Kate Bush's unique chord progression

Learn piano or guitar for FREE with Timbro: timbroguitar.c... 🎹🎸
Here is my video on Chromatic Mediants: • Songs that use Chromat...
Kate Bush's debut single, Wuthering Heights, instantly established her as someone special, someone who, aged 18, could write a highly unusual song and, despite its unique chromatic mediant chord progression, have it surge to the top of the charts!
The outro music to this video is my track "Mothers Day" which you can hear in full on Spotify: open.spotify.c... 🎶
And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / davidbennettpiano 🎹

[@LL-bl8hd]

The way the lyrics say "I've come home" at the exact moment the song finally resolves with a perfect cadence after all this chromatic wandering is pure genius. Amazing to think that Kate was still a teenager when she came up with this unique and mature example of the art of songwriting.

[@Hysteria98]

Apparently they let her age a bit more before they put her in the business (with thanks to David Gilmour), but before even then, she had supposedly written around 200 songs.

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

I am simpler. I take the Key, time sig & chord prog for granted. Folks as You & David, parse it out; to be assimilated. TYSM.@@Hysteria98

[@EixtremeDrummer]

​@@Hysteria98She is one of the most talented pop musicians by far.

[@EixtremeDrummer]

​@@Hysteria98 I love the passage "Let me in your window". WINDOW sung through four different notes is pure art.

[@LucaGoesOffroad]

that's so far the most beautiful example of "painting with words" that I've ever heard, beating 6-0 6-0 6-0 Michael Jackson's key change on the word "change" in "man in the mirror"

[@naomitiefenbrunn2857]

She wrote that song at 18 in one evening, recorded it during the night and was ready to release it the next morning. And it's her most popular song ever. Mind blowing

[@AirborneAshes]

by standard expectations kate bush should never have made it into charting pop music. so so special and important that somehow she did it anyway

[@jdsgotninelives]

Similarly, she did this with Babooshka. Written and recorded on the fly to make the required number of tracks per the record label contract.

[@gavinyuangao4366]

Pretty sure Running Up That Hill is her most popular/best selling song.

[@TommyWashow]

@@AirborneAshes you could say the same about bjork

[@dustinb1070]

With the population being so much more now than when the song came out and how many people are now listening to her because of stranger things ...her most famous song has to be run up that hill.

[@modalmixture]

Kate Bush is a freaking genius, and not just the old stuff. Get the good headphones, put on her Sky of Honey suite from Aerial (start with Prelude), turn off the lights, lie down, and spend the next 45 minutes in sonic bliss.

[@Missjunebugfreak]

Seconding this. Aerial is such a beautiful album. I'd also recommend 50 Words For Snow for a cold rainy night or a winter day.

[@greebo5294]

What, and miss "A Coral Room"?

[@StratsRUs]

The cooing of the pigeons

[@Beff_Juckley]

Amazing work!! Now that you're on the subject of Kate Bush and modulation, I'd love to see a video on her song Babooshka which also has two completely unique chord progressions and uses parallel modulation using borrowed tonic! It also has 3-bar phrases!

[@jonashormann5700]

What I like especially about that song is how the last phrase of the chorus blends incredibly smooth into the chord progression of the intro

[@kidbomb]

Babooska always befuddles me with its progression. An in depth analysis would be very welcome

[@robertvondarth1730]

The Dreaming The 9th Wave

[@wisdomseeker0142]

Yooooooooooooo I was just thinking about babooshka and how funky it sounded. You’re spot on.

[@cecilsproject6796]

What is parallel modulation with borrowed tonic ? I use to play the song

[@zbr76]

I must have heard this song a million times, but I've NEVER realised just how WEIRD it truly is. And yet, it works! One of the greatest songs ever written.

[@PaulJohnBeatles]

Yeah because this song really is not that weird at all, just throwing chords and melody without understanding what she was doing, playin the guitar and singing. Anything works, this is extraordinary and at the same time it is not, I mean complex chords structures. The point is, it is not that hard to write a -complex song---or---are they complex? Just use many chords, who cares?

[@StrangeAttractor]

@@PaulJohnBeatles you're a very, very silly little sausage, aren't you. I challenge you to produce something in the same ballpark as Wuthering Heights.

[@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute]

THE best song even written! :) and I'm a Beatles fan, but I think this Kate Bush song tops them all. The song is harmonically, melodically and vocally incredible, as is the story of how it came to be written, the book it's based on, and the story of the author of the book.

[@nstrug]

@@PaulJohnBeatlesshe wrote it on the piano.

[@PaulJohnBeatles]

@@nstrug Piano or the guitar it doenst change anything, but good for Her.

[@xoxb2]

I grew up in SE London - my brother had some friends who had a band. They were looking for a singer, and turned down this girl from Blackheath who auditioned. Six months later she was on TOTP singing this song. I remember when it came out, it was sensational - completely revolutionary and seen as such.

[@sola_is_chilling]

Your brother must of been humiliated once he saw this song lol

[@xoxb2]

No, he thought it was funny. It was his friends who were in the band!

[@stevebees3992]

The move to the Ab and the delivery as she sings 'I hated you, I loved you too' is just perfect! It always makes me smile.

[@CloudyMcCloud00]

Alan Partridge's version (crooned to the hotel attendant) was classic too. 😁

[@rossamullen5918]

Stop, you sound like a trapped boy.

[@LesPaulDavis]

That first explanation of chromatic mediants reminded me of the “crawling spider” technique used by Mellotron players to compensate for the instrument’s mechanically limited sustain. It worked by moving from chord-to-chord one or two notes at a time, with the remaining note(s) tying over from one chord to the next and so on, “crawling” across the keyboard - creating lush harmonies as you go. King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King is a good example of this technique.

[@weslleyfrancisco8616]

Finally a video on Kate Bush! Please explore her discography. Her songs are so unusual and intricate, with so many different time signatures!

[@robertvondarth1730]

Good lord yes. And Peter Gabriel

[@Alefjj]

@@robertvondarth1730 Peter before 90's.

[@scifiordie]

@@AlefjjPeter before he left Genesis

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

I saw someone say that she would have been considered prog/experimental rock had she not enjoyed major success internationally (making her more archetypally "pop" for reasons unrelated to her music) and that has stuck with me.

[@whipit2404]

A masterpiece of a song, and a masterpiece of an analysis!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@illegal_space_alien]

She learned a lot from her time with Peter Gabriel, for sure.

[@hatake_romina]

@@illegal_space_alienshe didn’t know Peter at this point though.

[@nstrug]

@@illegal_space_alienshe wrote this at home on the family piano when she was 17 and didn’t know anyone in the music industry.

[@IanM-id8or]

And it was on a masterpiece of an album

[@can_hiras]

I must have listened to this song thousands of times, just like everyone else. I always sensed that it had a unique chord progression, but I never dwelled on it. What sets you apart and makes you superior to many musicians is this. Thank you endlessly.

[@puzzzl]

Like McCartney at his finest, Bush has an uncanny ability to hide great musical complexity behind eminently listenable and appealing pop music.

[@sieteocho]

I thought that this was a great song. But there are a lot of great songs with unique chord progressions out there too. I was wondering, "what other songs out there also have great and interesting chord progressions?" Then "Harvest For the World" by the Isley Brothers came on the radio. You know any other song out there that has the same chords as Harvest for the World?

[@Transterra55]

An absolutely delightful analysis of Kate Bush… America did not carry Kate Bush albums when I first discovered her in 1978… I had to special order the albums from the UK. So many of her songs had unique chord progressions and fascinating melodies on top of the progression. Everything about Kate Bush is unique, and I am still a huge fan to this day.

[@pmberry]

Absolutely one of my all-time favourite songs. I never tire of it and now, seeing the shifting key and time signatures, I'm not surprised why. The "you know it's me, Cathy" part and the short phrase after at the end of the bridge is goosebump-inducing every damn time!

[@attitw]

I can’t believe you upload this just as I’m about to submit my case study on Kate Bush for uni! I’m so glad this strange beautiful song got the recognition it deserved when it released.

[@robertdilano9733]

Taylor Swift could definitely learn a lesson or two in songwriting from Kate Bush, especially regarding chord progressions!

[@StreetsOfVancouverChannel]

😳🤔😏🥴🤣

[@iainlindley]

I think Taylor is doing just fine without your advice.

[@Stal1nsM01stBungh0le]

​@iainlindley LOLOL you're funny 🤣🤣🤣

[@andyscott5277]

@@iainlindleyjust the current “It girl.” If she wants “her” music to stand the test of time, she should definitely work on utilizing interesting chord changes, instead of reusing the same basic ones over and over again.

[@timphukurmumma]

​@@iainlindleyLOOLOL you are funny 🤣🤣🤣

[@benoitrenaud519]

Kate herself has LOTS of unusual chord progressions. Check out Fullhouse, Moving, the Man with a Child in his Eyes, In search of Peter Pan…

[@djokowitjaksono3371]

Yes agree,and looks like she's more Focus on dance to express her whole appearance.she 's incredibly energetic and presticious artist.

[@weslleyfrancisco8616]

Fullhouse is CRAZY! I love that song, so creative.

[@hatake_romina]

Love Fullhouse also. Never see it get too much attention which I think is crazy. Maybe ppl are pushed back because it’s too high pitched (though most of her songs were at that point)

[@Landmaaler]

At last!!!! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you David, or Mr.Beato, or Mr. Huart or one of the many other wonderful music analysts to point out the brilliance of this chord progression! Play this chord progression to any serious pop-smith and tell them to write a number one hit song with it and they would look at as if you were mad! Ms. Bush is a genius! Both musically AND emotionally!

[@headlessnotahorseman]

She borrowed the chorus melody from Barry Manilow's Mandy.

[@manuel_ao]

I love it because, despite being a weird chord progression, it sounds so natural and can be liked by so many people. Plus her voice is so melodic and unique.

[@jamesmungall6669]

Genius. Her music moved me forty-five years ago and now even just hearing snatches of song and thinking with half of my brain about the chord progression it still catches me with a lump in my throat. What a magical talent

[@wilhelmhagberg8854]

It would be cool to hear an analyzes of George Harrisons' song "Beware of Darkness". It has a very unusual chord progression and switches keys in mysterious ways.

[@testacorsa150]

Thank you for your analasys, and especially explaining about the uplift you feel when going from the chorus back to the verse. I will never forget when I first heard that as a very small boy, perhaps 4 or 5 years old; It was like magic, and it touched me in way I didn't understand, and I still don't, really.

[@RocktCityTim]

Smile turns to anger turns to hope to swoon to sadness to ... One of the most expressive songs ever created. Great look into the tonal relationships.

[@warbirdnut9269]

This song got be hooked on Kate. I've listened to her for decades and have never grown tired of her music. I was in music theory when I first started listening to her and it really made me appreciate her music. To go from this song and the others from the album to The Dreaming, Hounds of Love then on to Aerial just shows how much of a genius she is. Although the wait between releases was unbearable, they were definitely worth it in the end. I'm glad that Stranger Things exposed her to a generation that may not have heard her music.

[@ChrisParlett]

As a kid in the 90s, I remember how difficult/expensive it was to get guitar tablature and music. There was a definite barrier there that lead to picking things out by ear or picking the brains of the early internet. Theses days, with channels like this, just an excellent time for new musicians - and old.

[@damefawndenier]

This is so bizarre. I actually came to KZbin just now to explore this song to see if there had been any videos looking into WH's composition. Then up pops your video as if by magic! There was a recent post on Facebook which made me curious to listen to Wuthering Heights again. Another brilliant and informative video David

[@chameleon-dream-band-official]

I honestly think Kate was one of the most unique writers of that pop era (not that I would consider her music "pop"). Her ability to evoke the emotion of the subject matter with her chord progressions is so exceptional. Love her.

[@kevinbissinger]

Why don't you consider it pop? Was it not popular enough?

[@za4310]

how kate bush approaches chord changes is with roman numerals but with a lot of key modulations. Some other songs are dead giveaways because she'll keep reusing the same roman numerals in different keys, making it very clear what shes doing. Also lots of substitutions. From what I've seen it's usually two changes in a key, a key change, two changes, a key change. You can use that formula and you'll end up with Kate Bush-esque progressions. For the first part its Maj-III to I in Fmajor and then in E major its I to maj-VI. That's how they're harmonically linked and you can hear if really clearly if you play some scale tones over them. In F major the E is a diminished Vii so it's subbed with a major chord as used to pivot to the new key. It also still uses that minor third movement to get to the C#, so it's sorta still got some diminished qualities.

[@rome8180]

I can think of several chord progressions that go A, F, E. It's a slightly unusual move because you'd expect the A to be minor (or the F to be an F#). But you do hear that kind of modal mixture elsewhere. It's that C# that truly sets it apart. It's not a chord that you'd expect to complete the loop at all. It doesn't resolve and it doesn't create a natural turnaround back to the A.

[@spodoinklehorse]

And? Care to share?

[@omer-sela-rothenberg]

I don't know exactly about A F E but there are a lot of songs that go A F D, If I remember correctly heart shaped box and qotsa's go with the flow (might be G Eb C) are two examples of that classic mediant sound

[@gorgolyt]

As David explains though, it does create a very natural turnaround, within its context of chromatic mediants.

[@martijn_yt]

'Sweet dreams are made of this' by Eurythmics comes mind :)

[@StratsRUs]

The C sharp could be a borrowed chord from the F# Harmonic Minor , which can be seen as a spinning off from the 6 of A major.Therefore abling us to actually play through the song.Which is what it's all about. Follow the melody and work out the key changes as you go. Usually , the borrowed chords are from a parallel minor key or the harmonic / melodic minor off of the 6th, in this case F#. The ' Bad Dreams etc' is in D flat. As is the chorusy 'Heathcliff'. In D Flat.Indeed , she plays the home chord of D Flat when she sings ' ( I've come) home now ). So you can improvise all the way through. Chromatic Mediants are ok but they do not help as much as the *KEY* when you want to *PLAY* music and curiously improvise.A very satisfying thing to do without being bogged down by the online buzzwordery of it all ! SONG is KEY.

[@lucasfabisiak9586]

I think it works so well precisely because it's somewhat unnerving. When we hit the chorus, it's just pure bliss.

[@benzell4]

Still hard to know she was 18 when she wrote, recorded and achieved this amazing composition. Thanks for the breakdown!

[@billmarsh1971]

Fifteen when she wrote man with the child in his eyes. Very gifted lady

[@hman2912]

She is so unusual and unique and beautiful in more ways than one. She doesn't care about music convention and this song sounds so spooky and beautiful at the same time. Love it.

[@jetjaguar3000]

Bush is such a great example of just doing what the song needs, IMO. Some songs do surprising harmonic stuff like this, but others are very simple. Being complex or novel isn't the point, but she can go there when it serves the music. Such great taste on top of skills.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

Kate used some wonderful chord progressions early in her career - the chords in "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" get me every time. A couple of other remarkable, possibly unique chord progressions are Genesis's "Mad Man Moon" and Split Enz's "Iris".

[@nocturnalrites1652]

Raise that Enz flag James. Iris is an almost forgotten single.

[@aardvaarkmaark]

Thank you for explaining this progression. I've tried to figure this progression out on the piano and mandolin at times but could never understand what the dickens Kate was doing. Gotta love Kate. She's truly one of a kind.

[@Erotomania89]

Nirvana has a lot of interesting chord progressions. Would also be fun to see an analysis on Elton John's "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" , since it has such odd chord changes and also just a lot of different chords in general.

[@joebutler3608]

Hey David, as a kid I used to put on a side of vinyl and try to get each song down, at least the chord progression. When I put on Pat Benatar "Crimes of Passion" I was knocking them down until this one. I sounded like a kid in guitar center, lost. There used to be a saying if you were sitting in with a band, "When in doubt, go up a 4th" (in guitar-speak, A to D) that did NOT apply, lol. I assumed it was written for the movie by some theoried-up piano wiz and gave up. It's good to now find out it was due to the eccentricity of Kate Bush's writing and imaginative thinking. BTW, a challenge my friend and I used to do was "see how many snare hits you can play consecutively" on Yes' "Long Distance Runaround". My mother dented the 2nd floor radiator signalling us to stop playing air-drums on the 3rd floor flat at 1AM but it was great fun. After smoking some lamb's breath, getting 4 straight elevated you to "genius" level in our unofficial scoring.

[@vicentemontequin4113]

A masterpiece!

[@NicholasRead-q5p]

I was impressed by Kate Bush’s debut single when it came out in 1978 (I am four months younger than her). So I’m delighted to see this analysis now. It is interesting that, in the opening chord loop, if you omit the E major chord, then you have A - F - C^# (and repeat), and the roots of successive major chords all descend by a major 3rd, dividing the octave into three equal parts. This kind of loop appears in late Romantic music, and lacks a clear tonal center. Kate adds the E major, which reinforces A as the tonic, and also gives four chords in the loop, allowing a nice two-bar harmonic rhythm of changes. David, how about a video on examples of *doubly* chromatic mediants in popular music?

[@joermnyc]

It’s amazing she wrote this at age 18. Her later work using the Fairlight CMI is also astonishing because she really dug down into the programming to get the sounds and instruments she wanted. Edit: totally a 180 from Kate Bush, but the band System of a Down uses a lot of interesting chord progressions and rhythms due to their influences from Armenian music.

[@Oafah]

I love the outro solo, and how it dances around the tonic and never really rests there for long, right along with the chord progression underneath it.

[@Sermondt]

Ian Bairnson, he died last year😢

[@Whitestripe71]

Kate Bush is my favourite artist so it makes me very happy indeed to see such a great video about her. I think she's a genius.

[@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute]

I don't know well Kate Bush (just her hits), but with this perfect song, yes she is a genius for sure, even she would write and sing only this one :)

[@squidmeta]

Heard this song for the first time today, just hearing those opening chords made me confident you’d done a video on it already…

[@alessandrosummer]

David are you sure the pre-chorus is in Bb minor? I perceive it more in Db major! It seems an example of tonal ambiguity that 12Tone talked about in his video on "In the end" (referring to the bridge of the song): the keys get blurred but major slightly prevails.

[@hinesification]

I absolutely love Kate Bush. When I first heard the song when she released the album, I was awestruck! Thanks for the video. Informative as always.

[@crunchyfrog555]

I truly don't know much music theory as I've always played by ear. I find it to be ht emost emotionally moving song ever. Not just for the lyrics but the chord feel demonstrates it better than any other I can think of. I remember the first time I banged it on and worked it out on keyboard and I've still to find anything else that matches this weird chord arrangement. It's truly sublime and I'll never understand how she can have written this when she was so young.

[@zonumanaid]

maybe simply she knew no boundaries at the time, followed her ear and what matched the storytelling

[@Hysteria98]

She wrote many songs before she came of age to be in the business.

[@crunchyfrog555]

@@zonumanaid Indeed she did _ I've read how she wrote it but that's not the point. It's the fact she did something so complex and unmatched by anyone else whilst young.

[@crunchyfrog555]

@@Hysteria98 I know that - that doesn't change anything.

[@weslleyfrancisco8616]

Do more videos on Kate Bush! Please

[@localbod]

This was a really informative presentation. Thank you. My favourite part of Wuthering Heights is the bridge. Her vocal is so pleading and expression perfect. Kate Bush is such a unique artist.

[@rickalexanderguitar]

Thanks for analysing Wuthering Heights David. That’s an amazing progression! Great video!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😊

[@martinherrington9499]

I remember hearing this in 1977 (yes, it was on the radio in London BEFORE it was released - yet another Wuthering Heights oddity!). It stopped me in my tracks. The voice was unique, the song haunting. This video helps explain WHY it was so striking. And apart from the musical uniqueness (odd chord progressions, switches of time signature etc), Kate just went and wrote the song from the point of view of a ghost in a 19th century novel. Oh, and she dud all this at 18.

[@Dayanto]

4:30 That "5+7" sounds suspiciously like just three bars of 4.

[@Beebsentrance]

David is one of the best music guru. How he deconstruct music to have reason artistically is so inspiring and worth knowledge. I am a big Kate Bush fan and to watch this video makes me appreciate her more. It will be interesting if David can talk about the beautifully weird chord progression behind A Sky of Honey

[@i.setyawan]

Is it possible that the unusualness of the chord progression of the verses makes the chorus (with its more "typical" chord progression) even more pleasing and satisfying resolution, and in turn makes the whole song so pleasing and memorable?

[@edbuller4435]

Chromatic mediants can be found in a few choice pop songs. Verse of head over heals, Radiohead loved em...but yes this is unusual to see so many. Suede love em too!

[@steviekeyz25]

Great video. Loved your analysis of the chromatic mediants. For the chorus, though, couldn't it be argued that it modulates to Db major and starts on the IV chord with the Ebm7 and Ab7 being a strong iim7 - V7 progression?

[@jacobsmithjr]

That's why it still catches you off guard. The first time I heard this song I fell in love with the song and Kate Bush. ❤ This song is the perfect companion to the book which is eerie and mysterious.

[@spacemissing]

I absolutely LOVE this song, one of the best 'oddball' songs I've ever heard. Kate Bush doesn't follow musical convention; she makes her own rules as she goes along, and as a result distinguishes her material with an unmistakable aesthetic character. Wonderful things happen when an artist works that way.

[@thewickedwizard]

A couple of years ago I got to play through the very same amp guitarist Ian Bairnson used to record his solo on this song. It was a very special moment indeed.

[@trelkel3805]

She does this a lot on her debut album going from one chord to the next not really following the "rules" but rather whether the next chord sounds good with the preceding chord. Man with the Child in his Eyes does the same thing, all over the place with it's key centers.

[@tommydevlin702]

Yesss. This is a great analysis of a great song. Ok, it is only this one 'KB' song from one 'KB' album and you could easily look at multiple songs on every one of her albums and that is before we even turn to her brilliance as a lyricist (I mean c'mon, 'A Coral Room' 'Breathing' 'And Dream of Sheep' 'The Infant Kiss' 'The Kick Inside' etc etc etc), and her brilliance as a producer ('The Ninth Wave' 'Endless Sky of Honey' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc), her brilliance as a singer ('Reaching Out' 'Breathing' 'Night of the Swallow' 'The Wedding List' 'Violin' 'This Woman's Work' 'Moments of Pleasure'), her brilliance as a director ('This Woman's Work'), and her daring experimentation ('Babooshka' Egypt' 'Breathing' the entire album 'The Dreaming' 'The Ninth Wave' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc). A genuine bona fide, real life genius. Thanks for this - a really enjoyable video.

[@owenmcgee8496]

I'm not a Kate Bush fan, but I've always marvelled at the music in this song so I'm taking notes! Two different keys, eleven different chords, a few odd bars. It was probably written on a piano. There's a piano video where it looks like the chorus melody is all on black keys (sharps). My ears aren't good enough to tell. Some songs appeal because of a key - G sharp minor is one that can strike me - but this one evidently hovers between A & B in its own special, haunting, way. It's nice to hear it arranged for piano or orchestra if, like me, you're not such a fan of her voice.

[@peternewman3487]

I still remember hearing this for the first time one Saturday afternoon when I was driving my car and I had to stop driving so I could concentrate on listening to it and I’ve loved it ever since.

[@wishawweather5421]

Lovely too have this classic tune delved into by you. Most of her music is a stand alone masterclass. Please do more of hers.

[@johnnypoker46]

'Rendezvous 6:02' by UK has one of the weirder chord sequences I've heard. Great song and analysis on 'Wuthering Heights'. I can see where it's an acquired taste but I've always enjoyed it.

[@hbofbyu1]

"Get Out Of My House" is my favorite Kate Bush song. Her art is first, music is just one of her mediums.

[@PianoFromScratch]

I student of mine wanted to learn this song a few years back, had great fun teaching it, such an interesting chord progression. Great analysis as always! 👍

[@masju12]

Thanks, David! Great work. Another song with an amazing unique chord progression: Neneh Cherry - Manchild

[@YAMMAS]

Im SO glad you did a video on this song. Ive wanted Charles Cornell to talk about Wuthering Heights ever since his video on Running Up That Hill (which is NOT interesting musically). Wuthering Heights shows more of Kate's love for cool chord changes.

[@doubletriangle22]

That was really interesting. Going to have to get a Kate Bush songbook and play some. I’d like a vid on Its My Life by Talk Talk. Starts in mixylydian I think then does some kind of interesting changes for a pop song Sparks - This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the both of us, jumps out as odd chords for a pop song

[@damianneve]

I use a similar technique all the time. A form of tonicization where the bass motion is built off a chord and the harmony can be functional instead of modal. The bass motion in part 1 is just a voicing of an F AUG 7 chord (implying F major not A!) or a whole tone scale which can be treated as a dim scale where any note is the root. The choice of tonicization could have been off whole tone or chromatic mediant at the same time I think. Using a plagal Candace to finish is as your said the simplest way to confirm the "loop" for a normal listener. The A flat plagal also implies parallel minor of section 1 which is very common technique. While the key is written as B flat it can have a sub text relation of the C sharp major from section 1 again. However that also sets up the major second "lift" modulation in the end that's so cliche everyone knows it. While I do orchestral and metal you can hear me pull off this concept in minor keys in the last two videos in my music playlist. Would love to know how you analyze that. Hope this makes sense and I'm not just talking nonsense 😂

[@bigdoggetom6549]

This is what I love about music. Even when something doesn't follow "conventional rules", it can still sound great, and still be described by other "rules"

[@gnorung7769]

I've been meaning to ask for a Kate Bush for a while now, this is a dream come true. Needless to say, I'd love to see even more. One of my top 3 musicians ever and trying to figure out her songs give me a headache. Great video as always

[@tjk_9000]

love the way you explain things. it's a technically sound, yet easy to follow lesson.

[@gielv97]

The chorus after the bridge always tears me up

[@neilingle794]

Your video popped up in my KZbin feed and since then I've been visiting your older videos which explain musical composition concepts (scales, modes, chromatic mediants etc) so well! I was lucky enough to get tickets for the first show of Kate Bush's sell out 22 nights at London Hammersmith Apollo in 2014. A mesmerising show, although focussed on her masterpiece Ninth Wave suite (Hounds of Love) and later Aerial album. So, no Wuthering Heights played, or any other early stuff (nobody minded - it's her show, and her artistic choice). Her debut album has so many standout compositional parts - you should have a go at deconstructing 'Man with the Child in His Eyes', or the lovely piano-based closer 'Kick Inside'.

[@SmileGioky98]

I clearly remember the first time I listened to this song. I was a child and it felt so different from everything else I was used to, almost traumatising. Now it's clear why! Thank you so much!

[@PatNetherlander]

This song hit all my right buttons straight away: the lyrical singing, the strange vibe and ohhh, that guitar solo from David Gilmour…. Cutting that solo off is sheer sacrilege! Truly a song of beauty.

[@aahfeeki]

LOONA Yves' New goes by the chord progression Am, Dm, Bb, F, but with the F major as the home chord, giving us a iii-vi-IV-I progression. Half the time, however, the song skirts around the root chord instead of landing on it even on key sections like preceding the start of the choruses. This extends its resolution and makes the song feel like it's constantly being propelled forward. The constant camera panning in the music video accompanies this melodic feeling of constant movement, which is really pretty compelling for a form of pop music this commercial. A fully materialized audio-visual concept.

[@gretchentruscott4274]

Apart from what David's talking about in the vid, it is so fun to see Kate Bush get back in the spotlight thx to the Starnger Things OST.

[@bren519]

Loooove your analyses David! And the piano outros always inspire me too :) I’ve been eagerly waiting for someone to harmonically analyze Elliot Smith’s brilliant Figure 8 B-side “Colourbars”. That chord progression is so unconventionally chromatic and yet soo melodically copacetic. Improvising over the progression seems (for some reason) to consonantly accommodate any choice of notes, whether present in the current chord or not. Love that song. Would love to see you tackle any Elliott actually. I know that you began as a singer/ songwriter guitar dude so I’m sure you share my enthusiasm for his work. Your vids have helped me overcome a heretofore unconquerable musical plateau and continue to deepen and profoundly enrich my appreciation for all music. Keep up the great stuff 🤙

[@Petch85]

This song is soo good. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of Portishead Glory Box. Maybe that would be a song you could make a video about.

[@soccerringettedad]

I remember the first time i heard this it was one of those WTF? moments (in a good way) - so different from anything else on the radio at the time. I remember experiencing a similar reaction the first time I heard The Sugarcubes (Bjork). Kate's music is other worldly

[@salutcmoi2287]

For some original chord progressions I can think of Candy Says by the Velvet, I don't any other song using the same chords as the verse. Same goes for King Crimson's I talk to the wind. Find yourself by Jacco Gardner has a simple but original chord progression. In the album the Kick inside you will find more interesting ones, as well as in Love's Forever Changes. Bowie's has used lots of simple yet very original chord progressions. And last but not least I would recommend 2 very interesting French songs : Bruxelles by Dick Annegarn and Flash Forward by Serge Gainsbourg (this one is so simple it might have been used but I don't know a single other song using it. Also the whole album L'Homme a tête de chou is amazing)

[@PowerRedBullTypology]

When he says something like 'here we get into a fairly convention part of the song, the bridge" (in other words) then it almost instantly bores me more than the rest of the song. It just shows how important interesting and somewhat unpredictable chords are to keep a song interesting.

[@canisqmajoris]

Really appreciate the closer look--this has been a favorite song for years.

[@mhoppy6639]

Sounds very very different but “manchild” by Neneh Cherry is similar “feeling” song by dint of the feeling of gently “lurching” around from one key centre to another. Apparently it came about as the synth neneh was using at the time was equipped with an “instant key change” feature so Cherry just played what she felt and the synth adjusted the key of the song to match the melody she was singing. It would be a video to examine the movement of chords of Manchild. I’ve always loved it. The video matches the character of the song with neneh swinging on playground equipment holding her baby. Go on david. Branch out!!

[@standingbadger]

Ian Bairnson’s guitar solo at the end of this song is one of my all-time favourites.

[@exxekhan]

Thank you for analyzing this. I'm familiar with the concept of chromatic mediants but I had long ago given up trying to make sense of this song's harmonic structure. The genius is that, if you don't know theory, it is just a great song. But when you dive into it, there is so much to explore! Also, Pat Benatar did a great rendition of this song.

[@crescentsi]

Hi, when I used to play guitar and keyboards I always thought of this chord sequence as pretty typical. These major chord progressions were often found in rock music. For me the vocals were far more compelling, the melodies and the embellishments that were deployed were redolent of the Baroque, Jazz or, possibly Eastern musical influences. The alterations in tempo are also enjoyable.

[@rainerlanglotz3134]

Actually the F major could be explained in traditional german theory like this: The expected subdominant D major is 1. changed into d minor the major parallel of which is F major. Cis major would be the expected dominant in fis minor which is the minor parallel to the tonic A major. Such extended traditional harmony was used a lot in late romanticism like Wagner and indeed this masterpiece shows some - greater than life - "wagnerian" drama.

[@Alchemetica]

Kate dancing in the red dress in the green field to her song Wuthering Heights, burnt its way into my memory. Genius composer, performer and eclectic dancer and mind, one could not help but fall in love instantly with all her qualities. ❤

[@lrvogt1257]

I totally missed Kate Bush when she was big and now that I've heard her I'm glad.

[@finnajane]

Kate Bush's version grew on me. Pat Benatar's version is the one I knew first. Never knew it was a Kate Bush song until a few years ago.

[@jonjimihendrix]

Hadn’t heard this before, but I’m now officially obsessed. Thanks David, great video!

[@lambda1863]

A cool chord progression i made that id like to see if is in any other songs is I minor. b2 major, b7 minor, 6sus4

[@EverybodyBurts]

The word "home" being on the tonic of the chorus is my favorite tidbit of the song as well. A few things to add, though. For one, there's that magical "major chord a whole step below" -tension just before the breakdown that seems to have been omitted or unnoticed in the analysis, but the bigger issue is the true quality of the C# chord. Is it really major or minor? or a bit of both? I hear it on more of the minor side, even with the major third getting some attention as well.

[@RobertOrgRobert]

Absolutely brilliant thank you. Anyone else thinking Kate’s voice is imitating a ghostly like sound ?

[@vincentsheehan3193]

The outro the Sir Psycho Sexy by RHCP is a really interesting chord progression

[@markusmarschall9051]

I would love to see an analysis of the chord progressions in Dirty Work by Steely Dan, it's such a unique sound!

[@jonashormann5700]

Happy to see you're taking a look at Kate Bush. Even though she regained attention because of Stranger Things, imo she deserves a deeper look and deserves to be talked about

[@charliekelland7564]

Nice analysis How about James and the Cold Gun - also by Kate Bush? Mind you, I guess you could do a whole series on her music 😉