Radiohead - High & Dry

High & Dry

Band: Radiohead

Lyrics/ Music: Thomas Yorke, Jonathan Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Edward O'Brien, and Philip Selway

Sources: Sheet music downloaded from musicnotes.com & YouTube Video below.

Analysis

I'll start with chord progressions because I love them.

There are only four chords used throughout this song and they are E, F#m7add11, Asus2, Esus4. The chorus section uses the first three (Ex.1).

Ex. 1 Chorus Section

For those not familiar with 'add11' and 'sus', it basically stands for non-chord tones. The 'add11' in F#m7add11 refers to the 11th note above F#, which is a B. You simply add pitch B to F#m7. 'Sus2' in Asus2 refers to the 2nd whole-note above A, which is also B. You add B to an A major chord. Ex. 2 below is the result you get when you write out all pitches.

 
Ex. 2 Chords written out

If we take out the 'add11' and 'sus2' for now, we have a simple I-ii7-IV-I progression (Ex. 3). In classical music, ii7 is usually placed after a IV chord to avoid parallel fifths. However, in pop music you often see ii7 chords placed this way.

Ex. 3 Simplifying Chords

Now, when you back the B into the F#m7 and A chords, you'll notice that B appears in every chord and ties everything together (Ex.4). The B is a common tone and functions like a pedal tone in classical music (Ex.5). But in this case, rather than appearing in the bass voice, the B appears above it. I think a theoretical term for this is 'ciphering tone.' Besides the common tone B, E also appears in every chord.

Ex. 4 B as a common tone (in red)

Ex. 5 An Example of a pedal tone (B in bass)

Conclusion

Common tones and the use of a plagal cadence (IV-I) enables minimal pitch movement and a lack of a leading tone, creating a soothing atmosphere. And the cool thing about this is that you can sing a B or an E throughout the whole song and you will NEVER sound out of tune!