You will hear it in lots of pop songs as the key changes for the last verse or chorus to create and exciting ending to the song. This modulation is a sudden change of key.Ī Phrase Modulation often involves a key change that goes up by a semitone or a tone. The 2nd type of modulation we are going to have a look at is Phrase Modulation or Abrupt Modulation. This technique of pivot chord modulation works best if you move to closely related keys (keys that only have a few sharps/flats different from each other). Have a look/listen to the following piece which modulates from G major to D major:Ĭlick Here To Listen To Pivot Chord Modulation This means that we have a choice of 2 pivot chords that we could use.

This means we could use the chord D as a pivot chord to modulate from G major to D major.Ĭan you also see that chord I in G major (G) is the same as chord IV in D major (G)? The primary chords in D major are D, G, A.Ĭan you see that chord V in G major (D) is the same as chord I in D major (D)? Now imagine we would like to modulate to D major. We could use the primary chords of G major (I, IV, V) which are the chords G, C, D. Imagine we are wanting to write a piece of music in G major. It does this by using a pivot chord.Ī pivot chord is a chord that belongs to both the home key and the the key the music is changing to. The advantage of pivot chord modulation is that it enables a smooth change from one key to another. There are lots of different ways of modulating, but we are going to have a look at 2 of the most common ways you will come across: Pivot Chord or Common-chord Modulation However, to make a piece more interesting a composer may choose to change into a different key at some point during the piece. Many songs and pieces remain in this home key and do not change. This key is sometimes called the “ home key”. This choice of key determines the scale you use, how many sharps and flats there are and what chords you can use. When you start writing a piece of music one of the first things you do is choose a key to compose in.

Modulation describes the process where a piece of music changes from one key to another key.

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