This is a fairly simple, but to me at least, a very effective chord and melody sequence. I've only been able to find one really noticeable key change, which is in the latter part of each chorus section. I think I've figured out most of the chords, but I'm interested to hear anyone's technical commentary on it, since I'm not really an academic theory oriented musician. Overall this song has what I would call a pretty smart pop/smooth jazz feel to it.
Anyway, here it is:
Anyone care to analyze this R&B song?
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- KVRAF
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
BTW, sorry for the Victoria's Secret style photo presentation. This is the official release on YT, posted by the artist herself and, well, there's no accounting for taste... 
(She's pretty cute, though).
(She's pretty cute, though).
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- 16809 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Code: Select all
Verse:
| Gm | F/G | Gm | F/G |
repeated
Chorus:
| Ebmaj7 F Gm | Dm7 F | Ebmaj7 F Gm | Fmaj7 Cmaj7 Ebmaj7 |
2x
Bridge @ 2:58
| Cm Fm Eb | Eb | Cm Fm Dm7 | G D/A G/B |
| Eb Dm7 | Cm Bbmaj7 | Am | Cm Dm7 |
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
Interesting. I'm not hearing those chords in the second part of the chorus.I'm hearing some chord with the components of F minor at 1:17-18 and then another chord that sounds like a G minor 7, or maybe it's just a G min, not sure about the F being in there, immediately after that, then I hear the whole chorus section end on a D min 7 (around 1:27), then briefly an F, before settling on G min again for the little synth riff before the next verse.
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- 16809 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Yeah, I messed up that chorus. Forgot the repetition of the first two bars, and mistook the Bb for a C. Still not too bad considering I have no keyboard or whatsoever here at my disposal,just relying on my ears 
Better version:
Better version:
Code: Select all
Chorus:
| Ebmaj7 F Gm | Dm7 F | Ebmaj7 F Gm | Dm7 F |
| Ebmaj7 F Gm | Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 F Gm | Dm7 F |We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
Wow, very good for having no reference instrument (are you at work?).
I'm still convinced it briefly changes key in the second part of each chorus. I'm hearing it as an F minor but that A flat, if I'm not imaging it, seems to be in the mid-high pad sound so it isn't totally obvious. I don't think the bass line plays it. That synth bass, or whatever it is, seems to pretty quickly describe an arpeggiated E flat (or maj 7) again right after what I'm hearing as F minor into G minor. I have to go to bed now but I'll go over it again tomorrow.
Edit, I see we're half in agreement here, although I'm not sure if it's centered on the same section. I think you are hearing an F with an E and I'm hearing an F with an A flat. Hmmmm....
One of us is wrong and it could well be me.
I played along with it many times, though, and F minor worked very well there to my ears.
I'm still convinced it briefly changes key in the second part of each chorus. I'm hearing it as an F minor but that A flat, if I'm not imaging it, seems to be in the mid-high pad sound so it isn't totally obvious. I don't think the bass line plays it. That synth bass, or whatever it is, seems to pretty quickly describe an arpeggiated E flat (or maj 7) again right after what I'm hearing as F minor into G minor. I have to go to bed now but I'll go over it again tomorrow.
Edit, I see we're half in agreement here, although I'm not sure if it's centered on the same section. I think you are hearing an F with an E and I'm hearing an F with an A flat. Hmmmm....
One of us is wrong and it could well be me.
I played along with it many times, though, and F minor worked very well there to my ears.
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- 16809 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Yep, I'm at work.
Right, you're talking about the first chord in the 6th bar of the chorus, which I noted down as a Fmaj7. You're correct, that should be an F minor indeed...
Then the one after that, where I said Bbmaj7 and you say Gm? The Bb and Gm chords have many notes in common, so both notations describe simular chords. I'd have to dysect all the pad notes to be sure. I could write out the whole bass line if that would help.
Right, you're talking about the first chord in the 6th bar of the chorus, which I noted down as a Fmaj7. You're correct, that should be an F minor indeed...
Then the one after that, where I said Bbmaj7 and you say Gm? The Bb and Gm chords have many notes in common, so both notations describe simular chords. I'd have to dysect all the pad notes to be sure. I could write out the whole bass line if that would help.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
Nah, I was mostly trying to track down what I hear as that soft little hook with the F minor. What key do you think it modulates to there? C minor or E flat major?
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
If I was in the studio & saw a chord chart with that junk I would discard it and play it by ear. a chord chart that said "Gm vamp" would be less intrusive and more accurate than this.
there isn't any modulation. generally there aren't really discrete chords. As far as I'm concerned there is no chord change until just before 1:00 and it KIND OF goes Bb6 if you HAD to call it something other than Gm but IMO there is no there, there.
you really should approach this from a different paradigm than, separate triad here there or the other spot. it doesn't go anywhere much but decorates the melody with occasional tones that at a given spot would be hard to pin down as this or that triad. All of the movement is supplied by the bass player while the keyboardist is doing a good job staying out of the tune's way.
You do hear the melody do 'C D G' periodically and you want to stick a Cm7, a Dm7 on it or something. No. It doesn't happen. I can see if you had to define a couple of things, that Eb^7 isn't really bad, but it isn't so much that.
There sure as hell is no F minor. This is blues pentatonic and doesn't even use a full 7 note scale. it does like some F, and some Bb (and I do not mean chords) but I can't find anywhere yet that strays from that pedal on G. Playing lines against it any note outside of G minor pentatonic is pretty much a faux pas. you can get away with an Eb, but it's inessential and is a decoration of D if you used it. it has a feeling of iv often enough, but a full on triad is not tasteful, it's kind of gross.
you're trying to glom white people harmony onto something it doesn't belong to. It's much more subtle than what you have.
good luck.
there isn't any modulation. generally there aren't really discrete chords. As far as I'm concerned there is no chord change until just before 1:00 and it KIND OF goes Bb6 if you HAD to call it something other than Gm but IMO there is no there, there.
you really should approach this from a different paradigm than, separate triad here there or the other spot. it doesn't go anywhere much but decorates the melody with occasional tones that at a given spot would be hard to pin down as this or that triad. All of the movement is supplied by the bass player while the keyboardist is doing a good job staying out of the tune's way.
You do hear the melody do 'C D G' periodically and you want to stick a Cm7, a Dm7 on it or something. No. It doesn't happen. I can see if you had to define a couple of things, that Eb^7 isn't really bad, but it isn't so much that.
There sure as hell is no F minor. This is blues pentatonic and doesn't even use a full 7 note scale. it does like some F, and some Bb (and I do not mean chords) but I can't find anywhere yet that strays from that pedal on G. Playing lines against it any note outside of G minor pentatonic is pretty much a faux pas. you can get away with an Eb, but it's inessential and is a decoration of D if you used it. it has a feeling of iv often enough, but a full on triad is not tasteful, it's kind of gross.
you're trying to glom white people harmony onto something it doesn't belong to. It's much more subtle than what you have.
good luck.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
what I mean is, set aside this idea there must be chords. I heard it and heard it again and I didn't hear a single chord change. as far as any initial reply, it's a big 
.
so, seeing all these chords, this busy chord chart, first thing I did was try out the problematic-looking things, 'Eb' is the least of them. Generally it doesn't add anything, even when the movement is more or less to iv, it isn't a very attractive addition to what they have. I knew there is no Ab going on. There isn't so much an A either. You could say there is in toto a six note scale [G Bb C D Eb F] and be telling the whole truth (unless something exotic happens after the two and half minutes I played with it).
The thing to do is listen to the tune. Know for sure what the tune is. Then the next thing is what the bass player done. The keys fill in with some things that aren't so much chords. if you want to learn what these cats did here, set aside your ideas and what you know. because that stuff isn't relevant here.
listen! you want to suss this track, transcribe the players contributions per se. Think of it as lines, not blocks.
.so, seeing all these chords, this busy chord chart, first thing I did was try out the problematic-looking things, 'Eb' is the least of them. Generally it doesn't add anything, even when the movement is more or less to iv, it isn't a very attractive addition to what they have. I knew there is no Ab going on. There isn't so much an A either. You could say there is in toto a six note scale [G Bb C D Eb F] and be telling the whole truth (unless something exotic happens after the two and half minutes I played with it).
The thing to do is listen to the tune. Know for sure what the tune is. Then the next thing is what the bass player done. The keys fill in with some things that aren't so much chords. if you want to learn what these cats did here, set aside your ideas and what you know. because that stuff isn't relevant here.
listen! you want to suss this track, transcribe the players contributions per se. Think of it as lines, not blocks.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
What in the world is white people harmony?
Well, you're outnumbered two to one. Bert and I both hear an F minor. Is a brief chord substitution out of the home key a modulation? I guess not really, but to me I hear a new key any time there is a substitution like that so I call it a modulation, but it certainly isn't a full shift to a new key.
It makes a huge difference to my ear vs. that having simply been another F. He arguably stays in C minor or E flat major until he hits the next D minor 7, which then seals it as being firmly back in G minor. That makes this song really interesting to me and I think it was very intelligently executed harmony.
Of course this is just a "stupid pop song" so feel free to refrain from wasting your time with it if you so choose.
Well, you're outnumbered two to one. Bert and I both hear an F minor. Is a brief chord substitution out of the home key a modulation? I guess not really, but to me I hear a new key any time there is a substitution like that so I call it a modulation, but it certainly isn't a full shift to a new key.
It makes a huge difference to my ear vs. that having simply been another F. He arguably stays in C minor or E flat major until he hits the next D minor 7, which then seals it as being firmly back in G minor. That makes this song really interesting to me and I think it was very intelligently executed harmony.
Of course this is just a "stupid pop song" so feel free to refrain from wasting your time with it if you so choose.
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5524 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Mars Colony
I'm not even sure what you're on about here. Did you even listen to the track or just play through Bert's changes?jancivil wrote:what I mean is, set aside this idea there must be chords. I heard it and heard it again and I didn't hear a single chord change. as far as any initial reply, it's a big
There certainly are chords in that track, but they are being played mostly by a pad synth that isn't very prominent in the mix. I can hear very distinct chordal harmony. The fact that there are a lot of shared notes doesn't distract me from the fact that the harmony is indeed shifting (as in F vs. D min 7 for instance). You seem to be focusing mostly on the bass line.
"You don’t expect much beyond a gaping, misspelled void when you stare into the cold dark place that is Internet comments."
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
---Salon on internet trolls attacking Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
Yeah I bet you don't know what I'm on about. I played through the song, yes I did. And I could go in right now and contribute to this track and everyone would love me.
AS I SAID I tested the problems I noted on the page immediately. You want an F minor, hang out with that Ab tone. It's a horror. You want a Dm7, play that A. They DO NOT WORK. NO ONE there is using them.
you can listen to what I say or keep bullshitting yourself. The other guy is also bullshitting. You are not hearing it. You are trying to apply this bit of information you have where it doesn't mean anything. You need to get an ear, guy. The thing to do as I said is transcribe what the cats done on the track instead of guessing and believing your guesses.
AS I SAID I tested the problems I noted on the page immediately. You want an F minor, hang out with that Ab tone. It's a horror. You want a Dm7, play that A. They DO NOT WORK. NO ONE there is using them.
you can listen to what I say or keep bullshitting yourself. The other guy is also bullshitting. You are not hearing it. You are trying to apply this bit of information you have where it doesn't mean anything. You need to get an ear, guy. The thing to do as I said is transcribe what the cats done on the track instead of guessing and believing your guesses.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
those are not facts. That is YOUR GUESS. and assuredly not a good guess. What's distracting you from the reality of what goes in is that your mind isn't right for this music.A.M. Gold wrote:[The fact that there are a lot of shared notes doesn't distract me from] the fact that the harmony is indeed shifting (as in F vs. D min 7 for instance). You seem to be focusing mostly on the bass line.
What I seem to be doing is your guess as well. If you want to ask a question listen to the answer. You aren't hearing it. I"m not wasting my time any further, I don't think you will improve with Teh Attitude you know something you demonstrated you do not.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
So, do browbeat your straw man. I think it's a fine song. I liked it, and I jammed with it and got into a blues mode for the evening which I enjoyed.A.M. Gold wrote:
Of course this is just a "stupid pop song" so feel free to refrain from wasting your time with it if you so choose.
You are both seeking to apply a bit of information, digested in your case not so well I think, rather than really listen. Two to one in an ad populum argument to justify ignoring someone you don't like much. Complete failure logically.
You demonstrate to me you aren't ready to hear this material. I'm not doing this to impress you. You would be the last person in the world I care to. I'm the person to listen to about this music. And since you are not ready for this information, this knowledge I AM wasting my time. If you want an answer get out of your own way. If you want to jagoff you're doing a fine job.