Modulation
Modulations are changes of key within a piece of music.
It is important to hear this change and to correctly identify it.
Changing to the relative minor is quite obvious as the music starts to sound sad and dismal. However, difference in changing to the dominant (5th) or the subdominant (4th) is tricky to spot.
The next exercise has modulations to both of these new keys part way through the melody.
If you hear a piece in C major, when it moves to the dominant key of G major, the F# is normally popped in there. I hear it as a raising up of the melody as it is replacing F natural. It does not necessarily go higher in pitch but the whole piece switches up to this new key.
In the opposite way, a piece in C major moving to F major (the subdominant key) seems to descend or shift downwards by the introduction of the Bb instead of the B.
Again, once you have tried a couple of the tracks, repeat and commit the sound to memory.
See how many you can get right!
It is important to hear this change and to correctly identify it.
Changing to the relative minor is quite obvious as the music starts to sound sad and dismal. However, difference in changing to the dominant (5th) or the subdominant (4th) is tricky to spot.
The next exercise has modulations to both of these new keys part way through the melody.
If you hear a piece in C major, when it moves to the dominant key of G major, the F# is normally popped in there. I hear it as a raising up of the melody as it is replacing F natural. It does not necessarily go higher in pitch but the whole piece switches up to this new key.
In the opposite way, a piece in C major moving to F major (the subdominant key) seems to descend or shift downwards by the introduction of the Bb instead of the B.
Again, once you have tried a couple of the tracks, repeat and commit the sound to memory.
See how many you can get right!
| Modulation Questions 1-10 |
