Your lay theory tuition is solid as ever, but I thought your graphics deserve a special mention. I can tell there's so much effort gone in that you must've half-killed yourself trying to make them look good and consistent, and as a stickler for consistency, to me they are among the best around. All the little nuances with how they sync to your narration are appreciated by some of us, so please keep it up!
Yes, as a tutoring tool, they've gotten even better. Now you can hear what he's saying, and see it as he's playing it, AND showing the theory part as it changes. I'd like to see him .. not redo his old videos per se, but re-contextualize them with the latest design he's using now. I better it'd expand his viewership while also giving people who've already seen it another way of understanding what he meant originally that might not have come through as well with the tools he had when he first created it.
I love your deep dives into common chord progressions. Could you possibly make a video on common ways melodies are presented? With the same chord progression over different songs it feels like there's so much variation on how the melodies can be laid out on top of them. Would be nice to feel some sort of confidence about how I choose to create melodies on top.
great idea, seconded!! Let's get into the relationship/interaction between melodies and the underlying chords. I've been writing songs for 25 years, and I know my theory pretty well, but I still frequently don't know WHY I choose to go with a chord tone in a melody in this spot, or an extension of some kind in this other spot. I know I'm following my ear and instinct but... yeah
If you're writing POP music you can't go wrong featuring the 1, 4, 5 and also less important 3 and 6 scale degrees. There is a UA-cam channel somewhere where the person disects tendencies of popular artists and their melodies. Can't remember the channel maybe it's "why these notes." Something I do is sit at the piano and let's say I'm writing a verse melody I loop the verse progression and hit the 4th note on the first measure or sing it then try the 1st note, 5th note etc. sometimes that will spark a complete verse vocal melody. It's not uncommon for me to try multiple ideas and even come back the next day if stuck or even throw the song away and write another if really stuck. Certain artists have go to Ideas like Taylor Swift likes to use the tonic a lot in her verses.
Love your videos! Very very rarely do I completely go 'wait wait what?' when watching you. However, I can't for the life of me understand how you hear the F# as the 1 in wannabe. I posed this on our cover band before our gig tonight, and all 5 of us, 3 gals/2 guys, were like no way that's the 1. But, isn't this why music is so fun! Cheers!
David, when I started watching your videos I was a passionate amateur who gigged regularly but had never studied music or really challenged myself beyond the scope of the guitar music I was into. I’m happy to say I’m one semester away from getting my AA in music and I’ve already been accepted into the my graduate school of choice. Your videos helped build a foundation of good music theory that made school far easier. Being able relate these progressions to both popular songs and classical music gave me a vast amount of inspiration to draw on and use in my theory assignments. Thank you so much! I look forward to telling my future students about your channel.
I would like to thank you for all the great work you put into those videos. After following you for more than two years now I hear, feel and understand music on a completely different level, and it's great joy. Thanks for this adventure!
Lovely video and it’s a chord progression that doesn’t get as much love as the other big 3 Axis progressions. Other examples include: - Semisonic, “DND” - Cranberries, “Stars” - Hinder, “Lips of an Angel” - The New Pornographers, “Stacked Crooked” - All Saints, “Pure Shores” - 5ive, “Keep On Movin’” - Maroon 5, “Daylight” (in the Bridge) - John Mayer, “Waiting on the World to Change” - Asher Roth, “I Love College” Those last two examples use the chord progression alongside another four chord loop (I-vi-IV-I and vi-iii-IV-I, respectively.)
I love your videos. I'm a nerd for theory. I love all of the examples so you really get a feel for the progression and possibilities. Best of all, your videos are inspiring. Every time I watch I want to run and pick up my guitar.
One thing I love about my isomorphic keyboard is that chord patterns are specific shapes, and I don't really need to worry about their function. Also, thank you for labeling both the chord names and functions in the videos. It makes following along a lot easier!
Was not expecting an AJR reference in this video. As an AJR fan, I appreciate the reference. They're not everyone's cups of tea but cool of you to give them a mention.
David. Happy Christmas to you from Ireland. As I have said before. My favourite part of your UA-cam videos are you playing your outros on the piano. It's how you make the chord progression your own and express yourself. Thank you for the gift of music and helping me to understand my musical brainwashing 😂. Have a good Christmas and I'm looking forward to more in 2025.
There was couple of interesting examples featuring chords with unusual length (half a bar or 1.5 bar), would love to have a dedicated video on this kind of trick! Thank you for your work and pedagogy
Thank you for your inspiring my new exciting mashup idea: I call it want to be hurt and it's actually great and it really uses that drone quality from hurt to help you hear wannabe in the angel progression also it has great lyrics like "if you want to be my lover you've got to get with my sweetest friends" and "everyone I know friendship never ends" ❤
Fun fact: Robbie Williams isn’t really that famous in the US. When I was spending a lot of time in Mexico and made a lots of friends there, they were baffled by some English language music I didn’t know, and that was one of the main ones that shocked them.
The ratio between US fame and “rest of the world” fame has got to be more extremely out of whack in the case of Robbie Williams than any other person in history.
@@DavidBennettPiano My english friends have a totally different point of reference for what is "famous". Arctic Monkeys were a niche indie band in the US, no one I know in the US listened to the Libertines. Also, English people thought the Strokes, Kings of Leon and Interpol were the hugest bands in the US. They were big and influential but they were not at the level of rap artists of the time. The UK sometimes think New York and LA are the only cities in america.
I hadn't thought of chord progressions in terms of modes, but it makes perfect sense. I'm happy with myself that, while watching, I anticipated David's discussion about first establishing the I chord in the listener's mind before launching into a section of the music that starts on something other than the I chord--it suggests that I am moving forward as a composer. I shall have to compose something using this concept. I must say, too, that enjoyed seeing that IV chord continued into another measure rather than going to the I -- that's quite interesting. Bravo, David.
I have always heard the chorus of 'Hurt' as being 100% Am F C G I had to listen to it immediately as I was perplexed finding it on that list. Obviously I always imagined an extra bar of G at the start of the chorus and a missing bar at the end... I am kind of mindblown now, hearing a different song to some degree. Anyone else with me?
"Angels" is a masterpiece and its chord progression is so beautiful, definitely my favourite order of the Axis four-chords-of-pop progression. "I Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk is another amazing song that also uses the "Angels" chord progression.
@@shocksystem8675 I almost included that song in this video actually however the progression is slightly different. It is iii7 vi IV I rather than V vi IV I. But it’s so close because the iii7 (Gm7) is basically the same as the V chord (Bb) but with G in the bass, so it’s like Bb/G
Love how you put your deep analysis in words that most people can understand with fantastic examples. Love your videos 🙏🏽❤️ Also, it's the first time I see you using a Spice Girls example 🤘🏽😊 And that makes me happy
About Hurt... I always think the verse being I-II-vi, one last I-II-V then vi-IV-I-V in the chorus, with a big Am in the start and after first chorus. It's a way lyrics fits better the progressions. Nice video, btw!
Never heard of an inverted pedal point before! I would never think of that way since the "pedal" being on the floor is what gives the non-inverted version it's name, I always think of it as this jangly floating thing instead
YES. I'm obsessed with this progression but not as much as the Everything (Bublé) progression (also in Never Back Down by Novastar). I would LOVE a video about it!
I don't get it ... When the G comes around the second time (on the word "friend") you still do not perceive it as the first chord of the progression? And before the chorus vocal starts and the riff plays two times, you hear the Am as the first chord? I'm trying to hear it "your" way but somehow I can't rethink it.
@robertwagner8317 No - because "friend" is part of the previous 'sentence' i associate it with the previous chord progression. For me a large part of it is where he starts (and stops) singing. Also the movement from F to C to me sounds best halfway through the progression rather than 3/4 through it. I'm really struggling to hear it your way!
I hear your argument about Wannabe, but the melody is almost entirely a B pentatonic scale. The first several notes in particular feels very much like the childish taunt on "5 5 3 6 5 3," more so than 1, 6, and 2. Harmonically, it wouldn't sound entirely wrong to end on a F# Major chord, but melodically, it's really suggesting B Major.
Plus, the song is a cool example of parallel modulation, with the intro/bridge/outro being in B minor and the verses/choruses being in B major. I'm pretty sure that's what the writers were going for.
Another thing that can decide which chord is the true I chord is the melody. Angels and Hurt are great examples of this. With Angels, the melody (not counting the anacrusis) starts properly on the 1 of the first beat of the first bar and ends on the first beat of the 4th bar, giving the sense that home is firmly on that four chord (the I chord). Whereas Hurt the melodic phrase starts on the first beat of the 2nd bar and ends back on the first beat of the first chord of the progression (the V chord assuming the progression is V, vi, IV, I) making that sound like home (and therefore a Mixolydian feeling - ie I, ii, bVII, IV). Not the mention the pedal note is the tonic of the first chord, that reinforces that feeling of the first chord in the progression is the home chord. That's how it sounds to me at least. Which is cool, cos just from where the melody ends (looking at both progressions as V, vi, IV, I), in a song like Angels, the melody has quite a comforting feeling cos it ends on the I chord, while in Hurt it's quite unsettling cos it ends on the V chord, the furthest away from home you can get diatonically.
Great video. Have to use this comment to say there’s quite compelling evidence that Robbie stole Angels, and not in the way that artists steal, but in the way thieves steal.
13:58 Taylor Swift has actually used V-vi-IV-I a few times, and there might be more than these that I don't know. The first is the bridge of Better Than Revenge, and as a side note this is the only song I know of that reharmonizes a melody with the same chord progression starting on a different chord, since the second half of the bridge is the same melody over vi-IV-I-V. Then right where you left me, which, just like Better Than Revenge, does the same variation as the James Blunt song by tagging the V chord on at the end. And finally The Prophecy from her latest album.
Never heard that Taylor Swift song before but I *immediately* recognised it as Time After Time. Was about to look up its chords when you used it as the next example :D The style is identical!
9:36 It would only be a different MODE of the “axis” chord progression (unless you’re using “mode” in a non-technical, generic sense) if you were perceiving a different chord as the tonic chord. As it happens, that IS the case with the “minor version of the axis progression”, that you discuss at 10:16, because to most ears it typically shifts the tonic from the Ionian chord to the aeolian chord (the erstwhile vi chord), which then becomes the tonic chord, shifting us in turn from the Ionian mode to the aeolian mode. That’s what makes it a “minor version”. We now perceive it as being in the relative minor key. But when you start instead on the Mixolydian chord (the V chord in the context of the basic “Axis” progression), it DOESN’T typically shift us to the Mixolydian mode. We generally continue to perceive our “default mode”, Ionian, just with a delayed appearance by the tonic, which now becomes the fourth chord in the sequence rather than the first. You actually acknowledge this by singling the Spice Girls song out as the only example where (for you) the tonic actually shifts. That would mean you are perceiving that song to be in Mixolydian, but you perceive all the others as still being in the same mode (Ionian) that they would be in if the sequence was (for want of a better term) “axis proper” (ie Ionian). I have to say, though, that for me the Spice Girls song is still straightforwardly in the Ionian mode like all the others, and the first chord in the sequence remains the V chord rather than the tonic.
I am commenting before I've reached the end of the video. I'm at 11:30 right now. Sometimes the scale mode that the melody is in, influences whether I settle on the first chord being 'I' or 'V'. My brain will initially accept the first chord as 'I' but may change through subsequent chords and their apparent 'functionality'. If the melody starts soon enough before the chord changes, alone, take hold, it may enlighten me to the start on 'V' idea. Say a vocalist sings a melody in 'G' Mixolydian starting in the first chord 'G maj', I'm probably going to settle on 'G' being 'I' in the 'G' mixolydian mode. Now to watch the rest of the video.
In your song at the end. you started your melody with lots of 'Bs', though, which kind of helped steer me toward a key change from 'E' being the root to 'B' being the root and the bluesy way you played it made me think mixolydian. It sounded awesome.
David could you please make a video on the Melodic Minor modes? As your usual videos with examples and stuff like that. Noone has gone as in detail as you do with scales like Lydian and Phrygian Dominant so if you could do videos on lydian augmented, Aeolian diminished and the others, it owuld be greatly appreciated.
You should remember when you show a tone after the chord. Then you white the tones with small letters and the chords are as you rightfully do with big letters. So tones with small letters and chords with big letter. Remember that. 😎👍
Hey @David Bennett, video idea! Talk about songs with odd time or rhythm shifts. One example I recently came across that peaked my interest was "Iron Fist" - Motorhead. I know it may just be syncopation in the chorus, but you may have more illumination. Luv tha channel.
@@soapboxparishrecordings5287 It's just the order that I see different. To me it seems like the chorus starts on Am, not G. But the key doesn't change.
A related idea for a video would be songs that start on non-standard chords for example Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones starts on the 3rd minor. Another idea for a sponsor would be music transcription software, e. g. Symphony or Musescore
Bro the riff of Wannabe is in B so the verse sounds like its on B. To me at least. But it does add further ambiguity to the notion of the root note given that you clearly perceive it differently.
So this is kind of like a I V VI IV progression. Makes me wonder how it would sound to take some songs with I V VI IV and shift over a bar to make them V VI IV I and see how it sounds. I would LOVE a video where you shift the 1 bar over to adjust the chord progression, but keep the same sequence, and see what it does to the song. Edit: I commented too early, didn't realize that was already discussed in this video.
I don't know if the majority of people perceive it like this, but I know I'm not alone because I've seen 12tone and his entire comment section agree with me, but when the vocals come in during the chorus of Hurt, it sounds like the progression shifts from starting on the V chord to starting on the vi chord. Except that means the V-vi-IV-I progression would only happen in the original NIN version but not just Johnny Cash version, since Johnny Cash doesn't let the chords loop without the voice coming in.
That G pedal point on Hurt...pulls it all heartbreakingly together
The opening of the song is like a stab. Every one of those Gs is like a twist of the knife
I think it's even doing a crescendo over the end - which was the first thing that tipped me off to it being Reznor.
It really makes the song what it is.
Proof that Trent Reznor is first and foremost a really good pianist.
Heartbreakingly pulls it all together. Pulls it together, heartbreakingly
Your lay theory tuition is solid as ever, but I thought your graphics deserve a special mention. I can tell there's so much effort gone in that you must've half-killed yourself trying to make them look good and consistent, and as a stickler for consistency, to me they are among the best around. All the little nuances with how they sync to your narration are appreciated by some of us, so please keep it up!
Yes, as a tutoring tool, they've gotten even better. Now you can hear what he's saying, and see it as he's playing it, AND showing the theory part as it changes. I'd like to see him .. not redo his old videos per se, but re-contextualize them with the latest design he's using now. I better it'd expand his viewership while also giving people who've already seen it another way of understanding what he meant originally that might not have come through as well with the tools he had when he first created it.
I love your deep dives into common chord progressions. Could you possibly make a video on common ways melodies are presented? With the same chord progression over different songs it feels like there's so much variation on how the melodies can be laid out on top of them. Would be nice to feel some sort of confidence about how I choose to create melodies on top.
great idea, seconded!! Let's get into the relationship/interaction between melodies and the underlying chords. I've been writing songs for 25 years, and I know my theory pretty well, but I still frequently don't know WHY I choose to go with a chord tone in a melody in this spot, or an extension of some kind in this other spot. I know I'm following my ear and instinct but... yeah
If you're writing POP music you can't go wrong featuring the 1, 4, 5 and also less important 3 and 6 scale degrees. There is a UA-cam channel somewhere where the person disects tendencies of popular artists and their melodies. Can't remember the channel maybe it's "why these notes." Something I do is sit at the piano and let's say I'm writing a verse melody I loop the verse progression and hit the 4th note on the first measure or sing it then try the 1st note, 5th note etc. sometimes that will spark a complete verse vocal melody. It's not uncommon for me to try multiple ideas and even come back the next day if stuck or even throw the song away and write another if really stuck. Certain artists have go to Ideas like Taylor Swift likes to use the tonic a lot in her verses.
It just has to sound good
Thats the hard part😂
Thirded!!! 😮
Love your videos! Very very rarely do I completely go 'wait wait what?' when watching you. However, I can't for the life of me understand how you hear the F# as the 1 in wannabe. I posed this on our cover band before our gig tonight, and all 5 of us, 3 gals/2 guys, were like no way that's the 1.
But, isn't this why music is so fun! Cheers!
David, when I started watching your videos I was a passionate amateur who gigged regularly but had never studied music or really challenged myself beyond the scope of the guitar music I was into.
I’m happy to say I’m one semester away from getting my AA in music and I’ve already been accepted into the my graduate school of choice. Your videos helped build a foundation of good music theory that made school far easier. Being able relate these progressions to both popular songs and classical music gave me a vast amount of inspiration to draw on and use in my theory assignments. Thank you so much! I look forward to telling my future students about your channel.
That outro song is legitimately beautiful
Agreed! David is not just a great pianist, he is a brilliant composer!
It's the most musical part of the entire video.
I would like to thank you for all the great work you put into those videos. After following you for more than two years now I hear, feel and understand music on a completely different level, and it's great joy. Thanks for this adventure!
My knowledge of music theory turned into understanding because of David Bennett ❤️
It's a Christmas miracle, no Beatles or Radiohead references! Seriously though, great video as always. Merry Christmas!
Not quite! The "Axis" chord progression he plays at 9:12 is the first four chords of "Let It Be." :)
Lovely video and it’s a chord progression that doesn’t get as much love as the other big 3 Axis progressions. Other examples include:
- Semisonic, “DND”
- Cranberries, “Stars”
- Hinder, “Lips of an Angel”
- The New Pornographers, “Stacked Crooked”
- All Saints, “Pure Shores”
- 5ive, “Keep On Movin’”
- Maroon 5, “Daylight” (in the Bridge)
- John Mayer, “Waiting on the World to Change”
- Asher Roth, “I Love College”
Those last two examples use the chord progression alongside another four chord loop (I-vi-IV-I and vi-iii-IV-I, respectively.)
The way you play Angels at the end is very.... Angelic 😇
I love your videos. I'm a nerd for theory. I love all of the examples so you really get a feel for the progression and possibilities. Best of all, your videos are inspiring. Every time I watch I want to run and pick up my guitar.
Merry Christmas David. Great Year.
@@billhasty5197 Merry Christmas 🎄
One thing I love about my isomorphic keyboard is that chord patterns are specific shapes, and I don't really need to worry about their function. Also, thank you for labeling both the chord names and functions in the videos. It makes following along a lot easier!
I always wondered what playing one of those is like. Just looks weird to me and idk if I could play one lol
Was not expecting an AJR reference in this video. As an AJR fan, I appreciate the reference. They're not everyone's cups of tea but cool of you to give them a mention.
Your videos always make me think, learn and give me so much new stuff to work into my own music
Thanks 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
David. Happy Christmas to you from Ireland. As I have said before. My favourite part of your UA-cam videos are you playing your outros on the piano. It's how you make the chord progression your own and express yourself. Thank you for the gift of music and helping me to understand my musical brainwashing 😂. Have a good Christmas and I'm looking forward to more in 2025.
I play guitar and your lessons give great insight even if on piano. Dig the inspiration
All the way through your playing of the Axis progression, I kept expecting you to launch into "Let It Be"!
There was couple of interesting examples featuring chords with unusual length (half a bar or 1.5 bar), would love to have a dedicated video on this kind of trick! Thank you for your work and pedagogy
@@kenguiltaux4572 thanks!
@@DavidBennettPianothe notes are going to fall. Above the keys on what device. ?
@@DavidBennettPianowhat other pedal points do you use in other modes? Or do you use the G pedal point in all modes of that progression?
Thx a lot, this "context" thing was what I needed to hear. You are a great music teacher.
Thank you for your inspiring my new exciting mashup idea: I call it want to be hurt and it's actually great and it really uses that drone quality from hurt to help you hear wannabe in the angel progression also it has great lyrics like "if you want to be my lover you've got to get with my sweetest friends" and "everyone I know friendship never ends" ❤
Thanks, and Merry Christmas David! 🎄🎶🎹
Thanks David!! I'm discovering new things all the time. Merry Christmas!!
@@TigerRogers0660 😊🎄😊🎄😊🎄
Fun fact: Robbie Williams isn’t really that famous in the US. When I was spending a lot of time in Mexico and made a lots of friends there, they were baffled by some English language music I didn’t know, and that was one of the main ones that shocked them.
Yeah, he is probably the biggest UK artist not to be popular in the US!
The ratio between US fame and “rest of the world” fame has got to be more extremely out of whack in the case of Robbie Williams than any other person in history.
Well, his fame is based on 'take that' who are exclusively a UK band. I'm not if they're well known in Europe?
@@DavidBennettPiano My english friends have a totally different point of reference for what is "famous". Arctic Monkeys were a niche indie band in the US, no one I know in the US listened to the Libertines. Also, English people thought the Strokes, Kings of Leon and Interpol were the hugest bands in the US. They were big and influential but they were not at the level of rap artists of the time. The UK sometimes think New York and LA are the only cities in america.
And?
Bravo mate, I think you’re actually turning this old “hack” into a proper piano player.
Your lessons are great, showing use of the harmony that often is learned in a sterile environment.
I hadn't thought of chord progressions in terms of modes, but it makes perfect sense. I'm happy with myself that, while watching, I anticipated David's discussion about first establishing the I chord in the listener's mind before launching into a section of the music that starts on something other than the I chord--it suggests that I am moving forward as a composer. I shall have to compose something using this concept. I must say, too, that enjoyed seeing that IV chord continued into another measure rather than going to the I -- that's quite interesting. Bravo, David.
I have always heard the chorus of 'Hurt' as being 100% Am F C G
I had to listen to it immediately as I was perplexed finding it on that list.
Obviously I always imagined an extra bar of G at the start of the chorus and a missing bar at the end...
I am kind of mindblown now, hearing a different song to some degree.
Anyone else with me?
Great video as always David! Ah man I love Johnny Cash and some of his covers and those late career "American" albums.
"Angels" is a masterpiece and its chord progression is so beautiful, definitely my favourite order of the Axis four-chords-of-pop progression. "I Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk is another amazing song that also uses the "Angels" chord progression.
@@shocksystem8675 I almost included that song in this video actually however the progression is slightly different. It is iii7 vi IV I rather than V vi IV I. But it’s so close because the iii7 (Gm7) is basically the same as the V chord (Bb) but with G in the bass, so it’s like Bb/G
@@DavidBennettPianoI was hoping you’d mention The Weeknd, that song is a good example 😩
And the writer never got proper credit,
Bedankt
@@eriknap5509 thank you!!
What a great lesson, thank you! I love all your videos.
Choruses that start on V sound very powerful.
Love how you put your deep analysis in words that most people can understand with fantastic examples. Love your videos 🙏🏽❤️ Also, it's the first time I see you using a Spice Girls example 🤘🏽😊 And that makes me happy
Very interesting,thank you ,David.Happy Christmas.
About Hurt... I always think the verse being I-II-vi, one last I-II-V then vi-IV-I-V in the chorus, with a big Am in the start and after first chorus. It's a way lyrics fits better the progressions. Nice video, btw!
Same here. I always thought of the G as a short turnaround with the Am as the start of the next section.
@@stopjoshmurphyYep, pretty sure that cycle starts on the Am.
yes. i realy like davids videos but this seems wrong/ like a mistake to me. i play this song on guitar and to me its clearly the way you described it.
Have you viewed the excellent analysis of NIN's version by Ixi? ua-cam.com/video/1EJN_D9YjVI/v-deo.html
I agree with this. What’s shown as bar 1 on this video is surely bar 4 in the loop.
Absolutely brilliant!
Thanks a lot!
Thank you!
I love the outro. Reminds me of the early 70s, Marshall Tucker Band, Bruce Hornsby style. Still sounds fresh to me.
"𝘉𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦"
Yeah, I felt that vibe, too. It doesn't scream Bruce, but it's definitely there in a subtle way.
Thank you, once again, David, for this video, and sharing your knowledge and experience with all of us! ....David from St. Louis :)
Thank you 😊
That is an excellent instructional video! Thanks 🎸
@@artrogers3985 thanks 😊
Merry Christmas, David!
Never heard of an inverted pedal point before! I would never think of that way since the "pedal" being on the floor is what gives the non-inverted version it's name, I always think of it as this jangly floating thing instead
Great video, really liked the piano outro, and also the tonic context and ways to flavor it like Hurt.
So good, great job as always man
YES. I'm obsessed with this progression but not as much as the Everything (Bublé) progression (also in Never Back Down by Novastar). I would LOVE a video about it!
Thanks, that was fun! Played along on my guitar. :)
That's awesome!
Lips of an Angel by Hinder is currently my fav song that uses this chord progression in the verses
I didn’t know about pedal point. Interesting. Thank you.
I hear the Hurt chorus as starting on the Am (with the vocal) with the G before it as a little one bar prechorus.
I don't get it ... When the G comes around the second time (on the word "friend") you still do not perceive it as the first chord of the progression? And before the chorus vocal starts and the riff plays two times, you hear the Am as the first chord?
I'm trying to hear it "your" way but somehow I can't rethink it.
@robertwagner8317 No - because "friend" is part of the previous 'sentence' i associate it with the previous chord progression. For me a large part of it is where he starts (and stops) singing. Also the movement from F to C to me sounds best halfway through the progression rather than 3/4 through it.
I'm really struggling to hear it your way!
Perhaps the song starting on Am has something to do with it too. 🤔
@@Syncop8rNZ Interesting -- never would have thought this could be perceived that differently. Good thing we don't play in a band together tough haha
Hurt is so powerful it's scary
@@thesuncollective1475 agreed!
I find it boring and nothing special
I hear your argument about Wannabe, but the melody is almost entirely a B pentatonic scale. The first several notes in particular feels very much like the childish taunt on "5 5 3 6 5 3," more so than 1, 6, and 2.
Harmonically, it wouldn't sound entirely wrong to end on a F# Major chord, but melodically, it's really suggesting B Major.
It's B major is absolutely 'home'. The song progresses in B after the chorus as well.
Plus, the song is a cool example of parallel modulation, with the intro/bridge/outro being in B minor and the verses/choruses being in B major. I'm pretty sure that's what the writers were going for.
Another thing that can decide which chord is the true I chord is the melody.
Angels and Hurt are great examples of this.
With Angels, the melody (not counting the anacrusis) starts properly on the 1 of the first beat of the first bar and ends on the first beat of the 4th bar, giving the sense that home is firmly on that four chord (the I chord).
Whereas Hurt the melodic phrase starts on the first beat of the 2nd bar and ends back on the first beat of the first chord of the progression (the V chord assuming the progression is V, vi, IV, I) making that sound like home (and therefore a Mixolydian feeling - ie I, ii, bVII, IV). Not the mention the pedal note is the tonic of the first chord, that reinforces that feeling of the first chord in the progression is the home chord. That's how it sounds to me at least.
Which is cool, cos just from where the melody ends (looking at both progressions as V, vi, IV, I), in a song like Angels, the melody has quite a comforting feeling cos it ends on the I chord, while in Hurt it's quite unsettling cos it ends on the V chord, the furthest away from home you can get diatonically.
Beautifully done… as always.
🎸👨⚕️🫶✌️♾️. 💯
One of my all time favorites that I rarely hear enough 💙
😊😊😊😊😊
Happy chrismas ❤thanks mahalo 🏝️🇩🇪
Merry chrismas ❤️thanks mahalo danke 🏝️🇩🇪❤️
🎉🎉🎉
Great video. Have to use this comment to say there’s quite compelling evidence that Robbie stole Angels, and not in the way that artists steal, but in the way thieves steal.
Another great video!
Merry Christmas!! David 🎅☃️🎄🎁🔴🔵
"stu's song" from the hangover uses this chord progression I think
i think so yeah. also crazy that dake is here
Let it Be immediately came to mind.
13:58 Taylor Swift has actually used V-vi-IV-I a few times, and there might be more than these that I don't know. The first is the bridge of Better Than Revenge, and as a side note this is the only song I know of that reharmonizes a melody with the same chord progression starting on a different chord, since the second half of the bridge is the same melody over vi-IV-I-V. Then right where you left me, which, just like Better Than Revenge, does the same variation as the James Blunt song by tagging the V chord on at the end. And finally The Prophecy from her latest album.
Great example 😊😊
Love learning more about the theory behind Taylor's songs😊
Thank you so much!
really useful thanks david
"Life is a flower" by Ace of Base is another example that comes to mind.
Never heard that Taylor Swift song before but I *immediately* recognised it as Time After Time. Was about to look up its chords when you used it as the next example :D The style is identical!
That Outro made me cry. I wish I could play like that.
9:36 It would only be a different MODE of the “axis” chord progression (unless you’re using “mode” in a non-technical, generic sense) if you were perceiving a different chord as the tonic chord. As it happens, that IS the case with the “minor version of the axis progression”, that you discuss at 10:16, because to most ears it typically shifts the tonic from the Ionian chord to the aeolian chord (the erstwhile vi chord), which then becomes the tonic chord, shifting us in turn from the Ionian mode to the aeolian mode. That’s what makes it a “minor version”. We now perceive it as being in the relative minor key.
But when you start instead on the Mixolydian chord (the V chord in the context of the basic “Axis” progression), it DOESN’T typically shift us to the Mixolydian mode. We generally continue to perceive our “default mode”, Ionian, just with a delayed appearance by the tonic, which now becomes the fourth chord in the sequence rather than the first.
You actually acknowledge this by singling the Spice Girls song out as the only example where (for you) the tonic actually shifts. That would mean you are perceiving that song to be in Mixolydian, but you perceive all the others as still being in the same mode (Ionian) that they would be in if the sequence was (for want of a better term) “axis proper” (ie Ionian). I have to say, though, that for me the Spice Girls song is still straightforwardly in the Ionian mode like all the others, and the first chord in the sequence remains the V chord rather than the tonic.
Thank you ❤
What a barnburner of an ending!
I am commenting before I've reached the end of the video. I'm at 11:30 right now. Sometimes the scale mode that the melody is in, influences whether I settle on the first chord being 'I' or 'V'. My brain will initially accept the first chord as 'I' but may change through subsequent chords and their apparent 'functionality'. If the melody starts soon enough before the chord changes, alone, take hold, it may enlighten me to the start on 'V' idea. Say a vocalist sings a melody in 'G' Mixolydian starting in the first chord 'G maj', I'm probably going to settle on 'G' being 'I' in the 'G' mixolydian mode. Now to watch the rest of the video.
In your song at the end. you started your melody with lots of 'Bs', though, which kind of helped steer me toward a key change from 'E' being the root to 'B' being the root and the bluesy way you played it made me think mixolydian. It sounded awesome.
BRAVO!
Merry Christmas to you
In the progression V - vi, the third of vi must be doubled, since the third of V ( the leading-note) must resolve to the third of vi (the tonic.)
Wouldn't hurt really be 6, 4, 1, 5. The lyrics start on the 6 chord making it feel like it is the start of the hook.
It's all 1, 6m, 4, 5 in a variety of ways. Heart and Soul.
David could you please make a video on the Melodic Minor modes? As your usual videos with examples and stuff like that. Noone has gone as in detail as you do with scales like Lydian and Phrygian Dominant so if you could do videos on lydian augmented, Aeolian diminished and the others, it owuld be greatly appreciated.
Good idea! I’ve done videos on a couple of those scales but I should do a full video on all of them
Tysm for responding🙏 Ive seen your Aeolian Dominant and Melodic Minor videos but Id love to see a video on Double Dorian, Lydian Dominant so on.
Really interesting upload.
David, PLEASE use more examples from the 70s and 80s!
I like the modern examples. Using contemporary or non-classic era songs shows us how the fundamentals still apply.
You should remember when you show a tone after the chord. Then you white the tones with small letters and the chords are as you rightfully do with big letters.
So tones with small letters and chords with big letter.
Remember that. 😎👍
Hey @David Bennett, video idea! Talk about songs with odd time or rhythm shifts. One example I recently came across that peaked my interest was "Iron Fist" - Motorhead. I know it may just be syncopation in the chorus, but you may have more illumination. Luv tha channel.
Very interesting, thanks
In "Hurt", it seems to me that the "first" chord is the vi, not the V. Since it loops, the difference isnt huge, but i think it does matter.
Actually Hurt by Johnny Cash uses vi-IV-I-V
How is it in the key of F Major? Where’s the B flat?
@soapboxparishrecordings5287 i didn't said it's in F
@ my bad. Thought you led differently. Ok why is it a 6minor start when the G peddles? The guy is right
@@soapboxparishrecordings5287 It's just the order that I see different. To me it seems like the chorus starts on Am, not G. But the key doesn't change.
My god, Angels is such a banger isn't it?
12:56 a recent song with that chord progression all throughout is Taste by Sabrina Carpenter
very thankful
A related idea for a video would be songs that start on non-standard chords for example Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones starts on the 3rd minor. Another idea for a sponsor would be music transcription software, e. g. Symphony or Musescore
The Gm7 you mentioned in Marvin Gaye's "Sexual healing" at 3:56 is actually a Eb/G.
Scrolled through the comments to see if this had been already posted. Yes, you're right.
Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer has also a part of this chord progression the entire song.
Hey, one of your videos was sampled in the latest El Estepario Siberiano short
Sounds like Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young as well.
5:41 FEEDER MENTIONED 🗣🔥
Looks like you in absolute love with the music.
Dreamer by Axwell /\ Ingrosso is in this one.
Bro the riff of Wannabe is in B so the verse sounds like its on B. To me at least. But it does add further ambiguity to the notion of the root note given that you clearly perceive it differently.
Lol for a second I thought the title said Angeles and I was like "there's really more than one??"
So this is kind of like a I V VI IV progression. Makes me wonder how it would sound to take some songs with I V VI IV and shift over a bar to make them V VI IV I and see how it sounds.
I would LOVE a video where you shift the 1 bar over to adjust the chord progression, but keep the same sequence, and see what it does to the song.
Edit: I commented too early, didn't realize that was already discussed in this video.
Great video as always. However, I personally do not hear the sharp F chord in Wannabe as the one chord.
I don't know if the majority of people perceive it like this, but I know I'm not alone because I've seen 12tone and his entire comment section agree with me, but when the vocals come in during the chorus of Hurt, it sounds like the progression shifts from starting on the V chord to starting on the vi chord. Except that means the V-vi-IV-I progression would only happen in the original NIN version but not just Johnny Cash version, since Johnny Cash doesn't let the chords loop without the voice coming in.
Merry Xmas, That don't impress me much by Shania Twain uses 'pushed' iv-IV-I-V loop in verse and IV-V-I-iv loop in chorus
The verses of Wannabe by the Spice Girls remind me so much of Baby Baby Baby by TLC
Would it possible, if not done already, to look at some Depeche mode songs? For instance "Walking in my shoes" or "Precious"?