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"Yesterday" (Beatles): How the Chord Progression Works
As the chord map for "Yesterday" shows, the first chord change is I – VIIm7, an unusual move. As discussed in “10 Chord Progression Guidelines” at the end of this chapter, movement to any chord from the tonic chord sounds palatable, although it usually happens after tonality is firmly established. Not the case here. (Figure 90 below)
FIGURE 90: Chord Map of “Yesterday” (Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, 1965)
The verse ends with a plagal cadence (IV – I), which is somewhat unusual.
The chords used in this song are just ordinary majors, minors, and sevenths. But chord progression diversity—an interesting mixture of fifths, thirds, and seconds (and a couple of well-chosen variant chords)—makes this tune harmonically compelling.