the "Eight Days a Week" chord progression

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Күн бұрын

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The chord progression of I II IV I appears often enough in Beatle-penned songs that I think of it very much as a "Beatlish" chord progression. This bright string of major chords offers a really intriguing blend of tonalities and has been put to work by many great songwriters.
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0:00 Introduction
0:37 The Beatles
2:18 Other songs that use the progression
3:40 Video game music
4:20 Studio Session & Competition
5:38 the major II chord
6:25 Lydian modal mixture
7:36 Secondary dominant
9:38 Voice leading
11:19 piano outro/Patreon

Пікірлер: 547

@DavidBennettPiano Жыл бұрын

@@rightrob555 bloody hell Liam, it was just a joke 😂

@rightrob555 Жыл бұрын

@@DavidBennettPiano ok

@rightrob555 Жыл бұрын

@@DavidBennettPiano 😂 ok I love your videos

@mistabaconhair8994 Жыл бұрын

Ain’t falling for that

@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 Жыл бұрын

@@DavidBennettPiano What did Queen's _"In the Lap of the Gods (revisited...)"_ use? {:o:O:}

@unacuentadeyoutube13 Жыл бұрын

2:48 "Of course, this chord progression hasn't just been used by The Beatles and The Beatles Tribute Act" Savage.

@EmmaPeelman Жыл бұрын

Quite funny, though...

@AeronKabutoBlade Жыл бұрын

Mr Bennett has a clear horse in the race and it ain't the Tribute Act. :)

@unacuentadeyoutube13 Жыл бұрын

@@EmmaPeelman no doubt lol

@BenZaniline Жыл бұрын

Harsh, perhaps, but true... 😄

@marienbad2 Жыл бұрын

Perfectly savage tbf.

@gabe_s_videos Жыл бұрын

True story: a few days ago, I was jamming on my uke and really enjoyed the way it sounded when I slid the D chord shape up a few frets. I found a couple other chords that went really well together with it, including it's relative minor. I thought "This sounds so good! It must already be a song, but I'm gonna remember it for later in case I can use it." Played it again the next day. It was literally just "Eight Days A Week." That's the struggle of being an aspiring songwriter who's also a total pop music nerd: all of the best songs have already been written, and you know all of them! XD

@MrRyan2582 Жыл бұрын

Such a nice and bright chord progression. Never realized how many of the songs I love used it. Always loved All Around The World especially, as they just go and key change everything TWICE.

@b00ts4ndc4ts 10 ай бұрын

There's only seven progressions to choose from, so it will pop up now and again.

@zbr76 Жыл бұрын

As a Queen nerd, I really should have realised this was also the 'Kind of Magic' progression! Also, that shade thrown at 2:32 and 2:49 was marvellous!

@PeterNash99 Жыл бұрын

Need your loving tonight has also the Eight Days a Week melody

@mk_rexx Жыл бұрын

In the Philippines, this became a popular thing to learn by beginner guitar players because of a hit song by a Eraserheads, a very influential band here. Specifically, it is played by shifting the G chord shape to different positions

@meguy9811 Жыл бұрын

May I ask what song?

@mk_rexx Жыл бұрын

@@meguy9811 Huling El Bimbo

@isolehommemisreable Жыл бұрын

Ang Huling El Bimbo is such a master piece, in my opinion, the easiest Eraserheads song to be played in the guitar. This song is also the most well known Eraserheads song

@Kylzee Жыл бұрын

they also use a very similar progression on their song Torpedo. it goes C D Dm C, or I - II - ii - I. the minor ii (Dm) chord is very similar to the IV so it's closely related

@carlojoshuacrisanto9598 11 ай бұрын

Also "Bulong" by Kitchie Nadal

@noscrubbubblez6515 Жыл бұрын

You just reminded me how Paul's baseline to 'YouWon't See Me' is by far the best ever played -of any song. I've heard many fail to reproduce it.

@tweettweetjones1262 Жыл бұрын

Hey, check out Anne Murray's cover of 'You Won't See Me'. I think it's better than the Beatle version. (The bass and them voices give goosebumps!)

@noscrubbubblez6515 Жыл бұрын

@@tweettweetjones1262 I'm sorry, Anne Murray's bass was semi fuzz-tone. What I heard was horrid.

@tweettweetjones1262 Жыл бұрын

@@noscrubbubblez6515 Chicago do a version of it too with the chromatic and walking bass-lines closer to Paul's I think. U-tube has a video. 👍

@bekiigic Жыл бұрын

Beatles tribute act 🤣

@villadavid164 Жыл бұрын

Beatles were a vapid pop boy band till they travelled america and ran off with much of Californian hippie culture all the way to the bank

@empresaglova1268 Жыл бұрын

🤣🤣

@samulihirsi Жыл бұрын

The best ever

@gavincarper Жыл бұрын

Oasis sounded more like T-Rex and The Stone Roses more than they ever sounded like The Beatles lol. They were big fans and had similar haircuts but eh

@DriamAyalay Жыл бұрын

Sing me something new

@zzzaphod8507 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for including the beautiful voice leading A-Gsharp-G-Fsharp in the discussion at the end. That chromatic line is a great way of providing more "musical logic" to tie the chords together. It's possible someone at some point started with the chromatic line first and then decided to have the major version of the II chord to support the chromatic line.... The piece at the end is pretty--thanks for that as well

@scabbarae Жыл бұрын

I love using the major II in songwriting. Thanks for elaborating on why it works so well!

@calebbean1384 Жыл бұрын

It even sounds good in minor keys, it gives a Hungarian minor inflection with the sharp eleven

@ok-ug7ul Жыл бұрын

major III is pretty cool too

@scabbarae Жыл бұрын

@@ok-ug7ul Yeah, but harder to pull off unless you're writing a bridge or something. I always think of "Creep" any time I find myself playing a major III.

@pulykamell Жыл бұрын

I’ve always loved this progression . Also sounds great over a tonic pedal.

@juanjimenez62 Жыл бұрын

Even you can spice it a bit: I-IIadd9-IVmaj7-I.

@devidwobinson8747 Жыл бұрын

Bla bla bla

@superkraken75 Жыл бұрын

Hey man ! I watched a lot of your videos till now and I gotta say... This is definitely a huge step in the right direction :D Just love how you take the time to explain the progression and why it works It is so much better than to only give plenty of different examples Congrats and keep it up ! :D

@mason87104 Жыл бұрын

David you sure are good at spotting interesting chord progressions AND then finding a bunch of songs that use it. I love your analysis too. Thank you for all the effort it takes to do such great videos!

@EddieReischl Жыл бұрын

The Faces "Stay with Me" was the first song I thought of when thinking about that progression. Good video.

@EmmaPeelman Жыл бұрын

Same here...

@peach_total Жыл бұрын

10:50 this is my favourite iteration of this progression. it changes the feeling from peppy and energetic to a kind of warm nostalgia with just a drop of sadness/wistfulness

@King4taday Жыл бұрын

I think this might be my favorite outro song you’ve made. That sweet Lydian sound pops ❤

@arklowrockz Жыл бұрын

That Ben Folds LP is an absolutely cracker which everyone should own. "Still Fighting It" is on another level altogether

@RavenMadd9 Жыл бұрын

David thank you for the lesson

@juliam7056 Жыл бұрын

Awsome videos . Great work !

@nigelhaywood9753 Жыл бұрын

It was reminding me of that song from the end of The Dark Side of the Moon. I think it uses these chords in the chorus. It's a great chord progression. Thank you.

@stephendonovan9084 Жыл бұрын

Brain Damage, yes, under the chorus it’s G A7 C G. Also surprised it wasn’t mentioned

@mikeg9b Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!! I was being driven crazy because I remembered hearing this progression in a Pink Floyd song but couldn't find it.

@swingingbunny3550 Жыл бұрын

In "You Won't See Me" there's A->B7->D->A, Which makes a single tone stays the same (A) all along the chords

@avedic Жыл бұрын

I love this channel and watch everything you put out. But.....these chord progression videos? For whatever reason....they're hands down my favorite. I think it's because it combines basic theory with real world examples in real time. You grasp the idea....and then hear it in action, and hear the similarity across different expressions. It's fun and informative and inspiring. And you do such a good job breaking it all down. Thanks! :)

@composer7325 Жыл бұрын

excellent video, thank you, David.

@DavidBennettPiano Жыл бұрын

Thanks Peter 😊😊

@HenningUhle Жыл бұрын

When I heard this chord progression, suddenly a line comes to my mind: "Woke up this morning and the streets were full of cars..." - the first line from "Hello (Turn your Radio on)" by Shakespear's Sister. Such a nice progression. Thank you for this video.

@christopherfryda Жыл бұрын

I love this channel!!!

@marto877 Жыл бұрын

always a pleasure hear to you teacher and plus about The Beatles ❤️👏🏻

@gabe_s_videos Жыл бұрын

The first three songs in that montage of all the non-Beatles or Beatles-wannabe songs are three of my all time favorite songs.

@althealligator1467 Жыл бұрын

What so Oasis isn't good? Lol

@gabe_s_videos Жыл бұрын

@@althealligator1467 Can't fucking stand them. Noel Gallagher is a douche. And the music sucks too.

@RRM_Personal Жыл бұрын

Immediately thought about Rooftop Run when you first played the progression! So glad to see it included!

@PaulPower4 Жыл бұрын

I was so happy to see Rooftop Run in there :D. The part at 10:50 also very much reminded me of 0:25 in Rooftop Run Classic. Metropolis Zone also uses this progression, for reference.

@jamminggoodwithweirdandgilly Жыл бұрын

wait you just made me understand why i’m obsessed with these songs!!! they all share that chord progression!! so cool thank you

@christinabarnard1066 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, David. Excellent.

@blazingaqua9127 Жыл бұрын

I really like this chord progression, the major 2 has such an uplifting feel. I've also seen it where you can mix this with the minor plagal cadence so its I, II, iv, I and that sounds really nice. I think that's what muse does on the verse to Kill or be Killed

@mmypainting Жыл бұрын

Thanks for shining a light on this one.🙏

@Carlos-ln8fd Жыл бұрын

The Beatles tribute act lol

@leafbelly 6 ай бұрын

As a songwriter, this was always my favorite progression. I love it because of the ability to start on the fifth and descend chromatically through the chord progression. I love that.

@adrianbiber5340 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful lullaby at the end thank you

@papapocky420 Жыл бұрын

Just a suggestion but one of my favourite "novelty" chord movments in modern pop has been songs that use progressions that start on the IV and end on the V. Some examples being IV-I-vi-V or IV-I-V or even one of my favourites, IV-vi-V to give it that minor key edge.

@wolfrayet25music_official Жыл бұрын

I made a slight variation on this progression. This time though the tonic chord is a minor chord. Making it: i - II - IV - i In the key of F# Minor it would be: F#m - G# - B - F#m It has an exotic sound to it.

@empresaglova1268 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting !!

@nigelhaywood9753 Жыл бұрын

Nice, Dorian sound.

@jacksonsay37 Жыл бұрын

The Beatles had some really awesome chord progressions! It is quite interesting how "Eleanor Rigby" has a dorian melody but an aeolian progression. They also used the mixolydian mode quite a lot. You've mentioned quite a few of those songs already, but some that you haven't mentioned are "I Feel Fine", "Paperback Writer", and "Get Back".

@easper Жыл бұрын

Excellent video (as always)! During the voice leading demo, I was reminded of Pulp's "Do You Remember The First Time."

@tsunderecat413 Жыл бұрын

a couple more examples i could think of include "dance of the clefairy" from the second generation of pokémon and the chorus for "love makes the world go round" from the powerpuff girls. such a versatile progression.

@thumbgoblin4716 Жыл бұрын

This has always been the Sims 4 chord progression to me

@ChrisOwenGuitar Жыл бұрын

“Old red eyes is back” uses this progression too. Great video.

@cakemartyr5794 Жыл бұрын

That's a really good song. Would be good to see some of their material featured here

@BillyLeeGoodman Жыл бұрын

I love that you refered to them as The Beatles tribute act

@fredhystair5789 Жыл бұрын

Always great !

@positivegradient Жыл бұрын

Beautiful composition at the end, really so tastefully Lydian ❤❤

@JTGaughan Жыл бұрын

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous by Good Charlotte is another one! Great video David. Never miss.

@AeronKabutoBlade Жыл бұрын

A song that comes to mind with this progression is The Eraserheads' Ang Huling El Bimbo. Though they use a II7 rather than a standard II, it still fits I guess.

@maximvoronkov9418 Жыл бұрын

Always loved this sound, especially in A Kind of Magic and a lot of Robbie Williams and Kate Tunstall songs, but also this bright chord is used by Abba a lot, and of course this all started with jazz.

@Jacktors Жыл бұрын

This dude gets it! Thanks bro.

@jorgedelosriossanz1523 9 ай бұрын

Fantastic!

@StevenMix Жыл бұрын

It was used on Pokemon Diamond and Pearl soundtrack, specifically the "welcome to the world of Pokemon" track 😊

@letsgobrndon Жыл бұрын

классно, very well done. simple but true!

@spongebabe27 Жыл бұрын

Good to see you using the REO Brothers' covers of Beatles songs, they're absolutely excellent

@samcoleman605 Жыл бұрын

Very obscure example, but Old Red Eyes is Back by Beautiful South uses this progression.

@mr.nobody2244 Жыл бұрын

Great video, as always.

@jmiki89 Жыл бұрын

An other way you can think about modality (the way I was thaught back in school) is in the terms of solfage: e.g. D lydian is not a D major scale with an uplifted fourth (do re mi fi so la ti do) but a regular major scale started on its fourth degree (fa so la ti do re mi fa). So it's basically a temporary do-shift to the dominant A major scale, making E major its fifth chord (and thus we are back to the dominant of the dominant, or secondary dominant).

@steelersfan6787 Жыл бұрын

Favorite series!

@Culmen222 Жыл бұрын

3:17 Actually A Kind Of Magic is my all time favorite song 😃 Thanks for the analysis 👍

@adrianhepton9362 Жыл бұрын

I used to call it the 'whatever gets you through the night' chord progression named after the song by John Lennon. I used it to write a song quite a few years ago and didn't realise that lots of other people have been down the same long and winding road, Including a well-known Beatles tribute band.

@WhileMyGuineaPigGentlyWheeks Жыл бұрын

Cool! Yes I love that song.

@judih.8754 Жыл бұрын

The ending melody you played had the sound of "Atlantis" by Donovan in it. All around great video!

@Mrbeahz1 Жыл бұрын

In the "Voice Leading" section, your example of the top note descending chromatically reminded me of another oldie: "Atlantis" by Donovan. He adds a V afterwards: I II IV I V I

@cakemartyr5794 Жыл бұрын

A really good video again, thank you. To expand on your later bit, wondered if you could talk more about which inversions are the most appropriate ones in a given tune.

@michaelkonomos Жыл бұрын

Very helpful for those of us trying to learn. Thank you!

@therealshavenyak Жыл бұрын

I’ve always referred to it as the “Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul” progression; I think that was the first song I learned to play that used it.

@Starter61 Жыл бұрын

I loved the improvisation @11:20.

@CYLITM Ай бұрын

I've been looking for this chord progression for years. It seems like it's everywhere.

@alnitaka Жыл бұрын

I note that if you make all the chords minor, you get the progression featured in the theme from Blade Runner by Vangelis.

@adamlindsley1143 Жыл бұрын

Really lovely outro number there, David.

@RugbyLeaguePassport Жыл бұрын

The harmonies in the School of rock song perfectly show what you’re explaining at 10:50

@mikepro500 Ай бұрын

10:50 Ooh la lala ooh la lala 🎶 Ooh la lala ooh la lala🎵

@LyricalMiracle9608 Жыл бұрын

I think because of how common the 8DAW Progression is now, I expect it more naturally than I would if it had been the alternative way you described, like when it was "DEAD" It just sounds better I think Also that ending song, aaa so beautiful 💕

@JCO2002 Жыл бұрын

When you changed it the descending A-G#-G-F, I suddenly realized why I was so confused trying to figure the song out on my guitar years ago. Many thanks.

@TigerRogers0660 Жыл бұрын

Another great video David!! I was never quite sure if the 2nd chord of "Eight Days A Week" was a minor or major.

@eyeloop1618 Жыл бұрын

So sad you didn't talk about Brain Damage by Pink Floyd. That song uses this progression in D with a D pedal and for the chorus it mantains the progression but it modulates to G. It's a super interesting example of this progression

@feliciab2 Жыл бұрын

Very cool that you used School of Rock as an example, and I suppose you noticed that, not only does it use the chord progression, but it also uses the descending top note pattern you demonstrated at 11:09 in the melody the backing singers sing in the chorus. I couldn’t resist singing along as you played “Ooh lalalala, ooh lalalala, ooh lalalala, ooh lalalala”😀

@TheHappySpaceman Жыл бұрын

Great video. Another good example I just thought of is "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" by Mötley Crüe. That one is interesting because it first starts with I-ii-IV-I, using the minor ii instead of the major II, but then later when the tempo speeds up, it switches to the more familiar I-II-IV-I and uses the major II.

@robpreszcator3669 Жыл бұрын

I don't know if this is relevant, but I tried the progression with a D, E, Em7, D and it gave a similar yet slightly tweaked sound, the G still there but E dominating and so the movement of the notes was a little less dynamic. I really enjoy your incites into popular music, especially when it comes to the Beatles. Thank you, David

@mb10mb10 Жыл бұрын

Thanks David for your interesting and clear lesson, as usual. I think Procol Harum's Homburg is a good example of "lead voice independent motion" for this progression.

@seanspartan2023 Жыл бұрын

Love the Beatles videos 😎

@TotalMonsense Жыл бұрын

Here in the Philippines, there's a band named ERASERHEADS. One of their classic songs is ANG HULING EL BIMBO (The Last El Bimbo, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/n86PZNSJvqq8f2g.html ), whose intro, stanza, and chorus chords are G-A7-C-G, a I-II(7)-IV-I 😁 (Oh and coincidently, some of us here consider Eraserheads as our Beatles 😁)

@davidozab2753 Жыл бұрын

I like how your piano outro hints hints at Eight Days a Week at first, but then wanders off on its own path.y

@anthonymcdibble9496 Жыл бұрын

Love your work dude. "Beatles tribute act" = hilarious.

@markpeam8549 Жыл бұрын

Great video. It definitely sounds bright but almost "musical-theatre happy", so I tend towards the iv instead of IV.

@zarko1982 Жыл бұрын

The outro was so beautiful

@NomeDeArte Жыл бұрын

Great song!

@reginaldperiwinkle Жыл бұрын

Another point about Eight Days a Week is that it uses pedal points but also has contrasting upwards and downwards motion. The intro pedals on D throughout the progression, which I think adds brightness and adds to the Lydian effect. As well, I believe that the Beatles are using the E7 chord for the II, which means that we have a D pedalling throughout the progression. And the melody generally descends. So you have chords that move upwards, a pedal point that stays the stationary, and a melody that goes downwards. I think these contrasts are a big part of what makes the song so compelling. And this sort of contrasting motion is something that Paul understood was really effective musically. I've seen interviews where he discussed using that in Lady Madonna, where the melody descends while the chords rise and in places in She's Leaving Home. I must say, this is some excellent analysis on my part.

@joehart3481 Жыл бұрын

At 9:00 - this really helped teach me some fubdimentals, like the secondary dominants, but how the E doesn't resolve down to the A, but rather a G.

@erjuanjojj Жыл бұрын

Also I find that normally when used modal interchange, the II chord goes after or before the IV, and the VIIb goes after or before that the V. It is for making the contrast back to major and not make the ambiguity as short as possible.

@freexband Жыл бұрын

Sometimes I think of a “borrowed” major as a kind of sus4 but for a minor chord. Here, it’s not Emaj, but Emin with a raised 3rd, even though it’s really Emaj.

@dannmartin7750 Жыл бұрын

This is such a great video series. It has always been my dream to be able to play songs by ear and after watching this series I can't help but automatically attempt to break down any song I'm hearing into its chord progression, though I find this to be very difficult in practice and usually end up going to a tab site to see how far off my guess was. Identifying isolated chord or note intervals is easy enough, but when you listen to raw chord progressions in their natural habitats of their songs I find it much more difficult. Do you have any tips or, even better, could you do a video/series about how you go about decoding a song's chord progression by ear? Keep up the awesome work!

@ok5988 Жыл бұрын

Do songs that use locrian: Giliese 710 by King gizzard and the lizard wizard: uses the b locrian scale and is from a concept album that uses all the major modes Am I evil by Metallica: mostly use the e locrian scale but modulates by a perfect fifth into the b locrian scale and also sometimes uses the a and b Phrygian scales Blind by Korn: the main riff is played in the a locrian natural 2nd scale Painkiller by Judas priest: my favourite example, mostly uses the e locrian scale but it sometimes switches into the e Phrygian scale which makes it sound bright despite using Phrygian and the solo is in c minor creating an even brighter sound before switching back into the locrian mode. There are plenty more that I didn't mention.

@calebbean1384 Жыл бұрын

Or using parallelism with minor keys, like a lot of death metal does. Metal in general would be cool but I don't think the piano guy is gonna do it 😅

@ok5988 Жыл бұрын

@@calebbean1384 maybe yes. But there is a really small chance that he does show an example.

@Goat_boi 11 ай бұрын

i remember this video came out during my music exam. me and my friend knew what to say when we saw the thumbnail. the legendary line "SANS"

@evanistephani Жыл бұрын

Wow, I never knew The Beatles used the "Eight Days a Week" chord progression! Good thing I saw them in the thumbnail :> But in all seriousness, great video. Always love these videos :>