How to Change Key with One Note - Music Theory
TLDRIn this video, Gareth explains how composers can modulate to distant keys using just a single note as a 'pivot note.' Traditionally composers would modulate to closely related keys using a pivot chord, but 19th century composers wanted more freedom. By having one note in common between the old key and new key, very distant modulations can be achieved smoothly. Gareth demonstrates modulating from F major to D-flat major using an F pivot note, and then to A major by enharmonically respelling a D-flat as C-sharp. This enables adventurous and radical modulation just by finding one common tone. He suggests his courses and Maestros groups for those wanting to explore further.
Takeaways
- 😀 You can modulate to distant keys using a single pivot note instead of a full pivot chord.
- 🎹 The pivot note acts as a bridge between the old and new keys - it belongs to both chord progressions.
- 🎵 You can use an enharmonic spelling of the pivot note to make even more dramatic key changes.
- 😮 Modulation using a pivot note allows composers to explore more adventurous and distant key relationships.
- 🎼 Keeping the pivot note in the same voice part makes the modulation transition smoother.
- ✏️ This technique opened up more creative possibilities for 19th century composers.
- 👂 Listen carefully to hear how the pivot notes allow smooth transitions between very different keys.
- 📝 Using advanced theory and keyboard harmony skills helps you master pivot note modulation.
- 🌐 Join the Maestros community to connect with other musicians interested in modulation.
- 🤓 Study materials on the website can help you improve your modulation and composition skills.
Q & A
What technique does Gareth demonstrate to modulate to distant keys?
-Gareth demonstrates using a single pivot note to modulate between keys that are far apart, like going from the key of F major to D-flat major. This more extreme modulation works by having one note in common between the old key and new key.
What is an example of a pivot chord modulation?
-An example pivot chord modulation is going from the key of F major to C major. Gareth uses the I chord in F major, which is also the IV chord in C major, as the pivot between keys.
What is enharmonic spelling?
-Enharmonic spelling means two notes that sound the same but are written differently. For example, D-flat and C-sharp are enharmonically the same note.
How does Gareth modulate from D-flat major to A major?
-Gareth modulates from D-flat major to A major by using a pivot note of D-flat. He respells this enharmonically as C-sharp to transition smoothly to the key of A major.
Why was the pivot note technique useful for 19th century composers?
-The pivot note technique allowed 19th century composers to modulate to more distant keys, beyond just closely related keys. This expanded their options for more dramatic or bold key changes.
What is the advantage of keeping the pivot note in the same voice part?
-Keeping the pivot note in the same vocal part between keys makes the modulation slightly smoother and less shocking to the listener.
What services does Gareth offer on his website?
-Gareth offers online music theory and composition courses on his website. He also has a community called Maestros for musicians to connect, with various membership levels offering additional benefits.
What are some examples of closely related keys?
-Some examples of closely related keys that can pivot between each other are: F major and C major, F major and B-flat major, and F major pivoting to its relative minor of D minor.
What chord functions as the pivot between F major and D-flat major?
-The chord of D minor, which is vi in F major, pivots to the I chord in D-flat major by the common tone of F.
How can you join Gareth's Maestros community?
-You can join Gareth's Maestros community by going to his website mmcourses.co.uk, clicking on 'Maestros', and selecting a membership level. Higher levels provide additional benefits.
Outlines
😀 Introducing pivot notes for dramatic key changes
Gareth introduces the concept of using a single pivot note to modulate between very different keys instead of using a pivot chord between closely related keys. He demonstrates going from the key of F major to the distant key of D-flat major using the note F as a pivot note.
😮 Pivot note demonstration with dramatic modulation
Gareth demonstrates the power of the pivot note technique by modulating dramatically from D-flat major (5 flats) to A major (3 sharps). He uses the note D-flat which then becomes C-sharp as the pivot note for this sudden and extreme key change.
💡 Invitation to learn more with additional resources
Gareth invites viewers to visit his website www.mmcourses.co.uk to find more helpful courses on advanced theory and keyboard harmony. He also mentions the Maestros community levels that provide various benefits like monthly live streams and course discounts.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡modulation
💡pivot chord
💡pivot note
💡enharmonic
💡relative minor
💡accidentals
💡inversion
💡respell
💡drastic
💡adventurous
Highlights
We've gone from a key with five flats, to a key with three sharps, which is miles away.
We could go the other way. We could go F major to B-flat major, because B-flat major's got two flats.
So we can say at the point of the pivot, that's our point of change, everything before that, was in the old key, everything after that is in the new key.
And that served composers really well, for many years during the Baroque and classical periods.
When we got to the 19th century, composers started to say, well, you know what? It's a little bit limiting if we can only go to neighbouring keys.
And one way in which they did this was just to do something, utterly dramatic, stop in one key, and just, start again in another key without any, pivot chords or anything.
But another way of doing it was to use a single note, okay? This is what we call a pivot note.
This is what I'm trying to demonstrate, in this particular exercise.
We're looking at this chord here, at the end of the second bar, and we're looking at this note here, D-flat.
So if you're doing this for the first time, that's just a little word of advice, that you might consider taking on board there.
But hopefully you can see and hear, how this suddenly enables you to modulate to keys, well beyond those immediate keys.
So we've gone through three very different keys, in the space of four bars.
So that's quite radical stuff, but it hangs together. It sounds pretty good.
I'm hoping that's going to be useful to those people who want to get more adventurous, with their modulation simply by using that one note.
where you can click on courses and you can find, plenty of material there that would help bolster, the kind of work we've just been looking at in this video, like the advanced theory course, or the keyboard harmony course.
Transcripts
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