identifiable examples as it unfolds on the lines: ‘help in any way’ and ‘opened up the doors’.
The bVII did indeed open up the doors - and not just for The Beatles - for the device within a simple I -bVII- I alternation would appear in a gobsmacking range of early rock landmarks in the mid-sixties. The Kinks are often cited as the pioneers of this bVII ‘rock’ sound and, as every bar band knows, they milked this interval for all it was worth on classics like ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Where Have All The Good Times Gone’ and ‘All Day And All Of The Night’.
F G G F G 4x
The bVII did indeed open up the doors - and not just for The Beatles - for the device within a simple I -bVII- I alternation would appear in a gobsmacking range of early rock landmarks in the mid-sixties. The Kinks are often cited as the pioneers of this bVII ‘rock’ sound and, as every bar band knows, they milked this interval for all it was worth on classics like ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Where Have All The Good Times Gone’ and ‘All Day And All Of The Night’.
The bVII did indeed open up the doors - and not just for The Beatles - for the device within a simple I -bVII- I alternation would appear in a gobsmacking range of early rock landmarks in the mid-sixties. The Kinks are often cited as the pioneers of this bVII ‘rock’ sound and, as every bar band knows, they milked this interval for all it was worth on classics like ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Where Have All The Good Times Gone’ and ‘All Day And All Of The Night’.
|| G G G G | G/F G/F G/F G/G
The Beatles also display their own I -bVII- I ‘oscillations’, most obviously in the two-chord vamp (G7-F7- G7) that concludes the
experimental ‘Wild Honey Pie’ (from 0.39) on the White Album.
the very same repetitive root sequence defines many of The Beatles’ famous
mantra -like, modal excursions, which reach a hallucinatory peak on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. ‘We Can Work It Out’ sees them straddling the boundaries of ‘pop’ and ‘modal rock’ in what is often regarded as their ‘transitionary’ period in 1965- 66:
Watch how the song seems headed inexorably from V to I as A appears to set up the expected move to D. The D note itself is indeed then heard , but it proves to have been a false dawn. This is because the note appears not as the root of the D major tonic we anticipated but , as the 3rd of Bb. The cadence to D is thereby delayed, only reaching its intended target two bars later; and turning what seems destined to be an 8- bar section into one of 10 measures.
And with that two- bar addendum crafted perfectly as a subliminal musical postscript for the very words of the title, here is a
lyrical and musical premise of which even Cole Porter would have been proud , and one that certainly matched the famously extended
phrasing of ‘Love Me Do’. But forget the ‘delay’ factor. More significant is the nature of the candence, namely that the sequence represents The Beatles’ earliest example of returning to a major tonic with the novelty of bVII. Already McCartney was rebelling against the standard Perfect and Plagal cadences (or, if we were lucky, ‘iv-I’) that typically prevailed in the simple harmonic
framework of fifties rock ‘n’ roll. Three major triads - ‘in parallel’ - each separated by a whole tone , became a powerful alternative
that The Beatles would constantly rework.
Just as bVI-bVII-I minor would become a defining rock progression, so would this ‘borrowed’ version in a major key (or even with third-less power-chords). It may only have constituted the briefest of passing chords in ‘P .S. I Love You’, but listen closely now to
‘Lady Madonna’ as the music literally helps her to ‘make ends meet’ with its novel resolution.
Just as bVI-bVII-I minor would become a defining rock progression, so would this ‘borrowed’ version in a major key (or even with third-less power-chords). It may only have constituted the briefest of passing chords in ‘P .S. I Love You’, but listen closely now to ‘Lady Madonna’ as the music literally helps her to ‘make ends meet’ with its novel resolution. The same goes for the start - and end - of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ as Billy Shears enters - and exits - Sgt. Pepper’s Big Top, again with the lyrical theme subliminally matching the cadential drama of C-D- E. And so it continued , right on through to
‘Polythene Pam’ on Abbey Rood .
[Intro]
C D E
Billlllll - lyyyyyyyyy Shears
D A Yes, I get by with a little help from my
friends, With a little help from my
C D E
frieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeends.
Just as bVI-bVII-I minor would become a defining rock progression, so would this ‘borrowed’ version in a major key (or even with third-less power-chords). It may only have constituted the briefest of passing chords in ‘P .S. I Love You’, but listen closely now to ‘Lady Madonna’ as the music literally helps her to ‘make ends meet’ with its novel resolution. The same goes for the start - and end - of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ as Billy Shears enters - and exits - Sgt. Pepper’s Big Top, again with the lyrical theme subliminally matching the cadential drama of C-D- E. And so it continued , right on through to
‘Polythene Pam’ on Abbey Rood .
The famous Beatle battle-cry of ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ is back in evidence, but the ballsy sound is now far removed from early Beatlemania as those ascending second intervals work their magic. Here is a sound surely recognizable as having been exploited by
every rock band as thoroughly as the Three -Chord Trick itself.
bVI-bVII-I
The verse of David Bowie’s ‘Suffragette City’, with its laid-back ‘Hey man’ lyrics underpinned by the relentless power of the repeated F-G-A ascent, is a landmark that perhaps best links the sixties origins of the sequence with the latest contemporary excursions.
bVI-bVII-I
Meanwhile, even a short stretch of this progression can be seen to immediately add rock clout to a diverse range of classics. listen to the same run - up in The Kinks’ ‘Lola’ (C-D-E)
[Intro]
C D E
bVI-bVII-I
Meanwhile, even a short stretch of this progression can be seen to immediately add rock clout to a diverse range of classics. listen to the same run - up in The Kinks’ ‘Lola’ (C-D-E); or the Pretenders’ ‘Kid’ (F-G- A)
bVI-bVII-I
The Rolling Stones would dine out on this sequence in songs like
‘Gimme Shelter’ - where it accounts for almost the entire song.
bVI-bVII-I
As a driving cadence it as integral
to the raw punk of Buzzcocks’ ‘Orgasm Addict’
bVI-bVII-I
where it again appears as a meaty diversion to the classic pop flavours, to the Oasis single, ‘Go Let It Out’.
bVI-bVII-I
bVI-bVII-I
Buddy Holly surely deserves some credit (once again) for the way in which his 1958 song, ‘Well All Right’, opens so boldly with the I -bVII-I (F#-E-F#) pattern
before alternating with the dominant.
music historians are also encouraged to check out the deceptively sophisticated song ‘Why’, on which The Beatles backed Tony Sheridan.
In the key of G we hear a clearly cycled I-bVII-I intro that is dramatically at odds with the ‘sweet’ pop progression that comprises the verse.
The chorus itself then uses another manifestation of the three - major - triads -in- parallel of (b). But now it’s bIII-IV-V an uncannily symmetrical- sounding ploy, that delivers an inexorable drive to the dominant for the acid-spiked ‘middle feeling ‘ over the infamous ‘Goo goo g’joob’.
Here it acts to cue another of rock’s most famous sequences: ‘I-bVII-bVI-V, which emerges as nothing more than the major version of the Aeolian ‘Runaway’ descent. Another versatile musical sure thing, for however you conceive the tonic, the root movement is identical. It’s a run that , in major, has appeared in classics from The Ventures ‘Walk Don’t Run’ to The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’.
Walk Dont Run
A G F E
One of the most effective elements of ‘I Am The Walrus’ is the way in which this sequence reappears in the final chorus and coda -but now creating a sublime feeling of tonal ambiguity that goes beyond the use of multiple borrowed chords in a single key. Look first at the coda in the following extract.
Am G
As I walk along, I wonder what went wrong
F
With our love
E7
A love that was so strong.
The Beatles paved the way for precisely such a transition in many ways, dating back in various forms to their
very earliest excursions. After all, didn’t William Mann say as much with his own Aeolian cadence and its modal bVII -tonic action way back in 1963? By this time, as we’ve seen, McCartney had already rebelled against Perfect and Plagal cadences and predictable
pop structures with his deceptive bVII- bVII-I ascent in ‘P.S. I Love You’
Far from being a theoretical debate exclusive to academia, this touches on a crucial thread in the evolution of rock harmony. Moore even captures the cultural context - the very attitude - of the ~ bVII - tonic cadence when he says that while it ‘does not have
the finality of the tradltional V-I … it seems to me to qualify that certainty with “ nevertheless” ~ ‘ .
With ambiguity of various sorts defining the whole rock genre, let’s make that a ‘maybe’.
