Music Analysis: What a Wonderful World

What A Wonderful World

Composed by George David Weiss & Bob Theile

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What a Wonderful World was written by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele in 1967. This popular piece was first recorded by Louis Armstrong. Looking at the piece from a broad perspective on form even though the first section repeats itself it shows a two-part form, also called rounded binary form. Sections A is (m3-17), section B (m18-25), and Section A repeats itself in (m26-33). This piece also has a colon (34-38), which is a short section of the music that is repeated. Most of the chords are in the key of F and consistently stays in 4:4 time. The only chords outside this key signature are B7, Db, A7, F# diminished, Eb, and D. The progression is transcribed with open chords.

Part A is the introduction of the theme that leads into a perfect authentic cadence into the key of F major. The perfect authentic cadence (PAC) at (m8) brings it to the parallel major. (m3-17) is labeled as a parallel period, because the two phrases begin alike. In this period there exists an antecedent phrase (box A), which ends in a perfect authentic cadence .  This is  followed by a phrase which begins identically to the first phrase (Box A'), but ending differently.  In the end of the first A section, they rise to the third of the (m17) is transitional material to Section B that moves from to IV to I to V.

Section B does not have any motion toward a new key in the beginning, creating more evidence of why this piece is in a rounded binary form. Section B is shorter in length when looking at the background form. The B section is more in depth of the background form. In (m20-22) measures in the B section, it looks like it is creating its own ternary form, but changes it up in the (m23). It also shows some secondary dominant activity in the end of the section. In (m25), the chord progression goes from D minor with F in the base to F# fully diminished creating a secondary leading tone . (m26) is transitional material...