# Key Changes During the Song



## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

I can't explain why this works for me. Just a half step up is all it takes but I don't know why.


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

can you please explain the "works for me" part .
Is it that you can change key?
Do you like the feel of the song after a change of key?

Changing keys in a song has been done for a very long time...
usually its a trick used to imply a change in a song while not changing anything but the key.
It does work for that effect.
There are songs that change key every verse....that's also another technique used in songwriting.

anyways...if changing key a half step makes you feel good....keep doing it.

G.


----------



## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

One step away is the most distant modulation you can play, there are no common tones. I'll work great on V7 chords.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

amagras said:


> One step away is the most distant modulation you can play, there are no common tones. I'll work great on V7 chords.


It's the most distant modulation that you will commonly hear, but you can certainly play larger ones. I play an instrumental arrangement of "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad" that modulates from C to E (major 3rd) quite effectively.


----------



## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

bw66 said:


> It's the most distant modulation that you will commonly hear, but you can certainly play larger ones. I play an instrumental arrangement of "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad" that modulates from C to E (major 3rd) quite effectively.


You are absolutely right, in fact you can modulate from any key, some of them are very close. For example although they are 5 steps away, C and G share the same common tones but only one (F# in G against F in C)
--updated-- 
With 5 steps I mean 5 diatonic steps or a 5th.


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Although key changes are common in popular music, I do find they're rarely prepared for. If you take choral music from Bach's time, every modulation was always prepared for. The Beatles had some of the best arrangements for their modulations. How one prepares for a modulation shows their knowledge and understanding of harmony. A common exercise at uni was assignments where you had to modulate x Number of times. 

In jazz the tritone really helps with more challenging modulations. 

One of my favorite modulations is in a Sloan song. I can't recall the name just yet. I'll find it. They're masters of harmony. Very beatlesque.


----------



## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

There's a common trick used by jazz players consisting in changing key in the melody half a bar before the harmony. One should be able to solo over the changes without accompaniment to do that effectively.

Sambonee please, let us know when you remember the name of the song.


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

I have not analyzed it yet. I do believe the keys to be very closely related. This is the song I was thinking of which happens to be a very well-written song.[video=youtube_share;Qffy6uHkcTU]http://youtu.be/Qffy6uHkcTU[/video]


----------

