Beatles - Something - Chord

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 20 different chords appear 64 times in total; 10 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. D7, D, C7, A, A/E, Amaj7/E act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Eb is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

1. F → C/E CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×3
2. G → Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3
3. G/B → Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3
4. C7 → F CV7/IV → IVsecondary resolution AmV7/VI → VI ×3
5. D7 → G CV7/V → Vsecondary resolution AmIV7 → VII ×3
6. G → C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×1

The move to watch is F → C/E, heard 3 times. From the C side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Am side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Capo and easier keys

The song's harmonic story

Starting on C, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are D7, Am, F, D; read them as V7/V–vi–IV–V/V in C or IV7–i–VI–IV in Am. D7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to G. Keep an ear on F → C/E (IV → I in C, VI → III in Am): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on A, the song seals C as home.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.