I’ve gotten interested in the Australian songwriter/artist Sia (Sia Furler) lately, especially her way with chord progressions and harmonizing her melodies.  Her solo work is more personal and  adventurous, but here we’ll take a look at two songs she co-wrote with Christina Aguilera and producer Samuel Dixon.

In a collaboration, it’s usually impossible to know who wrote what (even for the collaborators!).  But having checked out some of Sia’s other songs, these do seem to have a lot of her sound in the chords.

Whether you’re a fan of Christina Aguilera’s or not, I think you’ll appreciate the way these songs breathe some new life into the classic, torchy, 12/8 R&B ballad, mostly by taking a free (but controlled) hand with mixing major, minor, seventh and diminished chords, in and out of key.

I strongly suggest you play along with these songs:

‘Bound To You’ (play below)

Verse:
| E- A- | G D | E- A- | G D |
| E- A- | G D | E- A- | G B7 |
Pre-Chorus:
| C B7 | E- E- | C B7 | A7 A7 |
Chorus
| G | B7 | E- | C- | G | B7 | E- | C- ||

There are some nice twists here.  The Verse is diatonic (all in the key of G), until the B7 in the last bar introduces an out-of-key element.  That’s not developed immediately, but bringing in the bluesy A7 at the end of the pre-Chorus not only sets up the Chorus in an exciting way, it opens the door – and the ear – to further motion out of key, which is paid off by the surprise of the C- in the Chorus.

I love the use of the C- there.  The minor IV chord has become overused and somewhat of a cliche.  But here, following the G and B7, it’s fresh and powerful.

‘You Lost Me’ (play below)

Verse:
||: A- | E- | F | C E7 | A- | E – | F | C |
Pre-Chorus:
| C | G | Abdim | F |
Chorus:
| C E7 | F F- | C E7 | F F- | C E7 | A- F-/Ab | F F – |
1st ending: C :|| back to Verse
2nd ending: (Bridge) A- D | A- D | G Abdim | F | back to Chorus

‘You Lost Me’ uses some devices that are similar to ‘Bound To You’ – the IVminor chord, for example (F- in this case).  Just as in ‘Bound To You’, the wide-ranging harmonies add a layer of musical/emotional complexity that takes the song to a deeper place than it would get to otherwise.

Play along with these songs, follow the twists and turns.  It might inspire you in your own writing.  It worked for me.

Please let me know your thoughts in the Comments section below.