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ecsmix · Post by **ecsmix** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:18 am

Hi guys,

I was wondering if someone could help me understand the theory behind this classic by David Bowie.

http://www.e-chords.com/chords/david-bowie/lets-dance

Can you do the harmonic analysis and help me understand better this song?

Thanks.

Tony Ostinato · Post by **Tony Ostinato** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:35 am

i have horn section charts for this one.

ecsmix · Post by **ecsmix** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 4:35 pm

Hey Tony thanks for the reply.

Would be great to have the horn section.

Is let's dance really in Eb?

E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, E♭

So harmonic progression is

I I7 V7sus4 I/V bIII Vm6 (intro verse)

IV bVII I bVII IV bVII/I I IV II bVII I I7 V7sus4 I7/V bIII Vm6.(chorus)

http://www.e-chords.com/chords/david-bowie/lets-dance

Is Eb really the scale used by Bowie to compose this song?

Audiosprite · Post by **Audiosprite** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:29 pm

ecsmix wrote:Hey Tony thanks for the reply.

Would be great to have the horn section.

Is let's dance really in Eb?

E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, E♭

So harmonic progression is

I I7 V7sus4 I7/V bIII Vm6 (intro verse)

IV bVII I bVII IV bVII/I I IV II bVII I I7 V7sus4 I7/V bIII Vm6.(chorus)

http://www.e-chords.com/chords/david-bowie/lets-dance

Is Eb really the scale used by Bowie to compose this song?

The roman numeral system and chord symbols don't directly translate like that; you don't write "I7/V" to mean "Eb7/Bb," for example. In "Eb7/Bb" means an Eb7 chord with a Bb in the bass, but slashes in roman numerals are used to indicate modulation. "I/V" would mean the tonic chord in the key of the dominant, so it'd be redundant to write a "I" of something. Same with a "bVII/I," since everything you write is "/I."

So in the key of Eb, to write inversions like "Eb/Bb" you'd write "I6/4," since those are the intervals created when you put the fifth of a chord in the bass (Bb -> G is a 6th, Bb -> Eb is a 4th).

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:44 pm

also, if there is a 7th in the harmony, the figure is 6/4/3, abbreviated as 4/3, 'a 4/3 chord'

historically it tends to set up V, where the 6 and 4 become a 5 and 3 as per the bass.

ecsmix · Post by **ecsmix** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:32 pm

Yeah I remember that my bad.

But please what I did but the roman stuff is correct?

Is the song is Eb for sure?

The analysis I did is correct?

Thanks.

Let's Dance Analysis