Finding chords that match with single notes

Question

I just heard Lenka's "Everything at Once".

The Background chord progression is quite catchy. I tried to figure out its chords, but to no avail.

I tried singular notes: I found F A C A and also C E G. E (where G is down an octave).

How do I find Chords that match up with single notes?

And what are they called?

The chords used in the song are Dm, C, A, and Bb (in order of how often they occur). You'll have to figure out where/when each is used yourself as a homework assignment. :-) — Ulf Åkerstedt, Nov 10 '12 at 23:35
Strangely enough, I don't find this to be a dupe of that other question. Rather, I think the titles actually need to be switched -- that question is about finding chords that actually sound like a single note (i.e. Power Chords) whereas this song's chords are quite clearly not power chords. — NReilingh, Nov 11 '12 at 20:41
Much more similar to Is it possible to find the correct chords from melody notes alone?, though still not quite. — NReilingh, Nov 12 '12 at 15:31

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 10 '12 at 16:44

As I listen to the song, I don't really hear any tonality change. In such cases, the circle of Fifths is you forever ally.

Around a tonality, there are five chord positions that instinctively sound good. You guess them with that circle.

With the notes like c,g,e,a,f... you're probably in C Major or A minor(both are instrincally linked), so you can go easily to G major, E minor, F major, D minor.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 11 '12 at 09:04

Without actually listening to the song, there are a few facts you might not be aware of, misconceptions about which could easily lead to the qustion you ask.

The whole point of a chord is the several note blend together and become unified, united. The notes sound as one. On an equal-tempered instrument (piano, guitar, etc) most of the intervals are actually just a little bit out-of-tune with each other. This results in the individual notes becoming more distinct: it's easier to identify the separate notes that compose the chord.

With other tuning systems (Just tuning, Helmholtz tunings) the blending effect can be intensified so many notes unite into a sonic pattern from which the separate notes are very difficult to pick out. With the explosion of computers and digital synthesizers, this territory has been opened-up for colonization.

Often the strongest note you hear (the "melody" of the chords) will be a third or a fifth rather than the root due the effects of "voice leading" or counterpoint.

When you're trying to figure out the chords to a song, 99% of the time you should try to listen for the "bass-line" and ignore everything else. The bass may not play the roots of all the chords; but 99% of the time it will play the root every time the tonic (the Key chord) comes around.

Finding chords that match with single notes

2 Answers2