Re: [Harp-L] Does it have a name?



Robert Hale wrote:
<All Along the Watchtower
<Turtles, Happy Together
<ELO, Evil Woman
<
<THESE CHORDS
<The first 3 chords could be played
<A minor, G, F
<or E-  D  C
<In numbers it's 6-  5  4
<
<What is the name for this sequence, other than citing one of these titles?

This sequence is one of the most common in the Police's repertoire too.  It's obviously a cadence of some sort.  A cadence is a harmonic formula that establishes a tonal center; examples include IV-V-I, iii-vi-ii-V-I, etc.  

This particular cadence seems to work going down or up. Ray Charles uses it in descending form for the vamp in his hit "Hit the Road Jack," where the last chord in the sequence before the tonic chord is the V (i.e. i/bVII/bVI/V).  Sting likes it going up to the tonic chord.

I don't know if there's a specific name for this cadence, but then I've never heard a IV-V-I cadence referred to by any other name, either.  

Thanks, RH

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