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Topic: Why Change Key in the Middle of a Song? |
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 10:50 am |
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Why do some bands insist on changing the key in the middle of a number? A lot of times they will have changed back to the original key before the song is over, or changed to a third or fourth key.
If you listen to other genres of folk music, a suspense is built up based on a continual drone on the key note. Can you imagine a bagpiper or a flamenco guitarist changing key? When you change key you lose all that continuity and allow the tension to be released. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 11:15 am
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Jimi Hendrix would change keys for some of his solos, which added even more energy, not that he needed more!
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Oh yes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvtZuhv0Mzs
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Jeff Garden
From:
Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 11:58 am
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| I played in a band where the bandleader referred to key changes as a "cheap gimmick". Having said that, I really enjoy playing an interesting turnaround that eases you into a new key.... |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 12:06 pm
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I think homogenizations, I mean modulations, give a song character. It creates a tension That the rest of the song releases.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 12:07 pm
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It can add interest. Especially in a song that has no bridge to add interest, where otherwise the song would get to be pretty monotonous. It's not for every song, but, when used judiciously, it can be effective.
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 1:13 pm
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| I can see clearly now... |
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Storm Rosson
From:
Silver City, NM. USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 1:30 pm
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Am I brain dead (again) or isn't a key change same thing as modulation? And if so, I gotta agree that it can build tension(basic sonic theory infers that raising pitch does have more tension elements and conversly lowering back to the original key does tend to infer tension release.Or merely a natural thing to do in a specific melody, and just to make a song more interesting to the band after having played it a coupla hundred times. Just Sayin  |
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Roual Ranes
From:
Atlanta, Texas, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 1:41 pm
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| Sometimes for the singer.............then back to original key. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 2:11 pm
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| King Of The Road |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 2:24 pm
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It goes back to the big band era. Most of the time the band played a chorus up front in one key, modulated to another for the vocalist, and then to another for the soloist. The arrangements are what kept many of those songs from sounding mundane and elevated them.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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George McLellan
From:
Duluth, MN USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 2:39 pm
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Gene Watson's Farewell Party is an example of very tasteful modulation (OCOMHO).
Geo |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 2:56 pm
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I like 'em when appropriate. Detroit City goes down a 4th from E to B. How 'bout Roger Miller's Engine Engine #9? Modulates up 1/2 step but the vocal goes low.
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www.facebook.com/countrydaveharmonson |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 3:49 pm
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It's possible that a modulation marks a change in mood for a song, but it's frequently just a way to stretch a song that should be ending right about there.
I once played a *cover* song where we added a modulation that was 1) a tritone ( 6 frets down ) and 2) a move to a minor key. That'd wake you right up.
We did a two-measure dim scale walkdown to the new key, too. I think it was D major to G sharp minor, and it only lasted two trips through the chorus.
It was either that or discard the song. This sort of thing gives people the impression you know what you're doing whether you do or not.
All this being said, the modulations in, say "Statue of a Fool" are part of the song, and have a lot of heft to 'em. |
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Craig Baker
From:
Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 4:07 pm Up, Up, and Away We Go
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Buddy Emmons. . . "Gonna' Build A Mountain" I lost count of how many times he bumps it up.
A lot of people think he plays pretty well.
Craig
_________________
"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 4:44 pm
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Some of the best modulations (yes Storm..A key change within a song is a modulation) ever, are in some of the duets by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Instead of just going up a half or whole step, they will modulate from the 1 chord to a 4 and switch to the new key when the other singer sang their part. So in effect, they will start in the key of G with one of them singing that verse, then possibly a chorus, then when the next verse comes along, thy will modulate to the key of C and the other one will sing. Great stuff.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 4:45 pm
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There is an echo in here
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting.
Last edited by Richard Sinkler on 11 Aug 2014 4:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 4:47 pm
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Oops
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting.
Last edited by Richard Sinkler on 11 Aug 2014 4:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 5:32 pm
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| An interesting modulation is in Aretha Franklin's "Respect". From the key of C the sax solo is F#m to B7 to F#m then to G, back in the original key of C, although it feels like a modulation. |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 5:48 pm
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Why modulation? Um ... why did cultures move from agrarian or early-industrial society where one was often born and buried on the same plot of land to the modern transient culture where the concept of 'home' has less and less significance with each passing century or even decade? Sometimes art mimics reality. Sometimes art mimics what people want reality to be. Sometimes people do stuff that they feel like for no particular reason - they just do it. Modulation became an important feature in classical music a long time ago.
To my tastes, sometimes simplicity, as in droning in a home key, is cool, and sometimes complexity is cool. My question is - why would anybody want, or expect that everyone else would want, the same thing all the time - either 'the same' as in monotone, or 'the same' as in 'the same as what I like'.
One of my favorite examples of modulation in a popular song is Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEllHMWkXEU - I could never think about doing this tune at this point without the modulations. I do have friends who think about modulations as a 'cheap gimmick', but I think that's kind of narrow-minded. Sure, it can be out of place in certain contexts, but it seems like a overly broad brush in general. |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2014 10:37 pm
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Johnny Cash's "Four Feet High, and Rising". One time, our band was playing that song in an open sided pavilion. A thunder storm came up right in the middle of the song. We had a lot of people in the audience, so we kept playing. I just happened to be taping, that day, and when I played it back, later, you could hear the rain falling, and the thunder, right about where water was Two Feet High and Risin. Coolest thing I ever recorded!  -Jake- |
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Arty Passes
From:
Austin, TX
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Posted 13 Aug 2014 10:59 am
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Oh, you mean change keys on purpose!
Sometimes I get distracted by some goings on in the audience and change keys without the rest of the band! |
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