# Does anyone recognize this little tune? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 26, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103 "2024-05-26T17:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/1 "2024-05-26T17:16:39Z")
Hello people, does anyone recognize this little tune ? > **[Vocaroo | Online voice recorder](https://vocaroo.com/176Yz59H1wYA)** > > Vocaroo is a quick and easy way to share voice messages over the interwebs. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/2 "2024-05-26T18:42:12Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > [Vocaroo | Online voice recorder](https://vocaroo.com/176Yz59H1wYA) Well… • It’s a jazzed-up version of the intro and refrain of “[One Tin Soldier](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjGnvst6AmA)” for one thing; not limited to that, see below. • The style, as presented in the Vocaroo, is Zydeco, aka New Orleans flavored jazz. • The chord progression — which defines what one’s ear might acknowledge as “what it sounds like”, and includes “One Tin Soldier” but not limited to it, (could sound to someone like Pachebel’s Canon just as credibly), is I-V-vi-iii-IV-I. One chord, five chord, six chord, three chord, four chord, and back to one chord. Set it in A major, as per my not-necessarily-in-tune piano, that would be A major, E major, F# minor (or major), C# minor (or major) (or back to A major) (it’s not really very orchestrated here, mostly just accordion melody line), D major, then back to A where you started from. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/3 "2024-05-26T21:12:14Z")
That certainly fits the bill ! Thanks ! ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/4 "2024-05-26T21:16:40Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > could sound to someone like Pachebel’s Canon Looks like it has ! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J6wNFuVnTnQ/maxresdefault.jpg "One Tin Soldier") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6wNFuVnTnQ) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/5 "2024-05-27T00:45:37Z")
Or it could be at least 21 other songs [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_PC6jwoHyOk/maxresdefault.jpg "21 Songs that use Pachelbel's Canon chord progression") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PC6jwoHyOk) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/6 "2024-05-27T01:46:13Z")
Yeah, chord structures are rather broad things. Entire genres revolve around some simple shared chord structures, including original-vintage rock 'n roll and the blues. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2024, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-recognize-this-little-tune/1002103/7 "2024-05-28T05:03:10Z")
Part of the reason the chord structure is so ubiquitous is that it’s the most logical set of chords to use for a descending major scale. Since this appears to be in A major, let’s do A major. Sit yourself at a piano (or other instrument of your choice) and play a descending A major scale: A, G#, F#, E, D, C#, B, A. Now let’s set each of those melody notes to appropriate chords. Start with A major for A of course. G# is very prominent in the V chord, the E major chord. Try it, just those two notes while strumming or playing those chords with them. See what I mean? F# works really well with the relative minor of A major, which is F# minor. Drop down to the E. Now we have several choices. We can go back to the A major we started out with. Or we can do the E major chord again, the V chord. Or we can do C# minor, which is the relative minor of E major which sounds really cool here. They all work. Now down to the D. D major is the IV chord. Or we could spice it up and do it as a minor, the iv chord (D minor). F# minor (the relative minor of A major, again) would also work for this note. On to the C#. A major is a natural choice although you could go with C# minor. B almost demands F# minor here. The ending A could of course use A major, our home key, but if we’re about to repeat the sequence (which we are in many of these pieces), going with E major leaves the next (aka first) note, the top A in key of A, feeling like the perfect resolution. Neither Pachebel’s canon nor One Tin Soldier, nor most of the others are, strictly speaking, descending scales, but you can superimpose a descending scale on the melody line and it fits as harmony. Or to put it another way, these are all variations on a descending scale, moving the melody pitch to a different note in the natural harmony that you’d construct if you were doing a descending scale.