Modulation
This is not strictly a Musescore question, but I hope noone will mind me sneaking it in.
I'm working on a medley of 5 popular local tunes for a saxophone quartet. It's going fine and things are taking shape nicely, but my modulation between key signatures is sounding a bit boring. At the moment I'm using the simple V7 triad of the key I'm going into like this, (concert pitch, key sigs in bold modulation between):
C - D7 - G - F7 - Bb - Bb7 - Eb - C7 -F
Is there a 'formula', for want of a better word, for selecting additional modulation chords. Playing around on my keyboard, (I'm not a keyboard player though), I found that diminished chords before the V7 seem to fit in rather well, but not consistently.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Comments
put a "ii" or "IV" before the "V".
The chord of the diminished 7th is most useful for modulations, as it can become the chord of the dominant minor 9th by adding a suitable bass note to the four notes already there.
Being symmetrically composed of minor thirds it can generate 4 possible Dominant minor 9ths
So a Cdim7 being the notes C Eb F# A could become Bdim7-9, Ddim7-9, Fdim7-9 or Abdim7-9 ( think I've got that right) thus enabling modulation to E G Bb or Db.
Composers from Bach onwards have made use of its properties to engage in startling modulations.
HTH
Michael
In reply to Diminished 7th chords are good by ChurchOrganist
That's great, thanks. The II and the IV open up some nice possibilities, thanks for that.
I hadn't looked at the dim7 option, I'd just been playing around with the root/b3rd/b5th triad, and hadn't been putting the bb7th interval in. That makes a big difference and I can see what you mean about it's having more than one use.
Thanks for some great advice. You've given me lots of options and I'm pretty sure I can do something a bit more interesting with my modulation sequences now.
This is probably not relevant to your current project, but I'm mentioning it in case others read this thread for guidance.
A device Beethoven used for remote modulation was to repeat a note for several bars. The ear eventually accepts it as a Dominant and you just resolve into your new key.
Regards
Michael
That's interesting, thanks. I've just tried that and it works to a certain extent, but it's not really in keeping with the kind of music I'm doing.
I'm aiming for the kind of modulation attached used by one of my heros, Lennie Niehaus, in a jazz medley of his that my quartet plays. Here he's modulated from (concert) C to Eb via, as far as I can determine, Eb7 and Bb7. If I can come anywhere close to this kind of clever and interesting modulation I'll be very pleased with myself.
In reply to That's interesting, thanks. by Peter B
BTW, it's really impossible to tell from just a single melodic line what chords he's really using to achieve the modulation. if you really want to analyze what's going on, you'd want to look at the whole score.
Yes I know, as soon as I posted that I regretted it. The score is amazing, and contains two other key change modulations which I've studied but I'm just not musically knowledgeable enough to understand what he's doing. This is no surpirse really since I'm a self-taught amateur with the only thing going for me that I've been 'doing' music for going on 50 years. My arrangements for my sax quartet work OK for us, but I've never attempted a medley before and so hit the brick wall of modulation for the first time. I love it though, especially when you can call on experts in places like this, and it's never too late to learn is it!
This thread has run its course and I don't want to drag it on, but just in case anyone's interested here's all four parts of the Niehaus modulation I referred to earlier:
In reply to This thread has run its by Peter B
This organ piece contains a modulation from D minor to Ab minor for the middle section and then back again.
You may be interested in the relevant bridging sequences.
Regards
Michael