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6.13.6
“One Fine Day” Chords: How the Chord Progression Works (Carole King)
The chord map below (Figure 109) shows how “One Fine Day” uses the chord F major to pivot from the key of F major to the key of B♭ major, its harmonic scale neighbour. (Note: Carole King's version is in the key of F major; The Chiffons recorded their version in the key of F♯ major.)
The progression then shifts into the key of C major, which happens to be the harmonic neighbour of the original key, F major.
Arguably, you could call this a sequential modulation: the chord sequence Cm7 – F7 – B♭ moves to the sequence Dm7 – G7 – C (all chord roots move up one whole tone).
A sequence is a melodic phrase or a chord progression (or both) that repeats at a different pitch. (Sometimes sequences occur with modulation, sometimes without.)
FIGURE 109: Chord Map of “One Fine Day” (Words and Music by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, 1963)
To get back to the key of F major, the C major chord becomes C7, the dominant seventh of F major—a natural pivot.
Although this song uses the dreaded shift method, it does so in the service of expediting a return to the original key, thereby cleverly redeeming itself.