Can someone give me a complete musical analysis of I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! at the disco? such instruments used, meter, form etc

Answer 1

Hi Hector, here's my analysis of that song!

Introduction

-8 bars

-strings, sounds like cello

-sets up meter (4/4), tonality (A minor). Chord progression here and for verse is Amin to D7/F# (or just F#dim) to Fmaj7 (or just Fmaj)

Verse 1

-16 bars

-vocals, glockenspiel enter

-same chord progression as intro

Chorus 1

-16 bars

-guitar, drums, bass enter

-different chord progression but still A minor tonality - Amin, Fmaj, Dmin, G (they may just be power chords - so A5, F5, D5, G5)

Verse 2

-16 bars

-Drums, bass, guitar enter 5th bar (makes it different than first verse)

-strings, glockenspiel still there

Pre-chorus/transition

-8 bars

-unique section - not used anywhere else in song.

-drum roll on tom-toms, long string notes - creates tension, build to chorus

Chorus 2

-very similar to 1st chorus. Different ending (due to bridge, see below)

Bridge 1/Chorus extension

-could also be called an extension of the chorus.

-interestingly just 14 bars long - we would call this a phrase contraction (we expect 16 bars in total - four 4-bar phrases. They cut off half of the last 4 bar phrase, so it becomes 4+4+4+2 instead of 4+4+4+4) . Provides tension, build into 3rd chorus

-chord progression changes here too. emphasizes C major (makes sense, C major is relative major of A minor)

Chorus 3

-16 bars

-main difference with this one is the groove. Drums are only really on 2 and 4 with snare, not very many cymbals. I hear tambourine too.

Bridge/chorus extension 2

-16 bars this time, unlike 14 last time. Makes sense considering this is the final part of the song. A normal phrase length provides better closure.

-Ends on a Fmaj7#11 chord, or something similar. I definitely hear a B (#11) in there. Pretty cool

Hope that helps!

Eric