My Random Questions Thread

[JR13]

So, based on the advice of Jeremy and Jon R, I've started working through the Beatle's early stuff to train my ear to hear certain chord progressions. This thread is for me to ask all my noobish questions like how does X chord fit in and such.

 

 

My first question is about I Saw Her Standing there. I'm hearing an E7, an A7, a B7, and a C.

 

So I'd wager the key is E. If that's true, I have a few questions. How do the A7 and the C fit in? If the key is E the A7 chord should be a Maj7 and the C should be a C#m correct? The A7 and the C obviously work as they sound good. But I'm curious as to how and why they work.

 

Thanks,

Jake

[JonR]

A7 (and E7 for that matter) are blues chords.

In blues, all chords can have b7s, because they reflect the habit of flattening the 7th and 3rd of the scale.

The D in E7 is the b7, and the G in A7 is the b3 (of the key of E).

 

The C chord is "borrowed from the parallel minor". This concept says that when you are in a major key, you can use any chord that comes from the minor key with the same tonic. So any chord from E minor (such as C, D, G or Am) can be used in the key of E major. They all have the useful effect of making the major key sound "darker", "heavier" or more powerful.

This idea is extremely common in rock music.

 

The Beatles would have got the idea from old jazz tunes, and maybe rock'n'roll songs like "Honey Don't", which uses C chords in the key of E major. (IOW, they just liked the sound and didn't care about "theory". Luckily no one ever told them there were things you couldn't do in music...)

[JR13]

wow, goes to show how much you can learn from a 4 chord song

 

Thanks so much for a very informative answer. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. Cheers!

[JonR]

The other observation about that C chord is it very closely resembles a familiar old jazz sequence (key of E):

E - E7 - A - Am - E...

 

Again the Am is "borrowed from key of E minor", but it's a smoother sequence. No doubt the Beatles preferred the more powerful effect of the C major chord, where the bass jumps up - the chord is syncopated too, with that falsetto "ooh", and it's the most dramatic point of the song.