Using notes outside of the Key

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Hi all, after a bit of help please. I been trying to learn a bit of theory lately, I'm fairly new to all this.

The subject of the confusion is 'Clash City Rockers' by The Clash

The main chord progression is E D A G B A B E   (with a C# thrown into the chorus)
Now the tonal centre seems to be E and info I can find online back this up as being in the key of E.

There is no D or G in the key of E, there is however, D# and G#
I have read that notes can be borrowed from 'related' keys, which I believe to be the IV and V note keys (A and B).
Key of A can account for the D but I still can't work out the G.
Relative Minor key doesn't help either!

I may be overthinking this and should just accept that it sounds great! Is also possible I've gone note blind and the G is there somewhere and I'm just not seeing it :-)

Apologies if this is a stupid question.

Cheers,
Steve

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Comments

  • P.S not sure why my "B)" turned into what looks like a mutant ninja turtle head or a rock with glasses. Hope it doesn't happen again when I post this - I will just look daft.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    edited July 2020
    It always defaults to sunglasses bloke, just like “:)” always defaults to smiley-face. They’re plectra.   B

    Anyway the answer to your question is that The Clash is blues-based punk rock not Baroque or Renaissance music, so your sequence is not “diatonic”. It deploys a bVII chord and a bIII chord. 

    Very often this style of music has MAJOR CHORDS over the MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE.

    E minor penta scale has E G A B D E. 

    so in rock you often get the following chords:

    E mjor
    G major
    A major
    B major
    D major. 

    They are indeed borrowed from modes outsidd Ionian, but it’s probably easier just to say “it’s rock”. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    It’s also worth saying that theory is there to explain what musicians do, not set rules for what we can do.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    The theory is this: Slide a simple barre chord shape up and down the neck, stop where it sounds good to your ears.
    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
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  • CrankyCranky Frets: 2629
    GuyBoden said:
    The theory is this: Slide a simple barre chord shape up and down the neck, stop where it sounds good to your ears.
    Also, just play power chords instead of full chords so that you don't have to bother with that pesky 3rd and wonder whether it's supposed to be major or minor.
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