So, I've been trying to develop my analysis skills, and I thought I would start by looking at Godhead's Lament. I've posted my long-winded discoveries here, in case anyone's interested in looking at them.
I used the tab from xguitar.com, for reference.
A caveat: I am no expert, and I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes, if not in the notation then in the actual analysis itself!
Also, I have taken a lot of liberties with the analysis in order to make it easier. For one thing, I have ignored many suspensions and other extended harmonies, which in some sense sort of defeats the purpose because a) these types of chords are everywhere in Opeth's music, and b) they are a large part of what makes their music so compelling.
And, some sections were so highly chromatic that I had no idea how to analyze them, so I didn't!
These omissions notwithstanding, here it is:
Section 1 (key = G major):
The opening (seems) highly chromatic, and features only power chords and octaves with the tritone making a couple of brief appearances. All of the notes are from a mixture of the g major and minor scales with the exception of the c# which is the flat 5 of g (tritone). The diminished passage Cdim, Cdim/A, Cdim/Gflat can be considered the viidim of G major and this cadence seems to place the opening in the key of G.
After a short transition (Bb - A)....
Section 2 (key = G major):
this passage can be analyzed in G major as:
I6 - ii6 - viidim - VII - ii - vi
This is slightly simplified as I've left out some single notes here and there (g - f# between the VII and ii). Also, the I6 and the ii6 are each only four notes (the note itself and the sixth, each doubled for a fat sound. The sixth is in the bass). The voicing used for the I6 makes it sound less 'major', as do all the minor chords in the passage. Again, there is some mode mixture (VII borrowed from G minor). the vi in this case is the e minor 9 that features so prominently in Opeth songs.
Section 3 (key = e minor):
Here we have our first modulation; to e, the relative minor of G major. The chugging low e string places the passage firmly in e minor. I'm not going to bother too much with this since there are no chords, but the lead guitars play some interesting notes (f# = 9, f = flat 9, Eb = tritone) that add a bit of dissonance now and then, especially with the E flat heard against the E.
Section 4 (key = e minor)
Here we see some more mode mixing. The passage starts with a few tritone/diminished-based chords, which descend chromatically, then we have b minor, then some more subtle dissonance in the form of this little run that closes the section:
E flat - D - A sharp - B and ends in E minor.
Section 5 (key = b minor) (beginning of guitar solo)
Our second modulation is to the v of e minor; b minor. This passage can be analyzed as (skipping the guitar solo section before the vocals come in again, as the progression is basically the same):
i - VII - VI - III - iv
and the second time:
i - VII - bV - bv - (a minor): i - v - next section
The interesting part is the appearance of the bV chord, and I'm not sure how to interpret it. Borrowed from B Locrian perhaps? The excellent voice leading helps this transition as the melody goes d, c#, c. However the passage is analyzed, it ends in the key of A minor, so it might be better to analyze the passage as modulating to this key earlier:
(alternate analysis)
(b min):i - VII (amin):- VI - vi - i - v - next section
Here, the vi is borrowed from the parallel major.
EDIT: Actually, this doesn't work, because A major has an f sharp!
Section 5 (key = a minor)
This section opens with a many-times-repeated acoustic guitar arpeggio that is firmly in the key of a minor with a few passing chromatic tones. Eventually we hear g minor, and again with the chromatically descending bassline, then d major, and then e minor, ending in e minor. One way to analyze this is to say that as soon as we hear the g minor, we have modulated to e minor. This seems to make sense, since neither g minor nor d major is diatonic to a minor (alternatively, the g minor can be considered the VII of A major using parallel major, which is a chord common to both A major and e minor and facilitates the modulation) EDIT:That doesn't work either, because VII of A major is based on g sharp, not g. But, the below should be correct:
i - (e min):iii - VII - i - next section
Section 6 (key = e minor) (the lush acoustic passage!)
Here begins the beautiful acoustic passage that we all love. In E minor it is:
i - VII - VI - VII - i
and then:
III - VII - iv - i
Section 6 (key = d minor, e minor)
This is where the heavy guitars come back in. After a brief silence from the guitars and a short drum fill, we find ourselves in d minor, which (to my ears) is quite unexpected after the extended e minor passage. But it also briefly re-tonicizes the e minor in a couple of chords:
i - v - III - (e min):v - i - v - (d min):V
After the second v chord in e minor, we have the notes c#ea which lead nicely back into the i of d minor (again c# coming from harmonic minor), but the III of A minor to the v of e minor is a very interesting change. Also, f to b is a tritone jump in the root (!). As far as I can tell, the only reason this change works is that the highest voice in the chord moves stepwise from f to f sharp.
After another brief transition of Bminor - A minor we head to the next section.
Section 7 (key = e major) (the 'bluesy' section)
Here we have a very blues-based passage; sort of a blues scale in the key of E, ending with the chords E5, B, G minor. The G minor is the oddball. In E major, it could be considered a flat III (substitued from E minor)
analyzing only the last three chords as being in e major:
I - V - bIII
The interesting thing here is the B flat in the G minor chord, which sets up some more good voice leading as next we have a reprise of section 3, and the b flat resolves upward to the B (the 5 of the E minor chord), which is played by the lead guitar.
After the reprise of sections 3, 4, and 5 we have
Section 8 (key = F minor) (the last part of the song!)
I'm pretty sure there is a mistake in the tab here, because this passage is clearly in f minor and I'm pretty sure it ends on f minor not e minor (last two chords are wrong!) It is very similar to the opening riff, with descending lines and the use of the flat V in f minor (b in this case). Part of the brilliance here is that section 5, which precedes this, is cut off right after the F minor chord (bV of b minor!) and leads directly to the last passage.
The end! I didn't realize there were so many key changes in this sucker. Going through this analysis has definitely made me appreciate the complexity of Opeth's music more, especially considering I've only scratched the surface of what's really going on. I think the biggest key to why the song works so well is the excellent voice leading that makes what would otherwise be bizarre chord changes sound natural.
If any of you happen to be more well-versed in music theory than I am, I would apprectiate some feedback/corrections!
I used the tab from xguitar.com, for reference.
A caveat: I am no expert, and I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes, if not in the notation then in the actual analysis itself!
Also, I have taken a lot of liberties with the analysis in order to make it easier. For one thing, I have ignored many suspensions and other extended harmonies, which in some sense sort of defeats the purpose because a) these types of chords are everywhere in Opeth's music, and b) they are a large part of what makes their music so compelling.
And, some sections were so highly chromatic that I had no idea how to analyze them, so I didn't!
These omissions notwithstanding, here it is:
Section 1 (key = G major):
The opening (seems) highly chromatic, and features only power chords and octaves with the tritone making a couple of brief appearances. All of the notes are from a mixture of the g major and minor scales with the exception of the c# which is the flat 5 of g (tritone). The diminished passage Cdim, Cdim/A, Cdim/Gflat can be considered the viidim of G major and this cadence seems to place the opening in the key of G.
After a short transition (Bb - A)....
Section 2 (key = G major):
this passage can be analyzed in G major as:
I6 - ii6 - viidim - VII - ii - vi
This is slightly simplified as I've left out some single notes here and there (g - f# between the VII and ii). Also, the I6 and the ii6 are each only four notes (the note itself and the sixth, each doubled for a fat sound. The sixth is in the bass). The voicing used for the I6 makes it sound less 'major', as do all the minor chords in the passage. Again, there is some mode mixture (VII borrowed from G minor). the vi in this case is the e minor 9 that features so prominently in Opeth songs.
Section 3 (key = e minor):
Here we have our first modulation; to e, the relative minor of G major. The chugging low e string places the passage firmly in e minor. I'm not going to bother too much with this since there are no chords, but the lead guitars play some interesting notes (f# = 9, f = flat 9, Eb = tritone) that add a bit of dissonance now and then, especially with the E flat heard against the E.
Section 4 (key = e minor)
Here we see some more mode mixing. The passage starts with a few tritone/diminished-based chords, which descend chromatically, then we have b minor, then some more subtle dissonance in the form of this little run that closes the section:
E flat - D - A sharp - B and ends in E minor.
Section 5 (key = b minor) (beginning of guitar solo)
Our second modulation is to the v of e minor; b minor. This passage can be analyzed as (skipping the guitar solo section before the vocals come in again, as the progression is basically the same):
i - VII - VI - III - iv
and the second time:
i - VII - bV - bv - (a minor): i - v - next section
The interesting part is the appearance of the bV chord, and I'm not sure how to interpret it. Borrowed from B Locrian perhaps? The excellent voice leading helps this transition as the melody goes d, c#, c. However the passage is analyzed, it ends in the key of A minor, so it might be better to analyze the passage as modulating to this key earlier:
(alternate analysis)
(b min):i - VII (amin):- VI - vi - i - v - next section
Here, the vi is borrowed from the parallel major.
EDIT: Actually, this doesn't work, because A major has an f sharp!
Section 5 (key = a minor)
This section opens with a many-times-repeated acoustic guitar arpeggio that is firmly in the key of a minor with a few passing chromatic tones. Eventually we hear g minor, and again with the chromatically descending bassline, then d major, and then e minor, ending in e minor. One way to analyze this is to say that as soon as we hear the g minor, we have modulated to e minor. This seems to make sense, since neither g minor nor d major is diatonic to a minor (alternatively, the g minor can be considered the VII of A major using parallel major, which is a chord common to both A major and e minor and facilitates the modulation) EDIT:That doesn't work either, because VII of A major is based on g sharp, not g. But, the below should be correct:
i - (e min):iii - VII - i - next section
Section 6 (key = e minor) (the lush acoustic passage!)
Here begins the beautiful acoustic passage that we all love. In E minor it is:
i - VII - VI - VII - i
and then:
III - VII - iv - i
Section 6 (key = d minor, e minor)
This is where the heavy guitars come back in. After a brief silence from the guitars and a short drum fill, we find ourselves in d minor, which (to my ears) is quite unexpected after the extended e minor passage. But it also briefly re-tonicizes the e minor in a couple of chords:
i - v - III - (e min):v - i - v - (d min):V
After the second v chord in e minor, we have the notes c#ea which lead nicely back into the i of d minor (again c# coming from harmonic minor), but the III of A minor to the v of e minor is a very interesting change. Also, f to b is a tritone jump in the root (!). As far as I can tell, the only reason this change works is that the highest voice in the chord moves stepwise from f to f sharp.
After another brief transition of Bminor - A minor we head to the next section.
Section 7 (key = e major) (the 'bluesy' section)
Here we have a very blues-based passage; sort of a blues scale in the key of E, ending with the chords E5, B, G minor. The G minor is the oddball. In E major, it could be considered a flat III (substitued from E minor)
analyzing only the last three chords as being in e major:
I - V - bIII
The interesting thing here is the B flat in the G minor chord, which sets up some more good voice leading as next we have a reprise of section 3, and the b flat resolves upward to the B (the 5 of the E minor chord), which is played by the lead guitar.
After the reprise of sections 3, 4, and 5 we have
Section 8 (key = F minor) (the last part of the song!)
I'm pretty sure there is a mistake in the tab here, because this passage is clearly in f minor and I'm pretty sure it ends on f minor not e minor (last two chords are wrong!) It is very similar to the opening riff, with descending lines and the use of the flat V in f minor (b in this case). Part of the brilliance here is that section 5, which precedes this, is cut off right after the F minor chord (bV of b minor!) and leads directly to the last passage.
The end! I didn't realize there were so many key changes in this sucker. Going through this analysis has definitely made me appreciate the complexity of Opeth's music more, especially considering I've only scratched the surface of what's really going on. I think the biggest key to why the song works so well is the excellent voice leading that makes what would otherwise be bizarre chord changes sound natural.
If any of you happen to be more well-versed in music theory than I am, I would apprectiate some feedback/corrections!
