❗️CORRECTION: 8:17 I’ve transcribed and described ‘You Are The Sunshine of My Life” as being in C major shifting down to A major, when the original recording is actually a semitone lower than this; B major shifting down to Ab major! Sorry about this mistake... I’m so used to performing this song in C major that I stupidly forgot to check the original key! All of my analysis and arguments in the video are still 100% valid though. Sorry for any confusion!
@toprak34794 жыл бұрын
Pin your own comment, mate, it's pretty far down in the comments.
@keithkalemba53484 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the correction. One small detail, the F6 chord (or E6 in the correct key) is really an F#/E. The E aug chord (your ii chord) is a weird F/Ab!-kind of an incomplete b13b11. Took me a while to hear this one correctly.
@brianruyack76324 жыл бұрын
I know from learning some of Stevie's other songs that he likes the black key keys.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
@@toprak3479 thanks for the reminder! I thought I already had!
@BazColne4 жыл бұрын
David Bennett Piano Okay. The ideas are the same, thanks.
@hughmcaloon65064 жыл бұрын
Dude, the key change in "Wouldn't it be nice" got covered by the single snare drum beat: total camouflage!
@callumbooth68024 жыл бұрын
Percussion is great to hide the harshness of key changes because the percussion comes to the forefront and surprises us...just like an out of key note would. Was a tasteful way to help blend the change.
@twebasenoi4 жыл бұрын
I couldn't hear it myself because of that
@callumbooth68024 жыл бұрын
Tweba Senoi it’s quite an easy trick to do, your ear is listening to a certain key which has its home (in example, key of c being the note c) as soon as you get distracted by something your attention goes straight to that allowing for the home to be swapped behind your back...and unless it’s been replaced with a drastically different home the small changes will go unnoticed
@cabotage79324 жыл бұрын
That snare also scared the shiz out of me
@dougthemoleman4 жыл бұрын
@@callumbooth6802 Personally I find it very lazy, if that was the intent. Let the change make so much harmonic sense, due to your strong voice leading, that you could strip away everything else and it would still work. If the harsh change serves a specific purpose, let that shine as well.
@mitchkroener4 жыл бұрын
I’ve always thought that the opening key change to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is mimicking a Doppler effect, like when an ice cream truck rounds the corner and the music pitch starts to shift. It’s also why the line doesn’t quite sound right on an acoustic piano
@gooberwench4 жыл бұрын
That evokes the same for me!!
@nathanwahl92244 жыл бұрын
Cool thought, you're right!
@Banana_hamock3 жыл бұрын
True also the fact that de piano was recorded by stroking the strings directly instead of pressing the keys (I hope I explained that well lol) helps with this.
@lucyelstonsoprano3 жыл бұрын
Yes!!!
@captbuscemi3 жыл бұрын
Yesss!!! Same!
@MyLyfeThruTheLens4 жыл бұрын
So many of these downward key changes make me feel like they’re actually going up
@yilvoxe40174 жыл бұрын
Because the keys aren't a straight line so much as a circle, this is natural! Depending on how the notes are placed when the key changes and what chords are used, it can feel like an upward change because it could technically be described as one. (It's just going up a lot.)
@raphaelmann3 жыл бұрын
And also because often the actual chord change into the key is an upward one - like in Layla it moves up from a C chord to a C#m, plus the tempo speeds up, and the vocal comes in up the top of his range...
@DaniloSilva-pl3sq3 жыл бұрын
Explanation for some of the cases: 5:47
@redhash19983 жыл бұрын
Even the operatic section in Bohemian Rhapsody feels like there's an upward movement in terms of energy and mood of the song from the somewhat sad/emotional verse section
@TenThumbsProductions4 жыл бұрын
I love talking theory, really cool the descending chromatic bass line moving to the A in Bohemian Rhapsody. Great video.
@Saml38384 жыл бұрын
Love the “key change” graphic
@ilonaknuutinen4 жыл бұрын
Looks like those sticker things(?) on MSN Messenger that we used to send to friends so they can collect them and use them in the chat. 2000's kids will understand me 😆
@bman342a4 жыл бұрын
LOL
@jh13284 жыл бұрын
‘Wouldn’t it be nice’ is one of the creepiest intros with an almost discordant sound and then the downward key change. It’s brilliant.
@otterbread82004 жыл бұрын
yeah its always made me really weirdly unnerved
@TooCooFoYou4 жыл бұрын
A good way to display the themes of the uncertainty of love and growing up smack dab in the beginning of the album.
@donramsburg19124 жыл бұрын
I realise why ive been obsessed with the into now
@LY459724 жыл бұрын
It sounds like a generic Android alarm
@Joel-StevenVoicedude4 жыл бұрын
Also the first note sung is an 'A', which fits well into both A Major and F Major.
@leahewing37073 жыл бұрын
I read the title as “condescending key changes” and was both confused and intrigued. And even after realizing my mistake I still clicked because music!
@TheParadox10106 ай бұрын
trent reznor does this whenever he switches to major
@jamestricker37414 жыл бұрын
Great video, thank you. Very educational.
@radiobread84664 жыл бұрын
“Our House” by Madness has some boppin downward key changes
@DJ-ov2it4 жыл бұрын
Finally someone who had the same thought. At the end the song jumps all over the place with its keys (well done ofc).
@simonhill15904 жыл бұрын
I love to use this as an example too. It's what makes the song.
@shel5714 жыл бұрын
I was waiting the whole video for him to mention that song
@ltraina33534 жыл бұрын
Love that song!
@rnbsteenstar4 жыл бұрын
It's jarring. Up and down and all around.
@FatManRedemption4 жыл бұрын
The brilliance of that downwards keychange in Layla is that the mood dips down in the verses and then lifts you up in the chorus when we go back to Dminor. Injects just a little more excitement into the chorus when it comes.
@JackBealeGuitar4 жыл бұрын
He does a similar trick in Bad love so I think perhaps there was more to it, than stiching two parts together and more it was a trick he liked the sound of
@stevef40104 жыл бұрын
Badge too I think
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
agreed!
@Kerthil4 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I think it's mostly about the climate of the song and this kind of change is kinda "depressing" trick, making song sound more sad, which would be correct here because it's not a song about happy love.
@johnballantyne34584 жыл бұрын
Except I would insist that it DOESN'T modulate down to to C#m, it modulates up to E major. The first chord in the verse is C#m, yes. But the verses actually make a lot more sense if you think of them as being in E major, and then modulating back DOWN to Dm for the choruses.
@dianecourtney27248 ай бұрын
I love your channel so much !! Thank you ✌🏼
@mrlarvux3 жыл бұрын
I love the key change in Layla. Makes it feel like the song settles at that lower key after an intro that’s a sort of tease of the rest of the song.
@THEQueeferSutherland4 жыл бұрын
Penny Lane is genius, it's not even noticeable going in or out.
@HotStrange4 жыл бұрын
QueeferSutherland that’s the genius of Paul McCartney.
@jernfuglen4 жыл бұрын
It's also realy cool that Paul McCartney didn't need to know anything about music theory to do it.
@paulnottherealmccartney85584 жыл бұрын
True. I didn't know the key changed until I studied music theory and listening to the track one more time
@bignutsinyourmouf46064 жыл бұрын
@@paulnottherealmccartney8558 nice username
@paulnottherealmccartney85584 жыл бұрын
@@bignutsinyourmouf4606 Thanks mate. I emphasized the NOT since people were actually mistaken me for Sir Paul McCartney which we all know doesn't surf the web and youtube for some unknown reasons. Thanks anyway lad
@gaius_enceladus4 жыл бұрын
Gee! Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" - "Dammit, I'll just put the three songs together." **Genius!**
@SomeOfTheJuice4 жыл бұрын
It honestly explains why the lyrics make absolutely no sense :P
@althealligator14674 жыл бұрын
@@SomeOfTheJuice They do make sense if you look for it.
@zhuofanzhang99744 жыл бұрын
John Lennon: *Laughs in walrus noises
@grobbler14 жыл бұрын
@@SomeOfTheJuice Apparently the lyrics were about a boy who ran with a gang, killed someone and had to leave, while being pursued for it.
@GiacomoJimmi4 жыл бұрын
McCartney did the same thing numerous times.
@brightboy36264 жыл бұрын
our house by madness also features a downwards key change
@urayoungsterbodybuildingfi91454 жыл бұрын
Interesting and informative. Subbed.
@jeffteza6824 жыл бұрын
Great video David. I love your analysis.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Jeff Teza 😊😊😊
@Doones514 жыл бұрын
great teaching
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@369jwillow4 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much this was marvelous.
@jonlohrenz54463 жыл бұрын
That snare in the ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ example was a serious wake up call.
@BassicVIC4 жыл бұрын
All this proper music theory is well and fine, and perfectly explained, but if you ask McCartney about it he’d just go something like : “Yeah, uhm.... I was doing Penny Lane, and ... I was playing A ... then I went oh... this other chord sounds good to me... and so I did. It’s a nice song.”
@B3Band4 жыл бұрын
This is exactly what I'm thinking when people analyze The Strokes or Nirvana. Like, no, they just thought it sounded cool. Stop it.
@LuxurioMusic4 жыл бұрын
Just because musicians might not be strictly aware of the theory in their work doesn't mean we shouldn't analyse it.
@OrbiliusMagister4 жыл бұрын
That is just what you hear explained at 14:09
@kdizzle511004 жыл бұрын
Music theory isn’t necessarily meant to explain what the composer was thinking when they wrote it. It’s meant to provide a framework of how the music functions and compares within our pre-existing knowledge of music. Not that it matters since David has an… unorthodox understanding of how functional tonality works. Some of his reasoning is pretty arbitrary; you could argue that the shift from E to A in Penny Lane is either a modulation up or down. But that doesn’t matter within functional harmony. What matters is that the key of A is related to the key of E by one sharp and modulations between related keys like this are a common occurrence in western music. Paul McCartney might have wrote it this way not only because it sounded good, but because he’d heard it before in other music and wanted to evoke a similar feeling. Paul has said that he was influenced by Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Chuck Berry among others, who all were influenced by the jazz of the early 1900s, who were influenced by Romantic composers, and so on and so forth. This "passing down" of influences is so common in music that most music theorists, and many classical and jazz musicians for that matter, don’t bat an eye when they see it. I’m not saying that Paul McCartney didn’t write great original music. But to say that he arbitrarily picked chords and melodies out of a vacuum because they "sounded good" would be a disservice to all the music that came before his.
@zafmo98294 жыл бұрын
Exactly. Over analysing music is just as time wasting as people who try to analyse UFC fights.
@steveavailable4 жыл бұрын
Simply brilliant 👌
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
steve octave thanks!!
@davidpatton31803 ай бұрын
"Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" intro starts in Dm then modulates down to Cm for the verse. Then it modulates back to Dm for the last 2 lines of the verse and then back down to Cm to start verse 2. It modulates again to Dm for the next 2 lines, stays in Dm for the instrumental break and then back to Cm for the last verse. It then modulates to Dm for the last 2 lines and stays in Dm for half of the outtro and modulates to Em to finish the outtro until the end.
@CraigRodmellMusic4 жыл бұрын
One key change that a lot of people thought went up, but in fact went down, was in Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's version of Islands in the Stream, by the Bee Gees. Kenny sings a verse and a chorus in C major, but after that, for Dolly's verse the key drops down to A Flat major. Everyone thinks it went up, because Dolly has a higher voice, but in fact it went down. I imagine it was to fit in with the ranges of their two voices. When the Bee Gees performed this song themselves in live performances, they omitted the key change altogether, staying in B Major the whole time.
@explosu4 жыл бұрын
Copyright claims on these is the biggest goddamn self-own, like you _want_ musicians to know about your music well after it falls off the radio, what better way than to be a part of educational material? Ridiculous lol
@crodd98634 жыл бұрын
explosu for real. There’s been countless instances of me adding a song from a video that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. Like the other guy said tho it’s just people tryna cash in however possible
@kirinrex4 жыл бұрын
I feel the same way about the exorbitant licensing fees for music in media, such as TV, movies and games. Doesn't the music industry realize how many people buy music, and discover new musicians, because they heard a song on a tv show, or in a video game?
@explosu4 жыл бұрын
@@kirinrex Virtually no one buys music now. Streaming services pay pennies for work that takes years to achieve, and exposure is absolutely worthless to us on that level. I mean yeah it's great that people are listening, but musicians are one of the most criminally underpaid professions outside of mainstream "artists," which are really actors performing with a much larger production team. Collecting royalties is one of the safest ways to earn money as a musician, I'm not against that, and don't even fucking get me started on game devs just expecting us to work for free, but just outright claiming a video's whole revenue or demanding it be taken down when it's not even about distributing your music specifically, is absurd.
@Aquatarkus964 жыл бұрын
@@explosu Maybe if there were acts like MJ or Genesis or Van Halen or Madonna today, there would be a bigger draw to go to live shows and record companies could make money that way. Live shows are cool when there's a band, like Genesis or Van Halen, on stage playing difficult and awesome music, or when the spectacle and theatrics are just that off the wall in the case of Madonna or MJ. There's no fun or camp in today's music, everything is sterile
@pendlera29594 жыл бұрын
According to fair use doctrine, educational videos like this shouldn't be copyright claimed at all, but unfortunately laws like that are only enforced with lawsuits, which are almost impossible nowadays (especially with mandatory arbitration in most EULAs).
@emile12714 жыл бұрын
I love your sweater 🥰
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Henrik M thanks!
@Liam-bp2rm4 жыл бұрын
As a complete amateur of music theory, most of this went over my head and I retained very little but still watched the whole thing which says something about your skills as a presenter. Great stuff 👍
@thegabrielchannel8184 жыл бұрын
When I saw the title, the first thing I thought of was Strawberry Fields Forever. “Let me take you down, ‘cause I’m *going to, Strawberry Fields* “
@lancelot7714 жыл бұрын
The edit in that line was a masterpiece of the Beatles. It is really hard to not unhear it.
@mr_sugas_fire30154 жыл бұрын
Link?
@everberry514 жыл бұрын
Only SpektralZ what do you mean?
@lancelot7714 жыл бұрын
@@everberry51 if you havent noticed, it goes from take 7 to take 28 in the second chorus. In "Let me take you down cause Im *going to Strawberry Fields* ", Ringo's drumming becomes very intense and John has a devilish voice or should I say slower or deeper.
@Commenter_694 жыл бұрын
\: D @everberry51 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bJh4f72Hu6y2p4k.html
@gerardraj22484 жыл бұрын
Another Fantastic video ! You make learning fun !
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks! That means alot
@gerardraj22484 жыл бұрын
@@DavidBennettPiano Keep up the good work. I'm writing from Trinidad and Tobago btw
@Tenon964 жыл бұрын
Videos are great! Thank you a lot!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Igor Osolodko 😊😊😊
@swapticsounds2 ай бұрын
Second verse of "The show must go on" by Queen is first an upwards keychange as well, but going back downwards to the second chorus
@TheWorldMemeDatabase Жыл бұрын
Nobody talking about the key change in Take My Breath Away, which drops in pitch right before ramping up. Giorgio Moroder essentially hit us with two key changes in one track.
@civil29124 жыл бұрын
Bold move having a channel with real music on KZfaq.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
I like to live on the edge. Every video that doesn't get atomic-bombed by the content ID system is a victory!
@GrayBlood13314 жыл бұрын
@@DavidBennettPiano no joke. When you kept playing the actual music for more than one nanosecond I was biting my nails and figured this video was uploaded only 5 minutes ago.
@sawderf7414 жыл бұрын
I was trying so hard to get a stupid hair off my screen then i realized it was your avatar.
@GothMermaidGamer4 жыл бұрын
I thought that too until I saw that it moved with the screen as I scrolled, lmao
@AdrianoPereiraMaestro4 жыл бұрын
That’s the precise reason I just subscribed!
@sardoweems4 жыл бұрын
I've always struggled understanding music. This told me something in a clear way that I'm not sure I understand, but makes sense.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
I'm glad I helped!
@margot3564 ай бұрын
the layla key change works brilliantly for me, giving it a kind of eerie and hopeless quality which thematically reflects the first section
@JeffreyChadwell4 жыл бұрын
"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my EYES."
@amyl3634 жыл бұрын
I thought so! That's what makes it rhyme with "suburban SKIES."
@MarkLewis...4 жыл бұрын
Okay good... the Mandela Effect is still fake...Phwew!
@tylerbarr27404 жыл бұрын
It says "eyes" on my copy of penny lane
@Igotbored234 жыл бұрын
in my arse
@quinnly234 жыл бұрын
"WET beneath the blue suburban skies" too
@lukerea34064 жыл бұрын
Brilliant video dude, keep up the good work
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Luke Rea thank you!
@cool786664 жыл бұрын
Great video!
@underclvss4 жыл бұрын
GReat video with great examples. I love stevie wonder
@gatoblanconzful4 жыл бұрын
You are helpful to explain music. Thanks mate
@halcyo4 жыл бұрын
Good video and analysis
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
halcyo cheers!, 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@nickharris97614 жыл бұрын
This is brilliantly explained and your graphics and audio examples with “what it would sound like if you didn’t key change” are sublime. Thank you.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@stephenhosking73844 жыл бұрын
I agree. The extra work in those graphics and "what if?" is much appreciated.
@izzystradlin77944 жыл бұрын
Cheap Trick Surrender is one of the example
@valleybrook3 жыл бұрын
This channel is pure gold!
@picopanpipe94 жыл бұрын
Fantastic video! Great visuals to help.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
thanks!
@enlightenedapple4 жыл бұрын
You kill it. Thanks!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@peterwhite7672 жыл бұрын
“You’re in my Heart” Rod Stewart. Love your videos, David, keep ‘em coming.
@mr555harv4 жыл бұрын
Very informative.
@BlockDefender4 жыл бұрын
I love your videos; very inspirational for songwriting and very educational
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
No Content 🙂🙂🙂
@GiacomoJimmi4 жыл бұрын
Sting’s “Everybody Laughed But You” is the most obvious example I can think of.
@diddygt4 жыл бұрын
GiacomoJimmi Sting also does it with “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You “.
@GiacomoJimmi4 жыл бұрын
@@diddygt Same album. Must’ve been a phase ol Stingo was going through.
@johnnycto75764 жыл бұрын
@@GiacomoJimmi yeah he was getting all jazzy up in here.
@lukahmad56833 жыл бұрын
Loves that modal interchange feelings.
@joustwave6541 Жыл бұрын
One of the few songs I've written on commission (background for a slide show at some presentation or other) had a downward keychange. It started as an accident - I plotted/recorded the whole thing (including an upward keychange at the last chorus) and then realized I still had 45-60 seconds to fill out. I was very surprised to discover that switching keys back down to the original (after what would have been the outro) sounded almost supernaturally chill and relaxed and I ended up just riding it out that way because it fit what the client was looking for.
@ludovicbernot4 жыл бұрын
Again so brilliant...as usual
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@willd85744 жыл бұрын
What I love about the key change in Penny Lane is that as the piece transitions into the last chorus, it stays in B major. This makes it feel like the song’s key has changed, when in actuality, it’s the only chorus where the key doesn’t change. Classic McCartney.
@garycitro16744 жыл бұрын
Do I dare speculate (with zero knowledge or evidence) about how much of the brilliance attributed to Paul was actually George Martin? Haven't read any books but I think that guy was more like the 3rd Beatle than the 5th.
@joemariani20094 жыл бұрын
Actually, unless my memory fails me...lol,I'm pretty sure that after the last verse,they do 1 chorus in A,and then modulate to B for the final chorus,which still makes it very cool.
@reginaldperiwinkle4 жыл бұрын
@@garycitro1674 Dear Lord. George Martin gets so much credit that he does not deserve. In reality: He suggested some tempos. He arranged some strings. He played piano on a few tracks. This is the kind of stuff that goes anonymous on other records. Andrew Loog Oldham arranged strings on Stones Records. Ian Stewart played keys on Stones records. No Beatle has ever suggested that George Martin ever contributed to the songwriting of the Beatles. Never has a producer received more credit for such a workmanlike contribution.
@davecostello5604 жыл бұрын
@@reginaldperiwinkle I don't think it's quite fair to describe Martin's contribution as 'workmanlike'. His string arrangements on Beatle records were distinctive, outstanding and innovative. Yes, he translated the brilliant ideas of two non classically trained composers into reality, but added real value too in my opinion.
@ronfrederick31614 жыл бұрын
I think Martin was what the Beatles needed. However Martin often said Paul nearly always had his songs arranged when he came into the studio and knew what he wanted. I think McCartney even suggested the french horn to be played on Penny Lane after seeing it on TV. Whilst Martin deserves his accolades McCartney, Lennon and Harrison were in a class of their own.
@yonaholic9 ай бұрын
I love the key change in wouldnt it be nice. Feels like youre in a dream in the intro and you just wake up as the song actually starts.
@immichaelyoung2 жыл бұрын
I THINK “head over heels’ by Tears For Fears modulates downward from A to G between the verse and chorus, but honestly the key structure of that song is very confusing for me. (Would love to see you analyze it in a future video. Thanks for the great content!)
@aaronclift4 жыл бұрын
“It’s My Life” by Talk Talk - verses in Eb major, choruses in Db major.
@user-fo3yt1jq6n4 жыл бұрын
best new wave song of all time
@triksox4 жыл бұрын
The verse is in Eb but the chorus is in C major/A minor. At the end of the verse they step up a half tone to E ("one half won't do...") which is a secondary dominant leading to Am / F / G / C in the bridge. The chorus is similar to the bridge: Am / Dm / G / C
@cakemartyr57944 жыл бұрын
Talk Talk were the masters of the key change
@aaronclift4 жыл бұрын
@@triksox You're right - I was trying to remember this song from memory, and I keep mixing up the chords in the original with the chords in the No Doubt cover version, which is a half step higher than the original version. At least I was correct that the chorus is a downward modulation.
@johndipinto40843 жыл бұрын
The Beatles have another really great example of creative key changes with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The tonal center starts off as A in the verse, but it cleverly moves up to B-flat for the line "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over your head", and then down to G in time to lead into the chorus, which stays in G. The second verse and chorus repeat the whole pattern, but the truncated third verse skips the B-flat part and goes right to G for the chorus.
@althealligator14672 жыл бұрын
Indeed, but the Bb section is actually more in F major than Bb major, it just starts on the IV chord.
@johndipinto88162 жыл бұрын
@@althealligator1467 Depends on how you hear it. To me the melody and chord placement put the tonal center in Bb.
@althealligator14672 жыл бұрын
@@johndipinto8816 Maybe at first, but clearly the chords end up being IV-V-I in F.
@johndipinto88162 жыл бұрын
@@althealligator1467 Well, no. I hear it clearly as I - II (major) - V - I in Bb. The melody sits on D for the first three chords (Bb, C, F) and resolves to Bb on the second Bb chord, which ends the phrase.
@althealligator14672 жыл бұрын
@@johndipinto8816 Yeah sure, I'm not saying Bb is the wrong analysis, but you can always hear any chord as tonic, it's subjective, plus context alters your perception. The composer only guides the listener through the way they're trying to hear it, which is where keys come into play, but I don't think they're an objective, unilateral, and infallible concept at all. Like look at Sweet Home Alabama, D-C-G-G, people always debate as to whether it's in D or G. The answer is both, because the way the composer guides you through it makes it ambiguous. Every note is diatonic to G major, but the progression starts and loops back to D major, which makes you hear both as resolved even when you're not paying attention to what sound tonic or not. Similar to our Bb-C-F-Bb chords here, where it starts on Bb but is diatonically in F. You can hear both as tonic, but I think Bb is not as obviously tonic as D is in SHA because we only loop back to it once and we don't approach it from a dominant chord. I guess it still sounds tonic though, just like F does. The melody resolves to Bb, but try this: sing an A after that Bb, over an F or Dm chord preferably. You'll see it sounds even more unambiguously resolved.
@noahhess49554 жыл бұрын
Under the Bridge is probably the smoothest example in the video
@TheLEAprechaun3 жыл бұрын
Honestly, I mostly clicked because the thumbnail looked cool (so good job on that), then I recognized you from some other Beatles videos I've seen and now I'm subscribed heheh
@DavidBennettPiano3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for subscribing 😃
@LumiMoonCh4 жыл бұрын
The Layla intro/verse key change is iconic. It's like he is screaming with passion in the intro & choruses but down trodden and sad in the verses.
@theivory14 жыл бұрын
Very nice
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
theivory1 thanks!
@geoffreycleasby19394 жыл бұрын
Layla: you suggest that the key changes came about because two different writers parts were brought together. This may have been the origin, but that analysis ignores the glorious effect the key changes bring. Firstly, the key does not change from Dm to C#m. The C#m chord is indeed the first chord of the verse section. But it is immediately followed by G#m, which would almost certainly be G#, if C#m was the target key. Instead we quickly resolve via C and D to E, which really does feel like home. So C#m is just the Submediant chord of E, a fact which is heavily pressed home by the subsequent ii V I vi ii V I sequence establishing E as the key. In fact the original change to set up this section was from the chord of C to C#m, a pleasing, subtle, almost enharmonic change in which the third of the chord is held still, and the first and fifth move to make the change from major to minor. But this pleasing change is seriously outshone by the change back, as Layla's name is yelled out and the chords change from E to A to Dm, a ii V i circle-of-fifths sequence leading us back into the original key, and in doing giving a glorious resolution of the tension set up by the C to C#m modulation. Resolution is the key to satisfying music, and you have to modulate in order to need resolution.
@bwhog4 жыл бұрын
I recall hearing a few instances where a band did a fairly dramatic and obvious key change down a step or even a step and a half for the purpose of adding weight to the tune but they don't stay there for long. I can picture this happening after coming out of the solo and back to the successive refrain before the outro/fade. Down for dramatic effect for the pre-chorus, up a half step for the first refrain so you get that sense of building energy, up another half step for the second, then for the outro itself, the last few chords up yet another half step so that you end up in the original key. This also has the advantage of not making the singer push their range and strain their voice as you go ever higher. In a slightly different vein, The Scorpions in "Send Me An Angel" do two upward key changes (well executed) as they move through the first three verses. Then, to bring the tension back down before the verse-after, they go back to their original key. Non-musicians might not even be conscious of these changes because of they way they're so cleanly and although simple, they are expertly executed.
@katiequirk48994 жыл бұрын
Great video 👍
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Katie Quirk 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@noonesflower4 жыл бұрын
so nice and interesting to listen to
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
thank you
@badgasaurus42113 жыл бұрын
Under the bridge also changes keys again to A major for the outro as well
@dfailsthemost3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for confirming my suspicion about the under the bridge key change.
@atbear4 жыл бұрын
Great topic, great explanations, and great song choice examples.
@crieverytim4 жыл бұрын
great comment, great commentator.
@Ori09874 жыл бұрын
ice la honk Great reply, great replier.
@toneraynger4 жыл бұрын
Brilliant, subbed and thumbed up!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
cheers!
@toneraynger4 жыл бұрын
@@DavidBennettPiano keep em coming thanks for sharing your knowledge from a humble self taught six stronger, your insight is very much appreciated!
@raicyceprine89534 жыл бұрын
It's super cool. A music graduate man once told me he never encountered a downward modulation and he said that if there is ever then it should be sounding bad But this vid show me song I wouldn't even realize that are modulatinf downards. It's very creative and worth knowing and studying
@microcolonelАй бұрын
Layla I think may do it on purpose, to connect with the final section
@JasonHeilmanMusicalRemedies4 жыл бұрын
Awesome vid bro , enjoyed
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@darrenbrook46414 жыл бұрын
Great video
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thank you !
@bennigh4323 Жыл бұрын
an example I love is "Rocket from a Bottle" by XTC which shifts a half tone from F maj to E maj at the very end of a guitar solo. It's a great subtle change.
@ThomasLJonesJr2 жыл бұрын
“After the Love Has Gone” has a pretty nice downward key change in it too.
@gianmarcolodi99714 жыл бұрын
David, you forgot a masterpiece: Rosanna by Toto! The verse modulates from G down to F, but the vocals go up an octave, giving brightness while descending
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Gianmarco Lodi of course!! How could I forget Toto! 🤭
@zGrego4 жыл бұрын
David Bennett Piano How dare you 😭
@cdifreakguy4 жыл бұрын
Africa does the same thing. I was waiting for him to talk about it!
@jeanbranlpahune98254 жыл бұрын
And dont forget the most important thing of this piece, the fucking shuffle
@thechief004 жыл бұрын
"masterpiece" lol
@sirlace5084 жыл бұрын
Stevie has some of the most beautiful key changes ever ! 🤯
@AaronB999994 жыл бұрын
It’s because a lot of his songs are very jazz-based. Lots of minor 7 and major 7 chords and 2-5-1 progressions.
@crimfan4 жыл бұрын
@@AaronB99999 He really likes using the "back door" change, too.
@doriangrayland4 жыл бұрын
Golden Lady
@doriangrayland4 жыл бұрын
Almost every song on SITKOL
@swardmusic4 жыл бұрын
That wasnt one of them
@wiktorm98583 жыл бұрын
I am just starting to compose, with no musical education, and I find this channel very useful
@dfailsthemost3 жыл бұрын
Thanks
@OzTwanger4 жыл бұрын
Penny Lane is pure genius
@c.i.a.46184 жыл бұрын
*Indeed!*
@randymarsh50884 жыл бұрын
It really is . That’s a very suave change . Probably the most technical of all the changes discussed here .
@fekinel4 жыл бұрын
The beatles 'And I love her'...starts in F#m (key of E)..jumps up one to Gm (key of F) for the solo.. then ends on a D major chord... for some reason it sounds perfect.. :)...also 'Lucy in the sky' has some strange key changes..and 'walrus'...and 'strawberry fields'...lol...so many...i'll shut up now..
@jurgeysamuel4 жыл бұрын
Can you guys tell me about the Beatles a day in the life because that shift reminds me very much of bohemian rhapsody, but I'm not well aware of key changes and all that, but it seems like quite the song it comes together in a cacophony of sound then boom
@jurgeysamuel4 жыл бұрын
So I went to the day in a life video... 2009 remaster turns out the same piano was used for each song. That's pretty crazy
@elietheprof56784 жыл бұрын
Don't forget The Simpsons theme, switching from C Lydian b7 to B Lydian b7 to E Lydian b7 back to C Lydian b7
@robinchesterfield424 жыл бұрын
And that's what makes it sound so wonderfully CHAOTIC, to go with America's favourite dysfunctional family! (Bear in mind this was started at a time when angry, argue-y sitcoms were _rare_ .) Danny Elfman is awesome. I like the Simpsons, the Tim Burton Batman theme, and of course Oingo Boingo...
@stephenscholes47584 жыл бұрын
@@robinchesterfield42 Chaos on the surface...Groening is as sentimental as Spielberg
@milliewray4 жыл бұрын
Shut up Flanders!!
@xxczerxx4 жыл бұрын
Hands down the most clever theme music ever made. It doesn't actually sound like anything else. It's so weird how one of the most iconic pieces of music of all time is so...strange...as far as theory is concerned. Danny Elfman had a stroke of genius making it
@aidanhennessey55864 жыл бұрын
Robin Chesterfield *bare
@johnallen60393 жыл бұрын
once again thank you so much for your insight and analysis it is very entertaining and instructional
@emil35834 жыл бұрын
Cool sweatshirt
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@deanknoote1144 жыл бұрын
I have zero knowledge of musical theory, yet, your videos are totally unmissable to me, thank you David
@EmilianoCaballeroFraccaroli4 жыл бұрын
Great video man!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@teachmechinese2 ай бұрын
I honestly don't hear many of them, even with the graphics! Amazing and fascinating!!
@giantteshorelone63452 жыл бұрын
With great examples following all these theories, modal changes will never be formidable again to me. Thanks dude.
@TheBassManJeff4 жыл бұрын
Very insightful, thanks for posting!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@07Shanks074 жыл бұрын
I fucking love your videos hella interesting and nice graphics
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Mario Lazaro cheers! 😀😀
@Zawiedek3 жыл бұрын
Hi David, this video has been online for quite some time, but I would like to add that I think "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton changes keys from A maj down to G Maj (altho' in Mixolydian starting on the C chord) between the Chorus and the 2nd bridge ("time can bring you down") ... and oh dear, how time can bring you down .. this is the most depressing part of the lyrics and that is clearly reflected in the downward key change ...
@peanutismint2 жыл бұрын
I’m glad someone has made a video on this because I realised in the shower this morning that Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” shifts down a key in the middle section and then couldn’t help but wonder what other songs have a similar progression.
@cassettepat4 жыл бұрын
Love these kind of videos great work!
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@getsomebud4 жыл бұрын
Very well made video.
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@johndipinto40843 жыл бұрын
Great post. You missed an opportunity with "Wouldn't It Be Nice", though - in addition to the verse modulating downward a major third from the intro, the bridge modulates down a minor third from the 2nd verse, going from F major to D major. Then back to F for the last section, but with a slight slowdown of tempo thrown in for a bit. Very inventive arrangement!
@Jack44M4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for explaining things where old people like me can understand it
@torinveronesi97263 жыл бұрын
"I've talked about Bohemian Rhapsody in great lengths in my Brief Analysis video" ah yes the juxtaposition
@simoneseverino20003 жыл бұрын
Really clear!! Great video
@AlexisTwoLastNames4 жыл бұрын
super cool video :) spending quarantine learning about the intricacies (as far as i know as a singer who loved chorus but couldn't even sightread) of music
@DavidBennettPiano4 жыл бұрын
I’ll be spending the next few months making more videos for all the folks in isolation!