Key changes

I doing a comp right now but apparently all I do is stay in C minor...

Can anyone of you suggest any decent key changes that I could use in my composition so it modulates and resolves in a diffferent and so that I can develope it into perhaps a sonata?...

:)

Well, I'm working on a symphonic peice, and to help me change keys I use the octatonic scale (based off a diminished 7th chord, I believe). So if you did that, you could move to E flat minor, G sharp minor, or A minor easily, and there are lots of other keys you can switch to by playing around with it.

~Kal

Here is a way to figure out some keys which are good to modulate to:

- The relative major/minor keys are good keys to modulate to.

- Add or remove 1 sharp/flat from the key signature.

- The relative major/minor keys of those new key signatures are also good.

So for C minor:

- Eb major (relative major)

- Add 1 flat and you have F minor/Ab major

- Remove 1 flat and you have G minor/Bb major

In general, the most common way to go about modulating is to use a "pivot chord" which is common to both keys. For example, to modulate to the dominant, you might try to work your way to a II chord (V/V) which leads into the dominant.

common notes is also a very interesting way. for example from a c minor triad:

c: Ab, F, Aminor

eb: ebminor, b

g: G, g minor, e minor,

all of those can be related. so for c there is also Dminor (relative to F) C (relative to Aminor) for eb: Gb (relative to Ebminor) G# (relative to b) and so on.... go nuts! just remember to modulate nicely :P

If I were writing in C minor I'd probably try and visit Bb major or Db major. Nice contrast there. Bb major should be easy to get to through F major and Db can be visited by modulating through Ab major.

Well, you act like its easy to modulate and it tends not to be. Technically one can modulate from any key to any other by many means but to do it musically is not always easy.

Theres many different methods of modulation and really, IMO, one shouldn't say "I want to modulate from C to Db" or something like that but let the music itself determine how one modulates... Of course one has to force it to learn though.

So heres some ideas/tips. Use common chord modulation at first. This method simply uses a common chord/tone since the ear can "hear" that chord in multiple keys. i.e, an Fmaj chord can be heard as a I in Fmaj, bII in Emaj(Neapolitan), III in Dmin, IV in Cmaj, V/V in Ebmaj, etc... Ofcourse if, say, you are in Cmaj and you play an Fmaj chord then that chord will be heard as IV in Cmaj. You then "reinterpret" the chord in another key but if you do no destablize the feeling of Cmaj it might sound abrupt... ofcourse that might be the effect you want(which is why its important to listen to what you do).

Another type of modulation is after a cadence. When you cadence on the tonic there tends to be this feeling of completion and one can then move to a different key quite easily without an "transitory" modulation in between.

A common method of general modulation occurs by using a dim7th chord. This chord allows for reinterpretation quite easily but again, you can't just use it and expect it to work well. A dim7th chord can easily be heard of a V9 chord cause some problems(since the V9 chord tends to have a standard resolution to the tonic or the submediant).

Note that mode change is not a modulation but simply a change of mode. i.e., changing from maj to min does not change key. The tonic is still the same. One does not modulate from Cmaj to Cmin. You should get it in your head that Cmaj and Cmin(the key and its parallel modes) are interchangeable and are effectively one key(although not quite right you should play around with that idea). This offers a whole range of new sounds to play with but ultimately your ear will need to decide what sounds good.

Try looking at some pieces by famous composers and see how they use different "keys". Beethoven, for example, in his sonata #8 2nd mov. Starts the first section off in Abmaj and then repeats it. He then immediately starts the second section off in Fmin(arguably, since we don't confirm it) without any transition(because the end of the section). Note that Fmin is the relative minor of Abmaj and in and of itself it is quite natural but he could have started off in any other key and it would have worked(although it might sound a little strange at first). He then modulates to Ebmaj and eventually leads back into a repeat of the first section by reinterpreting Ebmaj as the dominant of Abmaj. Later on he does several tonicizations and modualtions but as you can see the first 3 sections are quite simple in terms of modulations.

Anyways, theres many ways to modulate so don't get caught up in it to much. It probably will come natural so don't force it. If I were you I would worry more about learning to work the different modes in along with using secondary or altered chords in the same key. This allows you to milk the key for all its worth. Chromatic alterations, secondary dominants, tonicizations, mode change, etc all give you more tools to work with without really changing the tonality.

The reason I say this is that even if you know how to modulate in theory if you can't destabilize or establish a tonic then it will never be convincing. There are certain tendencies that exist in a key and you have to learn how they exist to actually make modulations work well.

i.e., someone might say that you can do this, this, and that to modulate from one key to another but in reality they don't know what they are talking about. Beethoven could modulate from any key to any other key quite easily and convincing. Its more than just throwing some chords together and saying they work well. Some musical ideas work well on some modulations and not well on others. If you just say "I think I'll modulate to Dmin here" just because you want to modulate then chances are your not picking the right key and probably shouldn't even be modulating in the first place. The music should determine the modulation and not vice versa. You still have to get good at it so obviously you have to force it but try to listen with your ears and allow the music to determine where it wants to go(or just try many different possibilities until you can do that).

Just remember that one can link every chord with any other chord quite easily but it doesn't make it necessarily convincing. Even a simple I-IV progression can sound bad if you don't know what your doing. It just happens to be the easiest because of the familiarity and the relationship that exists but that can become boring too. Maybe the music calls for you to do a I-#IV(although here it will not be called a #IV because what comes after it will surely make the chord make more sense and be interpreted as something more natural).