Page 124Section 10—
Keys and Key Changing
ABBREVIATIONSRoman numerals I VII
indicate chordrelationships within a key.
m maj minormajor
Song sectionsbr bridge :
c ch codachorus
hk i introhook
pch v versepre-chorus
Most of the chord-sequence examplesare standardized for comparison
intoFamous songs referred to in C or A minor. C major
orthe key of the original recordings A minor are not necessarily in.What Is a Key?
A key is a structural device of music. It is derived from a major or minor scale, which in turn creates the chords that
belong to that key. In terms of our experience of music, keys are a fundamental aspect of the way we hear and
organise it in our minds. A key is a tonal center, with the key note and key chord at its core. Whenever we land on
the key chord (chord I), it feels as though we have reached "home", or the center of the music – or, to use a physical
analogy, regained our balance. In a major key, this is usually a satisfactory, secure place to be; in a minor key, it will
feel sadder.
Even within one key, the progression of chords represents a departure from the center. To use a geographical
metaphor, the chords within a key are like the different districts of your home town, with happy and sad associations.
Changing the chord within a key is like making a short journey. By analogy, a key change is like a visit to another
county or state, which could be nearby and therefore have similar terrain, or distant and have a very different
landscape. A key change is called a "modulation".
Why Is Modulation Important?
In longer pieces of music, key changes are essential to avoid monotony. Consider the symphony. Most 19th- and
early 20th-century symphonies last, on average, 30 to 45 minutes. A symphony that remained in one key would
certainly require extraordinary invention to prevent boredom setting in even during its first movement. That's why
expansive forms such as the symphony make extensive use of modulation, and that modulation itself often expresses
meaning or dramatizes an inner journey.
Some composers have even used keys as though they possessed intrinsic extra-musical qualities or values. In
Baroque music, some composers viewed the keys as a sort of hierarchy: flat keys were associated with the realms of
earth, suffering and hell; sharp keys represented increasing happiness and bliss, culminating in the "heavenly
domain" of E major (the sharpest key in common use at that time). For more on the symbolic possibilities of keys
and key changes, read Wilfred Mellors's excellent Vaughan Williams and the Vision of Albion (1997).
A song is a short musical form. Modulation is therefore not as crucial – but it may be desirable, to add interest and
contrast. Even in the microcosmic world of the popular song, key changing can be used to fine effect. Modulation
can certainly be found in much popular songwriting, though noticeably less so toward