Somebody like you – Adele – Part 2

Ok so now this song is stuck in my head, it got me thinking about relative minors.  What would happen to this song if you swapped all the chords for their relative majors/minors.  It is one of the simplest substitutions you can use so lets have a listen.

Firstly lets hear the original verse:.  The chords reapeat around A-c#m-f#m-D.

SeeChord chart of Somebody like you by Adele

SeeChord chart

Now, if we swap all of those chords for their relative majors/minors, we get this instead:

SeeChord chart of "Somebody like you" with substituted chords.

However, there are some other chords that will serve just as well for relative majors and minors.  We are often told that there is only one relative major or minor, but this is not the case.  Take C major for example.  Music theory tells us that the relative minor is A minor.  Sure enough, their chords and scale are very similar, so it is easy to see the relationship.  However, there is another minor chord very similar to C major, and tha is E minor.  The similarities are not so exact in the scale, but for a chord substitution it is perfectly valid.

What happens to our tune if we substitute these chords instead?:

SeeChord chart of "Somebody like you" by Adele, with relative majors/minors

Neither of the new chord progressions sound quite right as we are so used to hearing the original, and the fact that the tune fits perfectly over the original chords.  However if we could pick and choose from these substitutions…

Verse relative

SeeChord Chart

In my opinion this sounds just as solid as the original sequence, even though none of the original chords appear in the same position.  This shows the power of relative majors and minors and of substitutions.  Many songs and songwriters use substituted chords to chage up their progressions.  Give it a go, you might find that it creates that moment of magic you were looking for!

 


Chord Progressions

Over the last 10 years I have been analysing chord progressions across all genres of music.  On this blog I intend to regularly post my insights into these progressions, spending some time going into why they are unusual, or why they conform, which pieces are similar and which are truly original.

I would love to hear any feedback, or requests for songs or pieces you would like to understand better.

Most of my insights have been informed by SeeChord.  Do have a look at the rest of the site if you want to find out how it can help you.

 

Joe Samuel

 


Bohemian Rhapsody exposed!

It is arguably the most popular song of all time, appearing in the top 10 of almost every top 10 song list ever.  Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen needs no introduction.  However, it does need analysing.  How do those crazy chord progressions work?  Does it obey the normal rules of songwriting?  Was it ground breaking?

I hope I can answer all of those questions now I have looked at Bohemian Rhapsody through the eyes of SeeChord.  I have made a little video of the results.  Enjoy and let me know if you are now enlightened!

Bohemain Rhapsody analysed with SeeChord