Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [modulation]

For questions about changing key in the middle of a piece of music. Do not tag for the modulation audio processing effects. In that case use [effects], [effects-pedal], or [guitar-effects].

Modulation is the changing of keys mid piece. There are many different types and many different reason why or why not to do this and is viewed as an additional tool a composer has when composing a piece of music.

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Common Tone Modulation (CTM)

I'm trying to learn more about Music Theory, and I'm currently looking into modulation, more specifically CTM (Common Tone Modulation). As far as I understand it, the concept is pretty straight forward that (at least) one tone has to be common or…
m_j
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Theories on what key to modulate to

Are there any traditional ideas on what key to change to and also how to do it, to get a certain effect or make it sound good? I know the general rule is that everything works as long as it sounds good but i also know that there are often typical…
Daarwin
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Does anyone have any tips on how to do pseudo modulation?

Does anyone have any tips on how to do pseudo modulation (fake modulation)? https://vimeo.com/1934047 Those two videos and the song "moon river" is the most i seen on it. Does anybody have any more constructive tips on how to do it?
Izu Izzy
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Modulation type

what type of modulation moves to the relative minor of the parallel major? For example....The key of b min moving to the key of g# min. g# minor is the relative minor of B Major which is the parallel major of the song's original key (b min). To add…
user90561
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What is the use of metric modulation?

This is an extract of Elliott Carters piece Eight Etudes and Fantasy, Fantasy, mm. 16pp. Metric modulation is used to move to a higher tempo in measure 3. But why does Carter not just write the following: What does he gain by his specific writing?
AGuyCalledGerald
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Nomenclature for modulations

I have noticed that sometimes the music plays a tone, goes up a few semitones with it and then that last tone in the walk is treated like the fifth in the new key it modulates to. Sometimes the tone was the fifth in the old key before it started…
Emil
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Why does the progression I - vi get labeled I 5-6 in my harmony book?

When discussing modulation my book describes the 5-6 technique and here it gives an example when discussing pivot chords. I dont get why the C to Am progression is labelled C 5-6? Ok if the bass remained on C I'd get it but here the bass goes to A.…
user35708
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Help with tonicization, modulation and modal interchange

I'm currently writing a short piece of music for a university assessment, and there are a number of conditions in place as far as what it must contain. About half of them I'm confident I can implement, but these I'm a little confused…
Dylan Mallia
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Whats the smoothest way to modulate in minor to a neighboring key?

I am writing in Cm and want to modulate smoothly to Gm and then smoothly back to Cm. Can someone please tell me what is the best way to do this. I see that it is the 4th degree in the scale that must be raised just like in major to create a leading…
user35708
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Full examples of modulating chord sequences

I understand much of the theory of modulation, but I want examples to model. Most of the articles I can find show excerpts of songs or particular modulations, but not the progressions for whole songs, including how to get back to the original key if…
Robin Andrews
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Does modal interchange occur in an interspersed fashion within a phrase along with a parallel scale?

I am starting to read about modal interchange. Do modal interchange generally occur phrase by phrase in an orderly way (one phrase dedicated to this scale, and the next to another scale), or a little bit more chaotically like interspersed with a…
Sean
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Modulate from A minor to D major

Can you recommend a smooth way to modulate from A minor to D major? I know a way to modulate down a fifth between major/major, but cannot really apply it here. My ideas would be modulating to C major first and then to D major, or dominanticize a…
AGuyCalledGerald
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