RE: [L-OT] Music Theory
2003-05-01 by Sumit Das
> You are in C major, (OK) and at the end of some passage you > have an E chord > (OK) in > > > order that you can continue in A so you have moved from C > to A, and used > E > > > as your modulating chord > > > > I am more confused now sorry David, but can you try and > explain with more > examples please. Hi Debbie, I will try to explain. If the terms confuse you even more, then you need to brush up on basic diatonic music theory, such as: -diatonic chords (chords built on each note of the key) -cycle of 5ths -tritone substitution (replace a chord with a chord a flat 5th away) -standard chord progressions like two-five-one (ii-V7-I), minor two-five-one, etc. -secondary dominant chords. (gross simplifications etc follow) The modulating (pivot?) chord is a chord that has a function in both keys. With regards to the previous example, we are talking C major and A minor I assume. That means that Emin7 (E G B D) is the chord built on the third scale degree of C major (since E is a third up from C). It also happens to be the chord built on the 5th scale degree of A, since E is a fifth up from A. So, if you start out in C major, then whenever you hit an Emin7 chord, you could follow that with an Amin7 chord, which would give you a weak but workable cadence in A minor, and you could then proceed in A minor. So this give us: Cmaj7 Emin7 Amin7 This example would be stronger if you had: Cmaj7 Bmin7b5 Emin7 Amin7 since the Bmin7b5 Emin7 functions as a two-five progression in A minor, as well as being the seven and three chords in C major. Even better would be: Cmaj7 Bmin7b5 E7b9 Amin7 which provides a very strong cue that we are moving to A minor through the ii7b5 V7b9 (two-minor-seven-flat-five, five-seven-flat-nine) progression. For further reference, an E7 is the V7 in A minor, and is the secondary dominant of the six chord in C major. So a way to use this is to set up the first key with a few bars (4 or 8 at least) and then move to the second key with a couple of chords that have a meaning in both keys, so although you move to another key, you have a smooth progression through the key change... To hear the effect, play a few bars of Cmaj7, then play the above examples and listen, you should hear the key change in each case. Hope this makes sense. There is a LOT more to learn on this subject, but maybe this can get you started. I am using terminology from jazz theory, but it's not too different in classical music. -smeet