Analyzing the Perfect Chords from "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars
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- Опубликовано: 20 июл 2024
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Analyzing great progressions is not just an academic exercise- it's a way to introduce new movements and musical effects to your composition lexicon. In this video, we're taking a look at Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man", which is in the key of C Major and uses all of the garden variety diatonic chords in the key (save B diminished). In addition, it uses several borrowed chords and/or secondary dominants, and is structured in a way to really get as much juice out of the C Major/A Minor tonality as possible.
A few things to note- Pop music is not classical music. And pop can not always be described in traditional terms like Roman Numeral analysis easily. However I think it's worth a try, and I've made some less-than-popular notations that are worth explaining. I name a Csus2/B and notate it as Isus2/7, which is to imply it's the Tonic Chord (I) and it's sus2, but it's over the 7th tone of the key (B).
During that part of the video I keep calling it a C but it's really a Csus2. You can also think of it as a Gadd11/B, then it would be a V chord. One other option there for that one chord would be an Emb6, it should provide a similar "slide" from the Am to the C.
Related Videos!
Chords of Major: • How To Write Chord Pro...
Borrowed Chords: • Writing Progressions w...
Secondary Dominants: • Secondary Dominants- W...
Minor Plagal: • These 3 Chords will Ma...
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Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:57 The Chorus
05:04 The Verse
07:22 Prechourus
09:16 The Bridge
11:13 The Last Chorus
11:49 The Intro
12:45 Wrapping Up
![Motifs and Chords- The Fast and Easy Way to Make Music! [SONGWRITNG - MUSIC THEORY - LESSON]]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z3Dy6Mnp5Og/mqdefault.jpg)
11:28 the vi chord should be Am not A
You're 100% correct, it looks like I forgot to add the "m" sign :(
Major 2 you find in Sweet child of mine, and the last 3 songs i've written.
I also missed mentioning that the D chord has a F# and having a F follow-up creates a lot of tension due to the soprano F# followed by the bass F
Ygor Rebouças and also, it's actually a D7, but whatever
But D minor is the saddest chord.😭He missed a chance to make the song even better.
When they added the Dm7 I was like D F A C
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I lol’d.
lmao
That's hilarious
underrated
I understood 3% of this but I watched 100% of this.
same
Bri, it's easier than it seems. Every key has a scale of seven notes. All chords in that key use only a combination of those seven notes.
Only way to learn brother
mccloysong, dont over simplify it. It *is* extremely hard and not as easy as you portrayed it. In fact you didnt even mention modes, types of scales, progression rules, types of chords, atonal/semi-atonal chords (like full diminished), etc. Not all scales have seven notes either. I would just encourage learning if i were you
@@mccloysong every key has many types of scales that doesnt necessarily have 7 notes played. probably should not speak otherwise...
Everyone: wow bruno mars be a music theory genius
Bruno Mars: I just thought it sounded good.
care chill dude nobody's forcing you to like it
Obama does care 😆😆😆
It's just him and a piano, no other instruments, he had the choice of any chords that exist in any key, I don't think there's as much science behind it as this guy might think, though it's nice to hear why he thinks it works.
Hey you smell my fart everything works because of something he is just trying to figure out how it works, things that sound good are usually made with theory and not just random playing in a piano
Nacho Herrera George Martin knew plenty about music theory
i would watch a video like this about literally every song ever written.
Rick beato does that
It does feel very conflicted, like a battle between positivity and negativity. Much like one might feel after a breakup. Musically, it is really good.
This is the equivalent to English teachers diving deeper into the book than the actual author did
TRUE!
Well it seems that way because you assume the teacher, or in this case this guy, is trying to explain what the author or artist was _trying_ to do, when really what they're explaining is why it works so well
Exactly.
This is far more interesting than my basic English teacher over-analyzing mediocre literature though
I often think about theory when I'm writing, so don't assume that.
John mulaney plays guitar???
xxyuga I’m so thrown off my rhythm
“I thought he looked like him” “a little”
Bruhhhh😂
"But as soon as we got there, we slipped you right into the dm"
This also follows the verse structure of “srdc” which is “statement, restatement, departure, and conclusion. Its a really common verse structure thats been used since the days of the blues. State something twice, then leave home with something different, then return for an ultimate resolution.
Good comment @Calamari 👍
I've been calling this the happy birthday formula for too many years! Glad it has a name!
Sounds like “Sentence Form”, which is a pretty well documented topic!
@@alexaidt I'd say it falls within the same umbrella. It could be considered a kind of sentence though developed outside of the tradition of western classical music.
I must say that I can't understand not even 1% of the knowledge in music theory presented on the video. That being said, I love listening to music and feeling it and I could totally feel what you meant (or what I think you meant). Great job man. I was almost in tears watching this and felt like someone was holding my hand into a whole new world of possibilities. You are connecting to people in amazing ways. Thank you so so much for this video. Best video I've seen in a while
*sees first 8 chords*
Is it April 1st?
It's sad that people feel the need to analyze such basics. It's almost like a 1st grader analyzing first 4 letters of alphabet and the reason of their order for 15 minutes and calling them "perfect"...
@@6squall9 I too am an awful snob who's mad about people learning to understand pop music. Songs are only good if there's no definite key center and the chords all have 5 notes!
@@mattb9708 nobody is mad, just disappointed about the clickbait title... i see how my comment would sound snobby though, so i'm not offended either.
Matt B I do agree that when I saw the title, I was expecting something extravagant, after we've all we've been through so many topics. That being said, an old man who plays blue grass once told me "we always used to say the songs with only one chord are the best ones" and maybe he didn't mean much by it, buts always had a poetic impact on me. Something along the lines of "the simplest chords are the best ones"
@@6squall9 it's like Ratatouille.
I'd love more analysis videos of individual peices.
And the theory videos.
And the original song videos.
And.... yeah you get the idea :-)
Yes, more songwriting techniques and breakdowns. The theory stuff is awesome too. Keep doing what you're doing, your awesome man, Thank you.
This is a great lesson in connecting music knowledge with your emotional response. There’s so much value in asking yourself “how does this musical device/chord/technique make me feel?”. Writing becomes a lot more intuitive once you combine knowledge with emotion.
Your grasp of the music/chord theory is incredible! Your grasp of the lyrics is... well... approximate. But seriously, thanks for all you do, man.
A Day In The Life is an example of a perfect progression
Agreed! If I do more of these, you'll hear more Beatles
please! i would love to see more videos like these with the beatles. it would also be cool to see you make some sense of some more jazzy chord progressions
Life on Mars David Bowie is pretty sweet too
yesss
Joe McA Life On Mars is probably my favourite use of line clichés, also Rick Wakeman’s voicings snd interaction with the melody in the right hand completely makes it. if you haven’t seen it I hugely suggest 12tone’s analysis video of Life On Mars, it mainly focuses on the use of chromaticism and line clichés in the piano chords.
You should do a video on Bruno's song "Versace on the Floor". Particularly, everything after the second chorus. A lot of different progressions and phrases put together brilliantly. 🙂
Flippin' awesome lesson/ analysis of this song. I'd love to see WAY more of these- this is how I go through a song an learn it- for me it's the only way to make a song into your own song- to understand what the artist was doing so you can make your interpretation of the piece- which is how I like to use covers. This is indeed a fantastic chord progression to go through- thank you!
Being a beginner guitar “learner”, the videos you do like this help me to understand what chords fit with each other in a hands on type situation. Well done video and keep up the good work.
There's no other channel I look forward to watching more than Signals Music Studio. You take complicated ideas and make them simple.. not by dumbing them down but by clearly explaining what's going on. Thanks so much for everything you do.
Great job - I could only understand what you were saying because of all your other videos, which I love. Thanks.
This is the first video I've seen of yours, and you sold me in about a minute and thirty seconds. Great stuff man, your knowledge of music theory is fantastic, and thank you for sharing!
Such a great video! Perfect balance between totally needing out, and also talking about feel and complete subjectivity. Honestly one of the best music theory videos on RUclips. Thank You so much for this
This was probably the perfect music video all jokes aside a brilliant analysis full of great stuff to learn. Thanks for sharing.
I never really noticed this song before, but it is so beautiful now that you've explained it.
Would absolutely love more of this
This makes so much sense. My understanding of music grows every time I watch one of your videos. In particular, the idea of a tonal center has really made things click for me. Thanks.
This was an eye opening video. I never really thought much of the progression other than that it was strange but cool but hearing you analyze it made me realize there is a whole other layer of composition that went into this song. When you talked about the emotion of the chords I was realizing that they were matching exactly what the lyrics were expressing! It makes me think a lot more about music composition now. I would definitely love to see more videos like these!
Yes! More videos like this, please! :3
Yes, reverse engineering interesting songs from all kind of different genres would be great ongoing serie!
Pure genius! Explained perfectly! Great description and use of adjectives. The more adjectives, the better!
Absolutely make more of these videos. I think when you've done all your music theory, analyzing songs and breaking them down is the best way to fully understand the knowledge you've aquired over the years, put it to use and appreciate the work you've done.
I liked how you analyzed literally every single note in order to figure out both the exact function of each note, as well as the feelings or emotions that they induce. Keep up the good work. It is probably helping a lot of people.
You need to publish a theory book, my friend
for me the D to F is the coolest transition.
if you think of it it's basically a transition of 2 chords 3 half-notes apart. So you can try C to E, and notice how it sounds very triumphant and uplifting, it's also the same as A to C. So the same feeling, but D to F.
You are hands down the best Music teacher I've ever had. You make things like modal interchange, modes, secondary dominants and every other aspect of music theory so simple to understand. THANK YOU and please keep them coming!
Jake. I love these types of videos. Mashing up theoretical concepts with their application/identification when setting moods within a song is the best way to learn. I appreciate all of your work on this channel. Cheers.
Top tier analysis and even higher tier explanation. Thank you might good sir!
When you analyze the Bb major, It may be simpler to think of it as the borrowed VII from C Minor. It moves well to I(backdoor resolution) or to V as a pre dominant as in this Bruno Mars song.
I approach this tune as being in C major with an avoided tonic. The vi and iii chords bring great sadness to a piece that is major (you discussed I iii movement in the past) F-Fm continues the sad feel by softening the IV chord into the borrowed iv from C minor - which resolves to I as strongly as a Gmaj(the V) does.
You are really good at elaborate things!!! So easy to understand through your words and visual aids! Really great job
bro! this is a really brilliant breakdown. regularly watch ur stuff and came back to this vid after a while. powerful commentary. thank you
Great application of music theory! Please more!
I would love to see something like this from "great gig in the sky"....i absolutely love the chord progression...
Would be cool to watch!
I like how you explain it at a level where almost anyone could understand it on some level. Some musicians on this site use too much jargon, and it can be really discouraging. Thank you very much sir!!
I absolutely love this video! It's great to see and hear all of the music theory lessons I've watched on this channel actually applied in a song. I like this format and I hope you will do some more song/chord progression analysis videos like that.
This video definitely earned my sub. Keep up the awesome content!
Long time Patreon, first time commenter here. This is perfect and extremely helpful for me; please do more!
@@justinlangley9529 Moi*
The older I become, the larger percentage I attribute attitude to musical approach. I like your attitude. It is a simple explanation of what's there and totally free from turning the demonstration into a contest comparing one artists chops with another. Well done!
Wonderful, my man! Great stuff to get it right in my mind. Learned a lot. Thanks and cheers , Richard from Paris
To answer your question at the end. I enjoy analysing chord progressions. So this type of content is dope.
Here’s it all written out as the chords in order
12:45- intro
5:30- verse
9:10- ohs
1:59- chorus
5:30- verse
9:10- ohs
1:59- chorus
10:22- bridge
11:41- last chorus
Thank you for this video. I would most definitely like to see more content like this. Tying an emotion to a chord and its function in the context of the progression is such a great way to learn how to implement theory in your own writing.
Yes, this was an awesome video. Do more please. I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and have been binge watching everything I can. Keep up the good work, and you definitely need to do voice over work. You sounds amazing.
Looking for more perfect songs analysis videos in the future!!
I literally dropped everything I was doing to watch and like this awesome new video from your awesome channel. Hilarious opening about body parts by the way.
Same!
...aand new stuff in your sleeve. Although I don't think this was intentionally ^-^'
Great analysis and explanations. I like that you encourage others to look deeper at the music they listen to and enjoy and learn why and how it communicates to them.
Casual guitarist here and I knew how to play this song (very difficult one because of its weird progressions)... And you know what, now I feel to understand what Im playing and the purpouse/emotion from each chord. How fascinating would it be to do it with other songs and connect with them beyond from playing by memory. It will for me now. Thanks, sir.
The D "Major Second" could also be construed as the IV chord of the Am scale which you've just heard.
2:30 "So now you've been conditioned to hear it a third time"
I am actually the kind of person that, in music, the more I hear something repeated, the more I expect it to change and evolve. Like, I was actually expecting those two chords (Am and D), and I would've been disappointed if the progression stayed the same the whole time, but maybe it's just me
You're listening to it like a musician, though. He's speaking as if he's someone who listens to it who doesn't understand anything about how music is composed and just listens and reacts emotionally.
I agree somewhat. It’s like most of the early 2000s rock... repeated progressions with repeated melodies. Gets boring the second time you listen to the tune... just sometimes repetition is used with mastery, but mostly I agree
pikasfed323 I’m actually like that too but instead of getting used to chord progressions I get used to her texting me back and wonder where I fucked up
@@juanzavala9023 LOL so true, don't worry it happens to me too
Man, you have a way with personifying and similizing chords. You describe the feelings and directionality of the music perfectly.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any of your other content but I really loved this. Seeing someone excited about something they’re passionate and educated about is just so enthralling. It reminds me a lot of Rick Beato’s series “what makes this song good”. As with him you are clearly very knowledgeable about music theory and I hope one day I’m able to but in just some of the effort you have in learning it. I’ll sub and hope to see more content like this
D FAC is up with Dmin7?
nice meme
Whatever happens... Gsus loves you!
@@Superphilipp
another good meme
@@VenetinOfficial When I was young we used to call them "jokes". But then I'm over 30.
@@Superphilipp
At this point the definitions both ended up being interchangeable. Language is beautiful.
That Dm7 is only a step away from being a big suspended G chord, and incidentally moves into a big suspended G chord.
By suspending the D bass note through the chord change, it flavors the F major chord to be a note or two away from F/G, Gsus4, or G7.
It keeps that secondary dominant trait of the prior D major chord. Simultaneously, it acts very much like F/G, leading in two different ways to the following suspended chord (which resolves with one more step to a standard G chord)
When it comes down to it, those 4 chords are a bunch of stepwise suspension to prolong the transition from the D major to the G major.
Jacob Cowan Also when you’re talking about stepwise suspension you should def emphasize the inversions especially on guitar! Any a hole can move one finger over a bunch of open strings it’s a different story to know exactly how to labels those shifts.
@@kydalchemy for your information, a slash chord is, by definition, a notation of an inversion. It happens to be a far easier notation to type in a RUclips comment than the superscript/subscript that is typical of academic music theory. This notation is also quite typical in the jazz world, where much of my music theory experience comes from, and it gives the ability to better illustrate the reasons some chords act the way they do.
The first letter is the chord, and the one after the slash is the bass. I read them like a fraction, so F/G is "F over G" or an F major chord with a bass of G. This could also be represented as a G11, but not a G7. G11 can resolve to G much better than G7 because it's essentially an F chord with the bass note anticipating the chord change. It's an important difference made much clearer to those without so much music theory experience if you use slash notation.
No, I haven't taken a true theory class. That being said, I have years of choral experience and years of jazz experience, and in that time I made sure I did everything I could to make music approachable to my fellow musicians. I tried to make a welcoming atmosphere for those who were getting their start. I used what music theory I could learn to ease the process of learning our music.
Music is for everyone, and I am not particularly fond of elitists who dispense unwelcome judgment instead of the sharing of ideas... Especially if they're supposed to be educators. Signals Music Studio does a great job bringing music theory to the masses. We've no need for gatekeepers.
Jacob Cowan sorry I was a little harsh like I said you aren’t clueless. And ultimately you’re not wrong...I just thought it was a little long winded but ultimately it’s how you get there that counts. As you said slash chords are important as they are not exclusive to any key. They stand alone and within a respective key.
The V4
2
Or 4/2 is just the other of notes.
I will stand by one thing what I tell my students is commit to one or the other. 2 streams of theory.
Sorry dude, your further explanation holds up 👍🏻🤘🏻
Jacob Cowan you’re right, you’re right that was a dick move 💯
Music is for everyone! I should just be happy people are applying theory.
i understood most of it as you were playing, but only because i watched all your other videos. you brought my understanding of musical theory to another level and i want to thank you for that!
I love your analysis because you not only explain the theory behind it, but you also link up the emotion of the song, which I think is important to beginners.
jesus you are a freaking monster teacher, in the good sense. i can't stop spamming how good you are across your other videos.
It's a good day when Signals Music Studio uploads.
This video is amazing! I'm a little less than 2 years into playing guitar and really loving it. Always looking for something that can teach me how to see something new. So thanks!
This surprised me, I never thought of Bruno Mars’ songs as beautifully crafted, fun and entertaining yes, but not perfectly written. Your analysis made me discover a new musical dimension in this song that i had never heard before. It showed me the depth and subtlety of this composition. Thank you for that and I hope this is only the first in a long series of such videos.
I love how passionate this guy is, makes for a great video even though I'm no where near his level of understanding.
The D chord also seems like it was plucked from A dorian, since Am was the previous chord.
The minute I heard this song I went and bought the sheet music online. Such an amazing piece of music. My 'AH' thing in music is when a song goes from a Major chord right to the Minor of the Chord (Creep and Wake me up When September Ends with their C -> Cm). The F to Fm in this one is Amazing.
Anytime I am in public and there is a piano this one ALWAYS gets played and people always stop and listen.
Thanks for the run down. Keep up the good work.
Fantastic music breakdow! I liked it a lot. Please do more stuff like this Jake. God bless you! Thanks.
Most musicians focus “too much” in theories. They forgot that it was the emotion that made these masterpiece.
Great content
I have lots of emotions but I can't write a good chord progression
I used to haaate music theory but this is the kind of thing that have made me actually love it. It’s really fun when you know what’s happening in the song.
Ps. You explain really well, keep making this kind of vids:)
Thank you so much for this! I actually study Songwriting at Middle Tennessee State University and am fascinated by this kind of stuff. I have a decent understanding of music theory and am learning how to write music for the radio but seeing someone with an in depth knowledge of music theory analyze popular songs helps add context to what/when/where/why/how to use the modes/borrowed chords/relative minors/etc. in a unique and LEARNABLE way others can replicate. I hope to see more videos like this with your expansive knowledge of music theory applied to popular music so up and coming artists/musicians/songwriters can start bridging the gaps in their understanding of music like this helped me to. You're doing an awesome thing, thanks so much, keep it up!
It’s the fact that the chords have the emotion the lyrics of the song also give makes the song so
more videos like this!! 👏👏
Listen to Stevie wonder “overjoyed”. Have fun analyzing that
I stumbled across this video and really enjoyed it. I was sorry to hear that it's the first of it's kind on your channel! I'll be checking out your other stuff, but mainly keeping an eye out for any more similar videos in the future. Please make more!
This is exactly the kind of stuff I've been looking for. I love these types of analysis. Thank you!
This sounds like something the Beatles would come up with...
McCartney.
Could that "not quite major but not quite minor" feel for the verse be in D Dorian? That would contain the same notes as CMaj and Am
Such a beautiful song that's very well written! Thank you for your detailed analysis!
omg....linking emotion to theory......that is soo the key to everything ... this is how i " sample"... listen to music and capture the feeling alongside with he theory so i can apply it in other contexts
Never stop uploading please I love this channel. If i wasn't so broke i'd Pledge.
worry not, the nice comment is enough
@@SignalsMusicStudio Once I get in a more secure financial position, I will absolutely Pledge. Your videos help me so much to be a better songwriter, and you deserve all the help you can get. I wish I was in Illinois, I could take real lessons. I Love your content Jake. Please keep up the good work!
Jake you truly are a fantastic educator and humble, cool guy! I’ve learned so much about music, bass, and guitar from you. Videos like this give me more tools in my tool belt to never sound stale. Your series on the modes is a personal favorite of mine and changed the way I look at them. I also like how you give context and ideas on how to use them. Every other time I studied them I failed to see the connections and practical applications clearly like diatonic chords and modulation. Can’t thank you enough I’ll stay tuned to future lessons. Greetings from Florida!
I kind of hear the D chord as the V to G especially with the Am before it, so it becomes a ii-V to G. He continues to deceive us by going to the IV chord instead of the V chord like we might expect.
Yeah, I think so too. It's exactly like the B section of "All of Me", where the D7, instead of leading directly to the G as expected, "softens" into a Dm7 first. D -> F is a simpler version of the same move.
Definitely want to see more deep dives like this! I learned to play this on guitar years ago but didn't understand the theory behind it. I can approach it again with a much deeper appreciation of the emotions behind the music.
Wow, I loved this tutorial, definitely I would love to see more of this! Tho I am going to add something: after listening to the original song, I have to say that the vocal interpretation of Bruno Mars really makes the whole package working, so not only the piano and chord structure.
Very Beatlesque going from the F Maj to the F minor before resolving back to the tonic.
Thanks Sir George Martin.
thank you Paul McCartney and John Lennon
As much as I love them, this sort of harmony long predates the Beatles.
5:53 slip into my Dm's
This is so much fun, I’d love to see more videos like this, analyzing great chord progressions. Thanks for this awesome channel, I just found it a little while ago and can’t stop watching. :)
Videos like the tie together many of the concepts you've covered so yes, great idea!
“Hey guys, so today I’m gonna be analyzing why I’m a Bruno Mars stan”
Jake_The_Dog... Bruno Mars Stan?... U mean like Eminem Stan?
sounds wack as hell if you don't play the D as a D7
In the chorus?
NKG in the intro and chorus. Shouldn’t be any d majors in this song only D7
@@patrickmurphy223 Well, is it Dmaj7 or D7? You said both lmao
@@XPlatinumxXxDesignsX sorry mate I meant D7 forget about d major 7!!
awesome, polished, helpful, clean videos! Thank you! LOVE ALL YOUR VIDEOS!
This is the kind of videos I am searching for. Please keep producing this "perfect progression" series.
"Bring in that D " hehe
remember that Gsus is a chord that you can play on C mixolydian
bagus
Great job right there sir. I can see a lot of work and dedication put together in this video
This is a fantastic lesson for anyone learning theory. I would recommend having some links to the additional videos but I thought this was fascinating. I think as Musicians we should all understand why the music makes us feel a certain way. I bet Bruno understood what he was doing because the lyrics and story tie so well to the heartbreak the music is conveying.