Changing Keys with Modulation

Add more variety and moods to your songwriting by learning these 8 tried and true methods for easy key changes.

In This Lesson:

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Common Types of Modulation

Changing from one key to another is known as modulation. Modulation can be used to:

  • Change the mood of a song, such as going from a happy Major tonality to a somber Minor tonality.
  • Establish a new section, such as moving from the Chorus to the Bridge.
  • Provide a pleasant (or unpleasant) surprise to a song that was becoming a bit too bland and predictable.

Any key can modulate to any other key but some will be more jarring than others. In this section we’ll explore a few common methods to get you started.

Types of Modulation

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Minor 2-5-1 to the Relative Minor Key Modulation

Abruptness: Low

How To: Starting in a Major Key, insert a Minor 2-5-1 progression with the ‘1’ being the tonic of the relative key you want to modulate to. The diminished chord of the original key is used as the ‘pivot chord’ to begin the modulation.

  1. Play the tonic (the ‘I’ chord) of your original key.
  2. Play the viio of your original key.
  3. Play the dominant chord (V7) of the target relative minor key. In this case we􏰂ll borrow the V7 from the
    Harmonic Minor scale to emphasize the tension.
  4. Play the tonic (the ‘i’ chord) of your target relative minor key.

Example: C Major to A Minor

Minor 2-5-1 to Relative Key Modulation

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Minor 2-5-1 to the Mediant Modulation

Abruptness: Low

How To: Starting in a Major Key, insert a Minor 2-5-1 progression with the ‘1’ being the tonic of the target key (and currently the mediant of your original key). This modulation uses the tritone of the original key as the ‘pivot chord.’

  1. Play the tonic (the ‘I’ chord) of your original key.
  2. Play a diminished chord on the tritone of your original key (3 whole steps above the tonic).
  3. Play the dominant chord (V7) of the target relative minor key. We’ll borrow the V7 from the Harmonic
    Minor scale to emphasize the tension.
  4. Play the tonic (the ‘i’ chord) of your target relative minor key.

Example: C Major to E Minor

Minor 2-5-1 to Mediant Modulation

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Common Chord Pivot Modulation

Abruptness: Low

How To: Modulate to another key that shares a common chord. This common chord is used as the pivot to begin the modulation.

  1. Determine another key that shares at least 1 common chord with your original key.
  2. Insert this common chord into your original progression.
  3. Follow this common chord with the V7 of your target key to strengthen the modulation.
  4. Play the tonic (the ‘I’ chord) of your target key to complete the modulation.

Example: G Major to D Major

Common Chord Pivot Modulation

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Deceptive Cadence Modulation

Abruptness: Moderate

How To: Establish the vi as the tonic of the target key following the V of the original key.

  1. Play the V of the original key.
  2. Instead of resolving to the I of the original key, use a Deceptive Cadence to resolve to the vi of the
    original key which becomes the i of the target key.
  3. Play the dominant chord (V7) of the target key to further emphasize the new key.
  4. Resolve to the i of the target key.

Example: C Major to A Minor

Deceptive Cadence Modulation

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Parallel Key Modulation

Abruptness: Moderate

How To: Use the V7 of the original key to pivot to the i of the parallel key since both keys share the same dominant chord (if the minor key borrows from the Harmonic Minor scale).

  1. Play the V7 of the original key.
  2. Instead of resolving to the I of the original key, play the i of the Parallel Key.
  3. Play another chord from the target key that is not found in the original key to further establish the
    modulation.

Example: C Major to C Minor

Parallel Key Modulation

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Secondary Dominant Modulation

Abruptness: Moderate

How To: Use the secondary dominant of your target key’s tonic as the pivot chord.

  1. Play a progression in the original key.
  2. Play the secondary dominant chord of your target key’s tonic.
  3. Play the tonic of your target key to establish the modulation.
  4. Play another chord from the target key that is not found in the original key to further establish the
    modulation.

Example: C Major to G Major

Secondary Dominant Modulation

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Diminished Seventh to Dominant Seventh Modulation

Abruptness: Moderate

How To: This modulation requires a bit of forward thinking as the Diminished Seventh and Dominant Seventh chords work together to approach the modulation.

  1. Play any diminished seventh chord to introduce the modulation.
  2. Lower the bass note of the diminished seventh chord by a semitone to form a dominant seventh chord.
  3. Use this dominant chord as the V7 of the target key.
  4. Play the I of the target key to establish the modulation.

Example: C Major to E♭ Major

Diminished 7th to Dominant 7th Modulation

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Chromatic Chord Modulation

Abruptness: High

How To: In this ‘no rules’ modulation, you can play any chord that exists in the target key but isn’t found in the original key to introduce a modulation. This can be a very jarring technique but enables you to modulate to any key you want.

  1. Play a progression in your original key.
  2. Play any chord of your target key to introduce the modulation.
  3. Play the dominant chord (V7) of your target key to strengthen the modulation.
  4. Play the I of your target key to complete the modulation.

Example: C Major to G♭ Major

Chromatic Chord Modulation

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