This is a gem of a tune. It's a pleasant departure from what Coldplay is known for. Cry Cry Cry has a R&B groove that feels like a throwback. It uses the 12/8 feeling where we nestle triplets inside of the 4 beats per bar. Jacob Collier was a co-writer for this tune. I imagine he had influence over the background vocals and piano parts.
The two components I'd like to talk about is the harmony and the rhythm. Rhythm:
This is a perfect opportunity to focus on triplet subdivisions. We see that the three portions of the beat get used a few different ways in this song. I'm going to attempt to represent this visually. I'll abbreviate Long with L and Short with s.
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
s s s L s s L
In the sheet music the short notes are notated with 1/8th notes and the long notes are 1/4s.
I would practice these rhythms each with a single chord and a metronome until they start to feel comfortable. I'd always recommend using your voice to count the triplets out loud. Typically we count them 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a.
Once you feel like you have those three rhythms together, practice switching between them while on staying on the same chord.
Harmony:
This tune is built up on two sections. The first progression is a two bar loop that has two different melodies over the top. One is a series of longer phrases that build up the verse. The second melody is shorter phrasing with simpler lyrics to hook the chorus. The second section serves as a bridge, a pallet cleanser. This is where much of the action happens. It propels us through a lot of changes back into the final choruses.
The A section is a 1 6 2 5 progression. If I were to be really snazzy about it I'd write it out as: I vi II7 V7. We can use Roman numerals to give us a bit more information because there are uppercase and lower case numerals.
The upper case tell us that the chord is built on a Major triad and the lower case tells us the chord uses a minor triad. The 7's tell us that the chord is functioning as a dominant chord. The fact that in a major key the 2 chord (ii) is often minor and instead we have a dominant chord is a big part of what makes this sound jazzy.
The other component is that our vi chord is spelt F Ab Bb Eb. This is a rich voicing that substitutes the fifth of the chord (C) with the 4th (Bb). If you refer back to our Suspension lesson we'll see how suspended chords can be inverted. For our purposes I see an Absus2 chord over F in the bass. It's a little simpler for me to process it that way than thinking Fm add4 omit5 (which is accurate) or Fm add11 (which is less accurate)
Plus, with the context of Ab major in the previous measure it's a clear transition from one to the other. All that said, the bass is dictating the root motion, so F minor it is.
The B section is much more sophisticated. To keep with our theme of three, I'm going to be focusing on the Right Hand's triads, then note the Left Hand root motion.
We start with the 4 (IV) chord. A great choice for a new progression in a song that we want to feel related but unique. From there we HOLD that while the bass changes to Eb. This creates a pull of unease until the Ab lowers to G. This makes the Eb feel stable with a dominant chord. From there, we use C major as a "secondary dominant" to F minor. D diminished is unstable until the Bb in the bass which creates a dominant chord. It's delayed by going back to our IV chord (Db).
The final turnaround we get this shifting madness of Eb's (suspended to minor {which isn't what our ear anticipates} to finally major) until we land on a sudden rest. The first chord is a Bb minor triad over Eb. This creates an Eb sus9. Similar to the sus2, it's just utilizing extended harmonies, (the 7th and 5th). From here to Bb augmented (+ = sharp 5). This creates an Eb minor triad with a major 7th. Finally we end with a straight forward Eb major to give us a simultaneous sense of arrival and prepared for departure.
Bbm Bb+ Eb
F F# G
Db D Eb
Bb Bb Bb
Cry Cry Cry... It's a slow, nearly painful series of delayed resolutions. It's a very tastefully constructed with the chromatic motion of Db to Eb and F to G.
While addressing performance, learn one hand at a time. The parts are synchronized in their subdivisions, so it shouldn't be too demanding to tether them together.
You can download the sheet music here
As always:
Be patient, enjoy the process and keep playing.
Christopher
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