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Song Spotlight's avatar

I've heard versions of this that go G-Ab-A-Bb-B (Sitting in the morning sun) C-C-B-Bb-A (I'll be sitting when the evening comes), etc...

Putting a major chord on every chromatic tone between the main chords.

This reminds me of Alice In Chains, for example, "Them Bones"

C#5-D5-Eb5-E5

Not functional harmony in the Western Classical sense, but rather using each note of a chromatic riff as the root for a chord

Interesting that both "Them Bones" and "Dock of the Bay" have a section that is more traditionally tonal ("Looks like nothing's...." in Dock of the Bay and "I feel so alone..." in Them Bones)

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Ethan Hein's avatar

It would be more similar if Bruno Mars was on A major, but he's on Am, which is within the key of C.

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Ethan Hein's avatar

Though Bruno Mars does do a lot of bluesy melodic phrasing, very much in the same stylistic idiom as Otis.

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John Donnelly's avatar

Yes I think that is what is hard for me.

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