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Comment by amplitwist | Hacker News Reader

Actually, this is a fairly unusual song, in music theoretical terms. Almost all pop songs use the I, ii, IV, V, and VI chords, with popular progressions including I-IV-V, ii-V-I, and I-V-VI-IV. Since this is tonal music, it obviously includes the I chord. It does use only four chords, but they are uncommon. Most of the song uses the I chord (G major in this case), but during the buildup, it uses an surprising I-II-III-I-II-vii progression. The II and III chords aren't strictly in the key of the rest of the song, although they still blend well with the in-key chords. vii is just F# minor here, but it is not in the key of the rest of the song either. vii is not often seen in pop/rock/classical music; you often see vii° instead, since it is in-key. I can't argue with Psy's choices, though, since that little riff builds a lot of tension.

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You're close but not quite there. The build up is VI-natural VII-I-VI-natural VII-V7b9. So you have the chords right but the root note wrong.

The major I for the third chord is the really key piece of that chord progression. Shifting up and down chords by step is pretty common in pop music, but shifting into major I the first time then the flat 9 dominant the second time (especially with the natural 7 right before it!) is a powerful harmonic one-two punch.

I don't want to be 'that guy', but the other guy responding to you has it totally wrong. Try to plunk out chords on the piano with the music and see for yourself.

Thanks for the reply; I was wondering what key that it shifted to, since everything sounded weird when I tried it. I just do this stuff by ear and guess the key, but I've never had any music theory training. How do you recognize the key once you have the chords?

Pop songs rarely modulate, and if they do, usually modulate by step, so just find the root note and you have the key. Gangnam Style doesn't have any modulations unless you count the major I as a modulation. It definitely jumps out to the ear as something unusual.

For classical music the working key is constantly changing and often two theorists would disagree on the "harmonic meaning" of a passage. One telltale sign of a key change is an x-V-I progression (in the new key) where x is any secondary chord that leads naturally into the V. Bonus points if the x or the V don't work in the old key; if you're in C major and you hear a D7, you know something's up.

Your build up progression is exactly the same as mine, only I interpret it as based on the major key III. I agree we're not talking about modulation in the usual sense, but I think it makes sense to think of it as a key change. It reminds my ears of the common IV-V-vi progression, only with a suprising major VI.

I have to disagree again... I don't think a III chord is anywhere in the entire song. The build up is in the parallel major.

Right, the key III is the parallel major. I'm shifting the base of the notation for this passage. When I say III ends the build up, I mean III in the parallel major key, i.e. V(7) in the original key.

III is the relative major. I is the parallel major. As I said, I believe there is no III anywhere in the song.

You're absolutely right. In my native language, the relative key is called the parallel key. Sorry for causing confusion.

So, to clarify, I'm not claiming there is a III in the original key, I'm referring to the III chord of the relative major key.

I think I have to a disagree with your analysis. The verse is in a minor key judging by the looping riff. This is interrupted once in a while by a iv-v-i cadence, and then the verse continues. Then the build-up, which happens in the parallel key III: IV-V-VI-VI IV-V-III-III-III and then back to the minor key for the chorus.

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