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Because of You – Kelly Clarkson
Intro
This song is a sad song and hence it begins on chord 6. Around 35% of sequences begin with chord 6 and hence have a minor feel. 2/5 of these sequences are then followed by chord 4 – showing how common a movement this is. (As a proportion when considering what chords follow the first chord this may actually be the highest eg. Chord 5 follows chord 1, 35% of the time but this is still not as high as chord 4 following chord 6 which happens 40% of the time. This is extremely high significance and should be noted as a powerful cadence.)
The next chord in the sequence is chord 5. Following a chord 64 cadence this is also extremely common and occurs around 60% of the time – which is extremely significant. When chord 5 is in position c, it is followed by chord 5 again 30% of the time. A pretty standard sequence here. This obtains a probability of 0.0252. That means one in every 50 sequences will be this, assuming the first chord is chord 6, according to my calculations. This is important because it is the chorus sequence and whatever else happens in this song it must be really memorable and catchy.
Verse
The verse begins on chord 1. This gives the introductions of the verse a happy feel and is an important technique. The chorus and intro are sad and introducing the major at this point gives a lovely sweet effect which I feel adds to the intensity of the chorus when it enters. This aids what I believe to be one of the most important elements in songwriting – contrast. This will make the chorus all the more powerful when it arrives – which is the aim of a powerful song like this, and in my opinion the aim of any song, since it is essential that the chorus has maximum impact in order to maximise our attraction to it.
It then immediately moves to chord 3 – which is its close relation since 2 notes are common to both of these chords. This is an uncommon movement but is nice. It gives an immediate minor feel to what started off as major. This is then followed by chord 6 which is extremely common movement from position b to position c. 6 is then followed by chord 5. Chord 5 occupies this position 1/2 of the time – this is possibly the most significant finding of any. (which is highly significant since chord 4 is the next most common but only occupies it 1/5 of the time).
Chorus
The chorus then uses the intro sequence which has already been analysed. The third time round the sequence then changes and the last chord becomes chord 3j. Turning what should be a minor into a major is always a powerful event in my opinion. What is of more interest is that following the sequence 645, these two chord options (6 and 3j) are almost always used and are used about as much as each other. What better than to use both of these options and switch from one to the other to add contrast and interest.
Following the 3j, the next line then uses a descending sequence, chord 2 to chord 1 (the root). However the bass line moves from note 2 to note 3 in the opposite direction to the chord: the bass and the chords are moving in the opposite directions and this has a lovely effect. Exactly the same technique is used for the first 2 chords of the middle 8 in Heaven by Brian Adams. It in a lovely movement. The next two chords are the same as the last two chords of the previous line which anchors this line well within the context of this chorus and then the last line uses 4 to 5, each double the length of the previous chords, 4 to 5 being a very common sequence and 5 being a perfect ending to the chorus, remembering the 5 is found around 50% of the time at the end of a sequence. It also creates a perfect cadence back into the verse (5 to 1), which is another reason for this being a standard ending for a chorus.
What have we learned?
1) If we want our song to have a minor feel we should begin on chord 6.
2) 35% of the time this is followed by chord 4 which is possibly the most significant occurance with regards to what chord follows an initial chord. (the next most common following initial chord 6 is chord 6 again which occurs 20% of the time).
3) Following chords 64, chord 5 occurs around 60% of the time – very significant.
4) To create contrast and add a little sweetness, the verse can begin with chord 1 following a minor Intro – as also occurs in Complicated by Avril Lavinge.
5) If a sequence begins with chord 6, chord 5 occupies position c 50% of the time not considering what has gone before – this is extremely significant.
6) Following 645, chords 5 or 3j are nearly always used and this song uses the ingenious idea of switching from one to the other to add contrast. That’s pretty damn clever in my opinion.
You
have learnt plenty of highly significant chord usage strategies in this
song alone. Go and utilise some of what you have learned and you
will probably have a very good chord sequence for the next song you write!!
©
2006 Phil Warren