Common Tone Chords Analyzed

In discussing the chord progression for the tune "When The Golden Leaves Begin to Fall" as I've arranged here below and as noted above on the musical staff a few important items must be covered. Clicking on the picture should enlarge it.

1st, Notice the upper most note in each of the first five measures. See how it begins as an "A", then a "G natural" (this is the flat seven (b7) chord we've discussed), then an F sharp (which is the color tone of the Sub Dominant chord) then an F natural (which is the color tone darkened to a minor chord (minor Sub Dominant) and then the "E" note which is the fifth note in the "A" scale. So the passing tones are A G F# F & E.

Next, notice the bottom note in the first 6 measures. It remains an "A" note. Then in the last half of the 6th measure it becomes the passing tone "G#" and then in the 7th measure an F#. But the "A" note is also the darkened color tone in this F sharp minor chord.

Next, notice the movement in the 3rd measure where the C sharp and E notes resolve to the D note. Notice how the root position Tonic A7 chord resolves nicely to the 2nd inversion Sub Dominant, D, chord, and then the 2nd inversion D minore chord and back to the root position Tonic.

I inadvertently omitted the "A" notes in the B7 and B minore 7 chords, but imagine these notes are there and will resolve to the G sharp note in the measure that has the E7 chord. The G# note is the color tone of the Dominant chord and the leading tone of the A major scale. So from this, you can easily see the importance of the common note "A" in this progression. Recapping, the "A" note is found in the A chord, the A7, the D and D minore, also the F# minore, the B7 and the B minore 7. That's a lot of commonality!