Music Theory Codexery

Modulation (music)

Modulation is the essential part of the art of music.

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The most common modulations move to closely related keys, with the dominant key being the most frequent destination.[1] A change of key within a composition, modulation can be achieved through techniques like common-chord modulation, where a chord shared by both keys is used, or enharmonic modulation, where a chord is respelled to function in the destination key.[2][3]

Quick Facts

Field
Music theory
Known for
Change from one tonality to another, articulating musical structure and form

Facts from the source article.

Making and release

Common-chord modulation uses a chord shared by both the original and destination keys to create a smooth transition.[2] For example, G major and D major share four triads: G major, B minor, D major, and E minor.[2] Enharmonic modulation reinterprets a chord's spelling to function in a new key, with two main types using dominant seventh/augmented sixth or diminished seventh chords.[3] Common-tone modulation uses a sustained or repeated pitch from the old key as a bridge to the new key.[4]

Chromatic modulation occurs at a chromatic progression, often involving the inflection of one or more notes through accidentals.[5] Sequential modulation repeats a passage transposed to another key, while chain modulation reaches distant keys through a series of closely related keys.[6][7] By respelling a diminished seventh chord, one can modulate to a key that is a minor third, tritone, or major sixth away from the original.[3] Impressionist music is characterized by unprepared modulations, which lack any harmonic bridge between keys.[8]

What the cited sources add

From the 1960s to the 1990s, about 25% of Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits contained a key change.[9] In the 2010s, only one Billboard No. 1 hit, "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott, featured a key change.[9] According to a 2022 report from All Things Considered, how often key changes appear in top-charting songs has fluctuated with musical trends.[9] Since 2020, the only Billboard Hot 100 number-one single to feature a late-song key change has been "Dynamite" by BTS.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 243. 7th edition. McGraw-Hill. . "Most modulations occur between closely related keys, which a; Forte (1979), p. 269. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Forte (1979), p. 305. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Enharmonic Reinterpretation", Feezell, M. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Briggs, Kendall Durelle (2014). The Language and Materials of Music, p. 198. Lulu.com. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benward and Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 245. Seventh Edition. .; Benward and Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 245. Seventh Edition. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heussenstamm, George (2011). Hal Leonard Harmony & Theory – Part 2: Chromatic . . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, George T. (1994). HarperCollins College Outline Music Theory, p. 217. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reti, Rudolph (1978). Tonality, Atonality, Pantonality. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Modulation (music)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: All Things Considered, "Why the key change has disappeared from top-charting tunes", November 25, 2022; Fuentes, "BTS' First English Song "Dynamite" Lyrics Make It the Perfect Feel Good Track That We've Been Waiting For", Seventeen, August 21, 2020; Lipshutz, "First Stream: New Music From BTS, Pharrell Williams & Jay-Z, Maluma and More", August 21, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Modulation (music) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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