Thom Yorke and Radiohead play with our emotions through unexpected chords. Between modal borrowings, suspensions and enrichments, these harmonic choices often create tension, strangeness and beauty.
If you’ve ever listened to Radiohead or Thom Yorke solo, you’ve no doubt noticed oddities in harmony, those little details that often make their songs sound both familiar and confusing. Thom Yorke reminds us that the way a chord is placed in the context of a song can be a powerful tool for emotion and expressiveness. Just as important is the way it interacts with the melody, the vocals and even the surrounding silence. It’s often small touches used just right that transform a seemingly simple progression into an original soundscape.
A good example is “Creep." Arguably the band’s most famous track, its verse alternates between G, B, C and Cm. On first listen, this might seem banal: a seemingly simple progression. But it’s the shift from C major to C minor that makes all the magic happen. This shift, known as modal borrowing, introduces an unexpected tension. The major key of C provides comfort and stability, while Cm provokes fragility and a disturbing sadness. This simple yet surprising transition has been adopted by countless guitarists and has become a classic example of the emotional impact that a simple chord change can provoke. In the studio, an acoustic guitar recorded with this kind of progression is often captured with a close mic on the guitar, sometimes doubled with an ambient mic to capture the room’s resonance, adding even more depth to the emotion.
In “Motion Picture Soundtrack, ” Yorke adopts a similar approach: the main progression (G C Bm C) is often enriched by suspended or enriched chords (Csus2 Bmadd9), creating a floating, melancholy atmosphere. Here, the track becomes almost a sound painting, where each suspended note, each added 9th, contributes to a sense of floating, as if time itself were slowed down. Engineers who have worked on Radiohead albums sometimes describe these takes as tricky to capture: too close to the guitar and the sound becomes aggressive, too far away and it loses its magic. Suspended and enriched chords require a precise dosage, an attentive ear, and microphone placement that respects the air and the instrument’s natural resonance.
Pyramid Song, arguably one of Radiohead’s most mysterious tracks, is a perfect illustration of Yorke’s harmonic approach. On the main progression, F# G A G F#, Yorke adds extensions and modal notes that give a floating, almost hypnotic effect. Asymmetrical rhythms and the absence of traditional drums reinforce this sense of floating and instability. Each chord is chosen not for how “easy” it is to play, but for its emotional color. Voicing, note-holding and suspension all play their part in creating a soundscape that seems both complex and limpid.
On “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi, ” Yorke’s attention to harmonic detail becomes even more evident. The progression Em7 F#m7 A A7 A6 Gmaj7 might seem straightforward, but successive additions of 7ths transform the feel, and a subtle suspension hooks the ear, gradually feeding the track’s tension. The repetitive arpeggios, combined with the enriched chords, create a hypnotic experience where rhythmic and harmonic patterns merge.
Even in more electronic tracks like “Everything In Its Right Place, ” Yorke’s harmonic signature is evident. Simple chords (F, C, D and Eb) are enriched by suspensions and added notes that reinforce the repetitive, obsessive effect. In this track, Yorke demonstrates that even in synthetic contexts featuring programmed patterns, his knowledge of harmony and voicings can transform a standard progression into a powerful, atypically emotional motif.
It’s the constant contrast between melodic simplicity and harmonic complexity that makes these chords and progressions so effective. The melody remains clear and often simply sung, but the accompaniment, enriched with modal borrowings, suspended notes and unexpected and/or surprising voicings, adds depth and surprises the ear. It’s this contrast that creates the immediate emotion; the listener can follow the melody while feeling a subtle tension.
Studio techniques also serve to magnify and highlight the magic of a take. For example, the use of precisely placed microphones, sometimes combined with an ambient take help capture the richness of these chords and their interaction with space. The often light compression and judiciously chosen reverb, as well as the order in which the guitar layers complement each other, help to fully reveal the character of these “bizarre” chords. Every detail serves to amplify the emotional effect without the listener being consciously aware of it.
In short, there is no magic or fetish chord from Thom Yorke. What can be found in almost all his songs is a particular harmonic approach. So, to be honest, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood (guitarist and other Radiohead “mastermind”) are not the holders of these techniques – many other artists have used them, from Robert Smith to Mark Hollis, for example — but these choices, combined with airy melodies and precise studio techniques, give rise to a sonic signature identifiable at first listen.
And listening to Radiohead or Thom Yorke, one realizes that this “weird chord thing” is less about a precise note than a harmonic philosophy. Yorke subtly manipulates the listener’s emotions by playing with unexpected resolutions, harmonic colors and tensions that sometimes flirt with discomfort. It’s this ability to marry simplicity and sophistication, predictability and surprise, that makes his music so special, and explains why, even without knowing the exact details of the chords, we immediately recognize his sound universe. So feel free to draw inspiration from these techniques and adapt them to create your own unique progressions.