Comments on: “Amazing” by Kanye West: A Compositional Analysis

By: rob

rob — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:14:00 +0000

i think using the I chord as the 2nd chord in a 4-chord chorus, at least in this song, seems to give it a modal feel as suggested by a previous commenter. because the song primarily consists of a I chord and a V (albeit minor) chord, it essentially establishes a feeling of stasis.

the use of the Ab major in the chorus at first surprises the ear, but because it is essentially still a Cm chord with an Ab in the bass it even further adds to this sense of the chord progression NEVER going anywhere. the lyrics “it’s amazin. it’s amazin. it’s amazin. it’s amazin,” kind of reinforces this idea of being stuck without anywhere to go.

i’ll grant you this is interesting compositionally, but the effect on my ears is boredom.

i love your website and your analyses! please keep it up!

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:50:55 +0000

@Bird Man-

That’s fantastic that your professor recommended you to this page. Upon first listen, I’m hearing the chord progression as IV- to I- in the verse of that Dido song, putting the song in A minor. And then it goes to F major during the chorus, or D minor. (I hear finality both on the F major and the D minor.)

This debate is partly obscured by the fact that most pop music these days is not triadic at all. Or if it is, the third is usually only in the vocal. So the mere lack of examples of V minor proves nothing in and of itself. But the advent of blues and minor pentatonic doesn’t make the V minor ‘fair game’ either, since music theory is based on what we hear, not the other way around. The only proof you need is to answer this question for yourself: (in a non-modal context) do V minors strike you as unusual, or do they sound normal? Maybe you’re right. Maybe the V- in “Amazing” sounds odd for a different reason. Maybe it’s the chord voicing.

If you come across more V- examples in pop music I’d be interested. I talk about using V- in a modal context in the notes at the bottom of the post with another example, Clocks by Coldplay in Dorian mode. Thanks for your comment and the compliments. I am working on a few different analyses although they are very time consuming!

By: Bird Man

Bird Man — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:07:32 +0000

hey,
my theory professor at columbia u actually turned me on to your site, his son likes it. i do too. i would say though that the raised 7 is really more a function of classical music, that is the leading tone gives it a distinctly classical sound, but at this point with the advent of stuff like the blues and minor pentatonic, and mixolydian scales (all of which are super common in pop music) I say b7 is totally fair game. Your thing about it being rare to find minor 5s in pop is just really not true. Check out (off the top of my head) Surrender (or white flag, i forget) by Dido (her most recent big song. Whats that second chord? eh? But good posts. you should do these more often

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:19:45 +0000

@Christian- Your response has to do with differing semantics from two different schools of music theory. In pop and jazz theory, C Minor and C Aeolian are the same thing. For our other readers, traditional or classical theory says that in a minor key composition, the raised 6th and 7th are used when a melodic line moves upward in pitch even though those notes are outside of the scale. Going downward, the diatonic b6 and b7 are used.

By: Christian Delahousse

Christian Delahousse — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:47:34 +0000

Wouldn’t the lack of a leading tone suggest something modal, like Aeolian? What’s the difference between the Aeolian mode and the harmonic minor? The raised 7th (or leading tone).

The Ab also suggests aeolian because its a b6 as found within said mode.

By: csahar

csahar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:00:03 +0000

Now this is one of your best analyses. You illuminate the importance of the leading tone in most Western music from the past 300 years and I got a good idea of pop conventions in your discussion of the chorus.

I recommend you read the first chapter of Knud Jeppesen’s Counterpoint book. It discusses how through the middle ages and rennaissance, the flat 7 was much more common but even then, they found ways in some pieces to introduce a leading tone to the tonic (eg raising the third or leading tone of a mode). It isn’t light reading but your comment that the use of the minor V sounds a little medieval affirms the fine delicacy of your ear and musical intuition. Keep up the good work. Just don’t burn yourself out.