Welcome back to the Notes On series. In Part 1 of our analysis of The Zombies’ “A Rose for Emily,” we analyzed the verse and found it to be quite slippery and ambiguous, full of diminished 7th chords acting as secondary dominants. Let’s wrap up the song with a look at the bridge and outro.

In this edition of the Notes On series, I’ll be looking at A Rose for Emily by The Zombies, from their classic 1968 album, Odessey and Oracle. I’ve loved this song for a long time, and I keep discovering new things to love about it. It’s very spare in terms of form and arrangement, and [...]

Let’s wrap this sucker up with a look at the key-changing solo section and the bridge.

Welcome to another installment in the Notes On series. This time I’ll be analyzing another one of my own songs: Things I Used to Know from Labyrinths. This song is notable for its unorthodox structure, key changes, and shifts in rhythmic feel.

Welcome back to my analysis of David Bowie’s Life On Mars. In Part 1, I examined the verse, which contained some surprising chord choices. I found a logic in the harmony that was largely dictated by the chromatic bassline. When effectively utilized, this kind of movement by half-step can lend a chord progression a smooth, [...]

It’s way past time for another edition in the Notes On series. The song I’ll be examining today is Life on Mars by David Bowie. This is one of my favorite songs for many reasons, but I’ll be focusing here on the incredibly tasty chord progressions. I’m also going to try and streamline this a [...]

The thrilling conclusion! Part 1, Part 2. Intro Chords: |A Dm |A Dm |F G |A | A major: |I iv |I iv |bVI bVII |I | Uncharacteristically, the intro comes roaring out of the gate. We hear nearly the full complement of instruments immediately — guitars, bass, drums, piano, glockenspiel, trumpet, trombone, and vocal [...]

One of the ideas I had for this space was to start writing some musical analyses of my own songs, and maybe of other people’s songs, in the style of Alan W. Pollack. Pollack is a musicologist who, between 1999 and 2000, wrote analyses of every song in The Beatles’ canon and published them all on [...]