Cold War Chords

___________________
   / Janelle Monáe    /  I still can't figure out why she begins to cry in
  / Cold War         /  the video @1:40! Indeed, it IS an amazing song :)
 / The ArchAndroid  /
/__________________/
 
All the way through the song is alternating between part A and part B:
 
 A                                       B
||: Fm   |  Ab   | Eb/Bb | Bbm/F :||    ||: Bbm  |  Db   | Ab/Eb |  Ebm  :||
 
 
 capo on 1st fret
  ( Em       G      D/A    Am/E )         ( Am       C      G/D     Dm  )
e ---0--- ---3--- ---2--- ---0---         ---0--- ---0--- ---3--- ---1---
B ---0--- ---0--- ---3--- ---1---         ---1--- ---1--- ---0--- ---3---
G ---0--- ---0--- ---2--- ---2---         ---2--- ---0--- ---0--- ---2---
D ---2--- ---0--- ---0--- ---2---         ---2--- ---2--- ---0--- ---0---
A ---2--- ---2--- ---0--- ---3---         ---0--- ---3--- ---5--- -------
E ---0--- ---3--- ------- ---0---         ------- ------- ------- -------
 
 
 
 Song structure:
------------------
 A    Intro
  B   Verse
 A    Chorus
  B   Verse
 A    Chorus (breakdown)
  B   -      (regular)
 A    Bridge
  B   Verse
 A    Chorus
  B   -
 A    Guitar solo
  B   -
 A    Chorus (breakdown)
  B   -      (build-up)
 A    -      (regular)
  B   Outro, end on Fm
 
 
 
**************************
 The theoretical corner:
--------------------------
The chords of this song are actually rather tricky, and they really put my ears
to work. Let me try to explain it!
 
 
The tricky thing is that the song constantly modulates between the keys of
F minor and Bb minor, which are two neighboring keys:
- part A is in the key of F minor.
- part B is in the key of Bb minor.
One note tells the two keys apart:  g = F minor  or  gb = Bb minor
 
Since neighboring keys always share 6 out of 7 notes, neighboring keys therefore
share four chords also; in this case the chords not involving the notes g or gb,
which are: Fm, Ab, Bbm, Db
So playing around with only these four chords doesn't decide between F minor or
Bb minor. And that's exactly what's happening in the changes between part A and
part B: You don't notice the modulation until, well, until it already happened.
 
- When going into part B, the new key isn't revealed until the Ebm.
- When going into part A, the new key isn't revealed until the Eb/Bb.
Obviously, Janelle's melody DOES reveal the key before the chords do. But that
demands a bit deeper analysis, which this format doesn't provide for.
 
 
To "mask" things further, the steps happen to be the same in both keys:
I III VII IV   (This is, however, not relevant in terms of modulation.)
 
 
I hope you found this useful :)
 
 
 
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