Page 131Travelling to Distant Keys
If you want to go to a distant key, you can choose an intermediary key to help you make the change. For example,
imagine going from C major to B major – two keys that have no chords in common.
Remember the possibility of enharmonic chords, which may be written as flat in one key but sharp in another – like
the Ab/G# in this example.
Key Changes with Diminished Sevenths
The diminished seventh chord is important for key changing. Each note within a diminished seventh can be the
leading note (seventh) for a new tonic. Take G dim 7: G Bb Db Fb (E). You can get to this chord from any key
whose scale includes one of these notes.
G is the 7th of Ab
Bb (A#) is the 7th of B
Db (C#) is the 7th of D
Fb (E) is the 7th of F
Therefore, G dim7 could take you into the keys of Ab, B, D or F, or their minors. Try changing from Gdim7 to any
of these key chords, and you will hear that it works.
Classic Pop Modulation #1—
The Semitone Shift
The most common (and slightly vulgar) use of a key change in popular music is to avoid monotony in the repetition
of the chorus at the end. Pop songs revolve