Integrated Music Theory 2023-24

16c Discussion - Alternate modulatory methods

Class discussion

Secondary function pivot chord

  • What do we do when there is no good pivot chord? Like both of them are really ugly?
    • We pivot on a secondary function chord, which isn’t ideal but, hey, it works. In our Bach example, we debated modulating on one chord vs. the other: the F chord, or the B0/D. Ultimately, 99% of the time pivoting on the B0/D is gonna be the move: we end up with vii06/ii in Bb and vii06 in the new key, C minor. This is a more sudden, dramatic sound than a common chord pivot modulation
  • Secondary function pivot chords are obviously possible, but if you can use a common chord pivot modulation (where both IDs are diatonic) use that instead! It’s better.
  • Again, you will usually see pivot modulations in the middle of a phrase. This is because they have to have a functional progression on both sides of the pivot.

Direct modulation/Phrase modulation

  • Pretty common in Broadway and country music. It’s that thing where you repeat everything you just did but up a step or a up a third!
  • The signal for this modulation is, to nobody’s surprise, the end of a phrase. This requires a cadence: phrases are defined by cadences, so you have to have a cadence right before a phrase modulation.
    • After this they can modulate pretty much wherever, but a lot of times you get a modulation to the iii/III because it’s a really dramatic sound, since I and iii are so far away from each other
  • This type of modulation is not labeled with a bracket. Instead, you designate the new key in the same line as the old one and continue as normal

Common tone modulation

  • Requires a bracket to label, but instead of the chord you label the common tones used to move between keys. We label the scale degrees, putting the scale degree in the old key above the bracket while we put the new one below (make sure to use ^ to designate the numbers as scale degrees!!)
  • Ex: in the Schubert excerpt we looked at in class, we modulate in the third to last measure, using the C# in the melody and the piano as our common tone. We’re moving from D minor to F# major, so we would put “^7” in the upper part of the bracket, then “F#: ^5” in the lower part. Remember that even though you’re labeling pitches instead of chords with this type of modulation, you still designate the new key in the same way as with a pivot modulation.