listening for music that has chord progressions i don’t understand and then looking them up continues to be going well
this progression from focus by h.e.r. is made of sex. it voice-leads gorgeously but i don’t get it harmonically in the slightest
youtube.com/watch?v=Uj9y5x
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this is really cool
was confused by the F#m7 going to a F#m7b5, until I realized it's enharmonic with an A6 to Am6, which makes it basically a standard IV - iv - I cadence in disguise
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oh is IV - iv - I a standard cadence? i had no idea! but it voice leads and sounds great so checks out. is the iv here to be interpreted as borrowing from minor? i was trying to interpret it as some kind of wacky secondary and getting real confused
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i uhhh forget what the standard theory explanation is, but being borrowed from minor is probably right. i usually just think of it in terms of the voice leading creating that nice 6-b6-5 motion back into the I chord
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makes sense! while i have your attention what's the deal with the G#dim7? i can handwave it as vii/IV but i'm not super happy with that, or as like secretly I7?
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so what I think is going on: the G#dim7 is enharmonic with a Bdim7. a major chord turning diminished like that isn't uncommon, though mostly I'm familiar with it when it's I-Idim7. but! the G#dim7 is ALSO enharmonic with Fdim7, which the vii of the Fmin7.
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oh i forgot about the thing with dim7 where every friggin inversion of it is a dim7 with another root damn. feels like i’m missing something about the musical role of this chord as a transition between other chords? but thanks, this is helpful!
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