Chapter 10: :) vs. :(

Well, hello hello! The day has come…I finally have all my data and analysis!!! Now, get ready for a looooottt of numbers and roman numerals!

First, I will list all the songs I analyzed and their respective chord progressions in Roman numerals. The key of the song is also written in parentheses. It’s important to note that I only analyzed the choruses of songs due to the time constraint.

Taylor Swift

Tied Together with a Smile: I-V-ii-IV (D)

Our Song: I-ii-IV-V (D)

Breathe: IV-I-V-vi (Db)

Hey Stephen: I-IV-vi-V (Db)

Last Kiss: I-vi-IV-V (Bb)

Long Live: I-IV-vi-V (G)

Ronan: I-V-vi-IV (C)

Starlight: I-ii-IV-V (E)

I Wish You Would: I-V-vi-IV (C)

New Romantics: I-V-ii-vi (F)

Getaway Car: I-V-ii-IV (G)

Call It What You Want: IV-I-V-vi (A)

Soon You’ll Get Better: I-V-IV-V (C)

ME!: I-vi-IV-V (C)

Hoax: i-iv-VII-III (fm)

Invisible String: I-ii-vi-IV (D)

Marjorie: i-VI-III-VII (dm)

Long Story Short: I-vi-V-IV (C)

Bigger Than the Whole Sky: I-V-ii-IV (F#)

Paris: I-vi-IV-V (G)

Loml: VI-i-VII (am)

So High School: I-IV-vi-V (G)

Ed Sheeran

Small Bump: vi-IV-I-V (Bb)

Grade 8: i-III-VI-iv (gm)

Afire Love: i-VI-III-VII (dm)

Tenerife Sea: I-ii-IV (Ab)

Perfect: vi-IV-I-V (Ab)

Supermarket Flowers: vi-IV-I-V (F#)

Shivers: vi-IV-I-V (D)

Visiting Hours: IV-vi-I-V (Ab)

Salt Water: I-IV-I-V (E)

Dusty: I-V-vi-IV (D)

Blue: I-IV-vi-V (D)

Magical: I-iii-IV-V (Eb)

Shawn Mendes **

Act Like You Love Me: IV-I-V-I (Ab)

Kid In Love: I-IV-vi-IV (G)

There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back: VI-i-III-VII (bm)

Three Empty Words: vi-iii-IV-I (G)

In My Blood: I-IV-vi-IV (F)

Nervous: I-VII-I-VII (C Mix.)

Look Up At The Stars: I-vi-IV(-ii)-V (D)

Monster: i-VII-iv-VI (dm)

Heart Of Gold: ii-IV-I (G)

Party In The USA: I-iii-vi-V (F#)*

** Note that Shawn Mendes’ last album—“Shawn”—did not have any strictly happy songs :(, so I replaced it with Miley Cyrus’s “Party In the USA.”

Now, boiling down this whole block of data…

Happy/Positive:

I-IV-vi-V (3)

I-vi-IV-V (3)

I-ii-IV-V (2)

vi-IV-I-V (2)

I-V-ii-vi

IV-I-V-vi

I-vi-V-IV

I-ii-vi-IV

i-III-VI-iv

I-ii-V

I-V-vi-IV

I-iii-IV-V

I-IV-vi-IV

VI-i-III-VII

I-VII-I-VII

I-iii-vi-V

Sad/Negative: 

I-V-ii-IV (3)

I-V-vi-IV (2)

vi-IV-I-V (2)

i-VI-III-VII (2)

IV-I-V-vi

IV-vi-I-V

I-vi-IV-V

I-IV-vi-V

VI-i-VII

I-V-IV-V

i-iv-VII-III

I-IV-I-V

IV-I-V-I

vi-iii-IV-I

I-IV-vi-IV

i-VII-iv-VI

ii-IV-I

Analysis

On the surface level, we see that the 2 most used progressions for happy songs are I-IV-vi-V and I-vi-IV-V, while for sad songs, it’s I-V-ii-IV. However, on a deeper dive, I found 59.1% of happy songs using authentic cadences, V-I, as compared to the 31.8% in sad songs. However, sad songs are also twice as likely to use other cadences (which are defined as not IV-I or V-I), which have a more unsettling mood. 

Furthermore, the vii chord appears in 9.1% of happy songs’ choruses, while in 22.7% of sad songs’ choruses. The vii creates tension, which might explain why it is used way more in sad songs. On a similar note, 81.8% of happy songs’ choruses begin with the tonic, while only 63.6% of sad songs’ choruses begin with the tonic. Expectedly, sad songs are 2.5 times more likely to use a minor key, supporting the established idea that minor keys convey melancholy. However, while one might expect that sad songs have a higher proportion of minor chords (because minor = sad), it’s surprising that I found fewer minor chords in sad songs (22 chords, as compared to 25 in happy songs). 

Well, that concludes my analysis. (I’m still figuring out new ways to analyze my data, though!) Now, it’s time to work on my presentation! Let’s hope for another productive week!