Against All Odds
Jul 16th, 2008 by admin
Let’s start with the video…
The original key is C#. I played it in the key of C in the video, as this is a much easier key to follow for most people.
The intro to this song is made up of 2 chords: IIm7 and V chords.
So in the key of C, these 2 chords are: Dm7 and G.
The Dm7 can be improvised as F/D. See “The 3 Minor Chords” post for explanation about the improvisation.
The verse is made up of the following chord progression:
VIm7 –> V/7 –> I –> II4 –> IV –> V/4 –> IIIm7 –> VIm7 –> IIm7 –> IV –> V4 –> V
Now, let’s break this up into 3 more easily recognizable parts:
(1) VIm7 –> V/7 –> I –> II4
(2) IV –> V/4 –> IIIm7 –> VIm7
(3) IIm7 –> IV –> V4 –> V
Progression (1) has the bass notes going up the scale: 6, 7, 1, 2. So that should be easy to remember. For II4, please refer to “Suspension (part 3)” post.
Progression (2) is the common 4,5,3,6 progression, i.e., 4th chord, 5th chord, 3rd minor chord and 6th minor chord. Besides, the IIIm7 –> VIm7 transition is one of the familiar chord-pair mentioned in my earlier “Chord Association (part 2)” post.
In Progression (3) the bass notes climb upward again, i.e., 2, 4, 5. For V4 please see my previous “Suspension (part 2)” post.
In the key of C, this progression, (1)+(2)+(3) is translated as this:
Am7 –> G/B –> C –> D4 –> F –> G/F –> Em7 –> Am7 –> Dm7 –> F –> G4 –> G
Since minor chords can be implemented using major chords (See “The 3 Minor Chords” post), all that the above progression needs are “The 3 Basic Chords” and the D4 chord (Note in the video, the right hand needs only to play C, F, G, D4 and G4 chords).
Lastly, the chorus goes like this.
I –> II4 –> II –> VIm7 –> I/4 –> IIm7 –> IV/5 –> G
In the key of C, this is translated into:
C –> D4 –> D –> Am7 –> C/F –> Dm7 –> F/G –> G
Please see “Suspension (part 3)” for D4.
