15b Discussion - Pivot chords

Pivot Points

Big Takeaways:

1. Always fill in lead-sheet first! Lead-sheet doesn’t change based on modulation, unlike roman numerals.
2. The pivot chord must be part of a functional progression in both the old key and the new key.
3. The pivot chord usually occurs right before the change. (the change is when you hear or see something that’s outside the old key)

Step-by-Step Process:

1. “Where do I see/hear a change?”
2. “What is the chord before it?”
3. “Does this chord work in both the old key and the new key?”
4. If so, “Is this chord part of a functional progression in the old key, and does it lead into the new key in a functional way as well?”
5. If all of this is true, you can be certain that this chord is a pivot chord. Now you can label the chord with the pivot notation.
6. Make the pivot bracket under the pivot chord.
7. In the upper chamber of the bracket, write the roman numeral for the chord as it relates to the old key center.
8. In the lower chamber, write the letter for the new key center.
9. Then, write the roman numeral for the pivot chord as it functions in the new key.
10. Now, you can continue labeling roman numerals in the new key. You can put these roman numerals up under the staff in the normal roman numeral location. You don’t need to have a gap below the staff even though they’re in a new key.

Examples in class:

• In the Haydn example, we don’t hear the modulation until the C# in the bass in the second system. So, the chord in the first half of the same measure (I in G, IV in D) is where we would actually put the pivot chord bracket.
• In the Tchaikovsky example, we hear the modulation in the second to last measure. The chord in the second half of the measure right before it is D major, which is I in the original key and Vi in the new key–a perfect pivot chord! It fits right into a standard circle-of-fifths progression.