Nothing Else Matters Analysis

To reinforce certain concepts, i have included this lesson, which analyzes Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters'. Here is a tab of the song.

Intro

the intro starts out with an arpeggio of the E Minor chord. Soon other notes come in, but the bass E is ringing in the backround. After that there are some more arpeggios, some chords, which include Am, C, D, E, G, and B7 and then it again comes back to the E Minor Arpeggio. It is apparent that the notes are from G Major (The B7 chord is not in the scale of this song, because it contains a D# note. D# is coming from a certain other scale called the harmonic minor scale. you'll find more about this later. For now, imagine the D# wasn't there). But the most emphasized note is E (root of the E minor chord).

The root note is most probably E. To make sure, we play the intro and hit the Em triad after it ends (listen). This definitely sounds like the end. If you aren't sure, try some other notes and chords. You will find, the E note sounds the most like the end. Therefore, the root of the intro was E. The mode of G Major beginning with E is aeolian. We conclude, this peice of music was in the E Aeolian Key, or E Minor Key.

Verse

The verse has a riff in the background, which has almost as many E notes as any other note. It is hard to find which note is emphasized. We play the riff and try the Em chord after it ends (listen).

The E note sounds like the end. We conclude, the verse was also in the E minor key.