modulation / non diatonic destinations

In thinking of the properties of modulation in regards to non-diatonic tonal destinations, we enter into a vast domain of possible combinations of different aural colors. Not only can we shift tonalities, i.e., between the major and minor colors within two or more key centers, the two broad categories within equal temper, but we can begin to try and personally define how we each perceive the unique colors of each of these 12 major and 12 minor tonal centers. And as our understanding evolves, we can compositionally pair up key centers based on how we understand their color to be, so as to better contrast one theme with another, one section of a composition with another, to best suit our emotional statement in that composition. Can this help to fine tune our artistic statement? Totally. Definitely a long row to hoe but one that potentially yields some serious power and intimacy of thought and expression for the creative artist.

Being a rather vast topic, the following discussions of modulation to non-diatonic destinations basically follows the pitches of the ascending chromatic scale, examining each of the 12 pitches for common modulation possibilities as they would relate to a common tonal center, which in the following ideas is C major or C minor. A few of the modulation ideas which follow are what I would term "musical treatments or devices." These possibilities are not so concerned with linking various tonal environments, as a perhaps more traditional definition of modulation would imply, but are used as musical devices with a basic modulatory nature to spice things up a bit, to embellish common harmonic motions and basic song arrangement techniques.

In many ideas which follow, we use a simple Latin flavored groove, inverted pedal pitches for the melodies and the essential jazz Two / Five / One turnaround to set up the modulations to the new tonalities. Do you recall our "rule of thumb" regarding modulation from the diatonic modulation page? That in setting up a new tonal destination, we can simply sound the dominant chord of the key we are going to? This "setup" is perfectly built right into the Two / Five / One cadential motion. Is the Two / Five motion the ultimate modulator? Maybe. Lest we forget that the best source for musical ideas for each of us is usually going to be found in the music we love to listen to, aspire to create and share with those we love.

Modulation by half step. Let's start with one of these "musical modulatory devices." Perhaps the most common modulation that spans all of the styles of American music is to simply modulate the music up by half step. We hear this all the time in all styles of music and is a cool way to not only refresh a simple song during an arrangement but also to extend a tune to help keep the dancers on the dance floor. Modulation up by half step. Example 1.

Sound familiar? In the Latin styles, this half step / chromatic motion is a rather commonly employed vamp. Maybe teach these changes to your rhythm section?

So where is this motion in the literature? Perhaps a better question is where isn't it? Try tagging one of your arrangements with this cool half step modulation. Check out George Benson's rendition of the classic pop tune "On Broadway" to hear this half step modulation using the blue's colors within the body of tune. Clifford Brown's essential contribution "Joy Spring" simply modulates one theme using this half step interval. Check out the bridge in Kenny Barron's exciting composition "Voyage" to hear this ascending key motion by half step creating some serious magic. John Green's essential ballad "Body And Soul" uses a similar key scheme in it's harmonic formula of the bridge. A. C. Jobim's Bossa Nova "The Girl From Impanema" relies on the above modulation to create a new environment for the contrasting theme of the B section. This half step motion has a very popular Latin technique of the new millenium.

Using the same motion but in the minor tonality sets up a cooler, darker emotional environment to create within. This pairing is fun and potentially exciting during jam sessions. Half step modulation up in the minor tonality. Example 1a.

John Coltrane's powerful "Impressions" links the above shifting of minor colors to create a change of mood between the A and B sections.

Thinking flat Two from a minor tonic, a cool place to go is to modulate up by half step and change tonalities, here using the near instantaneous modulator of the 2 / 5 motion. Example 1b.

"Blue Bossa" by Kenny Durham is a cool, malleable tune that pairs these two tonalities and tonal centers a half step apart to perfection. Check it out when time permits. This half step motion between the two tonalities provides some interesting possibilities, for more ideas click modern chord progressions. Moving the other way, we create an essential harmonic cell of the "modernists" whom often motor this groove in the Latin / samba setting. Here as a ballad. Example 1c.

Cool huh? I love this kind of vamp for blowing. We can project this last idea from the extended arpeggio theory of a tonality without a tritone? Here is the same idea new tempo. Example 1d.

By whole step. A common modulation motion from the One chord is to simply cycle key centers down by whole step. We can easily achieve this by setting up each new key by using the Two / Five motion. Modulating key centers down by whole steps. Example 2.

John Lewis's boppin "Afternoon In Paris" uses this above motion. For the emerging improvising jazz musician, tunes written in this fashion become good musical "workouts" to exercise their ability to create one idea and modulate it through a few key centers. "Tune Up" by Miles Davis is constructed in a similar fashion. Charlie Parker's bebop classic "Ornithology" is very much like the above idea but of course with a few "Birdlike" twists. We often find this modulating of key centers down by whole steps used in one section of a tune to contrast a more diatonic harmonic motion in another. Examine Ray Noble's rollicking "Cherokee" to hear this exciting combination of possibilities within one composition.

Moving in the opposite direction, modulation up by whole step is fairly common, especially in the bridge sections of jazz standards. Example 2a.

"That's All" by Alan Brandt and Bob Haymes, "Moonlight in Vermont" both employ the above ascending modulation magic possibilities with very simple melodic ideas creating a rather dramatically uplifting, emotionally very tender effect.

Minor third. From the minor tonic, perhaps the most common tonal destination is to the relative major, simply modulating up a minor third and changing tonalities. Example 3.

The Rodgers and Hart classic "My Funny Valentine" pairs these two tonalities in an unforgettable love song of surpassing beauty. A slight alteration to the above idea simply moves from a tonic major chord up a minor third within the same tonality. Example 3a.

Cole Porter's swinging "Night And Day" both use the above pairing of tonal centers. Adding in a Two / Five, we can easily modulate up a minor third. Example 3b.

"On Green Dolphin Street" by Ned Washington uses the above idea to swinging effect.

A cool and common jazz turnaround is to simply modulate up a minor third, then move by perfect fourth twice and resolve by half step down to our original starting point. Got that? Here is the line. Example 3d.

Tadd Dameron uses this cool turnaround in his bebop cooker "Ladybird." Whether written in or not, this can be an exciting harmonic motion and quite a challenge improvisationally in up tempo situations.

Major third? A cool compositional idea is to use the pitches of the triad as tonal centers within a composition. Here we modulate up a major 3rd from C major to E major then a minor 3rd to G major, thus the pitches of the C major triad, C, E, G. Example 4.

Perfect fourth. Motion from tonic up a perfect fourth is perhaps the most common of all the tonal destinations of American composers. In both the major and minor tonalities, this motion is a integral part of the blues forms as well as so many cool tunes. The following idea simply uses the Two / Five into Four, the G minor 7 becoming the pivot chord. Example 5.

Errol Garner's classic "Misty" uses this most fundamental of modulations to provide the harmony for the 8 bar melody phrase. Perhaps of interest, crossing between major and minor tonal environments using the interval of a perfect fourth is rather rare in the literature. Wonder why?

Augmented fourth. Modulation between the tonic and the augmented fourth is a rather rare occurrence in the literature. The following idea is a bit of a stretch to move from the minor tonic to augmented Four. The following idea makes two moves of a minor third to arrive at our tonal destination. Example 5.

Definitely a bit unconventional in regards to "traditional" harmonic motions, we find the above possibility in Chick Corea's modernly cool "Five Hundred Miles High."

Perfect fifth. Although motion to the dominant is a serious part of the 12 bar blues form, the modulation of tonic up a perfect fifth is not all that common in other styles of American music. The following ideas provide two of the choices available. First, from the major tonic to the minor dominant. Example 6.

The gorgeous "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" By Tom Wolfe And Fran Landesman uses the above motion to dramatic effect.

Second, the modulation of a perfect fifth between tonic type chords. Example 7a.

Victor Young's "Stella By Starlight" uses the above motion creating a seemingly simplistic sounding motion that is a nice challenge for soloing.

Minor sixth. Modulating a tune between tonic and flat Six is common in that the dominant of the tonic is a half step below the minor sixth, thus close by and handy. Here we move from a minor tonic to a major 7th chord built on the minor sixth degree. Example 8.

James Van Huesen's "Here's That Rainy Day" uses the above motion to settle in on the minor Four chord before returning to the tonic, which surprisingly has shifted to the major tonality. Modulation motion from the tonic major to a like flat Six chord is also possible, but a bit rare in the literature. Example 8a.

The jazz standard "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Jerome Kern uses modulatory motion up a minor sixth to perhaps better contrast the different melodic ideas of the A and B sections.

Major sixth. Modulation to the major sixth degree is very common, being the home of the relative minor / Aeolian mode in the major tonality, we often find the major sixth as a tonal destination. Here we simply move diatonically by step from tonic to diatonic Six. Example 9.

A bit deceptive eh? Well, that's kinda the idea... George Gershwin's classic "Summertime" pairs these two key relative centers. Know this tune? An American classic perhaps suitable for study by the emerging blues / jazz artist.

Morphing the diatonic Six chord to a tonic type chord is also a very common destination from One / major. The following idea simply modulates from tonic to Six. Example 9a.

Examine the wonderful "Once I Loved" by A. C. Jobim to hear the above change in color. The swinging modulatory extravaganza "I'll Remember April" by Don Raye, Gene De Paul and Pat Johnson arrives in the above fashion at Six with refreshing results.

Flat seven. Motion to flat Seven is perhaps more of a blues coloring than anything else. Moving tonic type chords downward to achieve this position seems to be more common than modulating up a minor seventh, as done in example 2 above. Either way, creating a vamp between these positions with any of the three types of chords, i.e., major 7th, minor 7th and dominant 7th, happens all the time in various styles of American music. Perhaps not a genuine modulation, in that we use no dominant chord or Two / Five motion to set up the change in color, using pitches of the two key centers is one way to approach creating improvised lines over these changes. Here are three vamps, each exclusively using one of the three chord types. So, wanna jam? Click here for an extended loop of each. Tonic major chord type vamp between One and flat Seven. Example 10.

The A section of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" By Tom Wolfe And Fran Landesman uses the above motion in such a cool, unexpected way. William Strayhorn's "Lush Life" is likewise created and artistically engaging. Check them out when time permits. Here is a dominant chord type vamp between One and flat Seven. Example 10a.

Benny Golsen's contribution "Killer Joe" creates the ultra cool blues vamp using the above idea. Here is the third of these vamps moving a tonic minor chord type vamp between One and flat Seven. Example 10b.

Kinda a bit rocky eh? Well, we are off task a bit. As a vamp groove, flipping the changes of the last idea around is a lot more common. Example 10 c.

Van Morrison's rock classic "Moondance" is based on the above motion.

Major seventh. Modulating to the diatonic seven degree of the major scale is a rather bold go of it. Not all that common, making Seven the destination is a bit tricky. Here we move from the tonic minor to the major tonality built on Seven. Example 11.

Duke Ellington's romantic "In A Sentimental Mood" pairs these tonalities. Is moving up a major seventh the same as moving down by half step? This next idea simply starts in the major tonality and modulates the same way as above, so major to major. Example 11a.

Duke Ellington's complicated "Sophisticated Lady" recreates the above modulation in a very gorgeous ballad environment. Leave it up to Mr. Ellington to find the coolness on the outskirts of tonality huh? Well, have a sense of where one can tonally go within the environments provided by the equal tempered system? Lots and lots of options. How to choose? Perhaps that's part of the 10% inspiration / 90% perspiration discussed in composition class. Are you writing tunes these days?  Here is a menu providing links to review a few of the key concepts used in the discussions concerning modulation and some possible links to continue exploring along these lines.

Perhaps begin to examine the music of J. S. Bach as contained within his "Well Tempered Clavier." Perhaps the first real musical treatise on the emerging 24 key / fully modulatory potentials of the then, newly emerging system of equal temperament. Click this internet link J. S. Bach to explore Herr Bach.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Anonymous.