6.16Strong beats matter

A chord change on beat 1 usually feels more structurally important than a quick passing chord between beats.

For example:

C | C/E F | G7 | C

The C/E may be transitional.

The main harmonic skeleton might still be:

C → F → G7 → C

When learning songs by ear, do not immediately treat every bass note as a new major structural chord.

First find the skeleton.