Tech Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 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! Quote
Joebass Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 It's all in E. The verse chords are: D/E, E. Quote
Tech Posted March 30, 2011 Author Posted March 30, 2011 [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? Quote
Joebass Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 They're all chords within the key of E: III(7) VI II V(sus) Quote
razze06 Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 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 Quote
razze06 Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 [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] Ach beat me to it by 6 minutes Quote
Tech Posted March 30, 2011 Author Posted March 30, 2011 [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* Quote
mrpink1991 Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 (edited) 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 April 2, 2011 by mrpink1991 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.