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This means that the chord progression that first started on an Em chord changed (modulated) to begin on Gm instead.įinally, modulation commonly occurs within a movement of a symphony or, more generally, in classical compositions written in what we call binary or ternary form (there are others, too). A great example of this happens at the end Bon Jovi’s “Livin On a Prayer.” The chorus (or refrain) modulates up a minor third at the very end of the song to ramp up intensity right before it ends. Generally, you don’t see modulation in modern music unless it is with the goal of adding power, momentum, or intensity to a section of music-in other words, it needs to be deliberate or we tend to not see it. This will typically happen in the bridge of a pop song, or in a portion of the song where intensity needs to be heightened. Next, modulation can happen during a song. The act of changing keys is where the term modulation would fit into this scenario. This is an example of modulation-you have changed the key of the entire song. The lead singer has to strain his or her voice to hit the high notes, so the group decides to change the key of the entire song to make things easier. This can come into play in a variety of scenarios.įirst, let’s say you are playing in a band, rehearsing a Led Zeppelin song. When we are talking about a song, modulation means to change key. The first definition is what we most commonly deal with, so we’ll spend our time discussing it (the second definition comes in handy when talking about the physics of sound rather than music theory). There really are two definitions of modulate in music: one that means to change key, and another that means to vary the volume of sound emitted from some source. In different fields, the word can have more direct meanings, and this is certainly true in music. If you look up the term modulation in a dictionary you’ll see that the root word “modulate” means to change, alter, adjust, and so on. Since then, I’ve been thinking that it is time for a posting on modulation, so here we go. My first explanation did not illustrate the concept of modulation sufficiently, so we’ve had a running joke going ever since then where, after I explain some idea or show him some song, he exclaims “Oh-so that’s modulation!” I always answered no, and after a few weeks of these antics, I decided to spend an entire lesson discussing modulation. I explained that no, this was not modulation but rather just a guitar riff that changed as the chord progression changed (take a minute to listen to the song if you haven’t already-it’s a classic). He was wondering if the main riff from CCR’s “Down On the Corner” modulated from C to F. A few months ago, an adult guitar student asked me about a concept called modulation.