<div dir="ltr">Hi all,<div><br></div><div>Queen's songs often featured multiple modulations, although a number blurred the line between a modulation proper, and an extended tonicization. Nonetheless, 'Bicycle Race' has episodes in Ab (I want to ride my bicycle), Bb minor (you say black, I say white…), F (Bicycle races are coming your way…), as well as the refrain which never confirms any key, and is presented differently with each occurrence (opens with on Eb/Bb, then starts on D, then on F later on…). </div>
<div><br></div><div>Also 'Millionaire Waltz' (the follow-up to 'Bohemian Rhapsody') has a broad structural progression from C-F-Fm-Ab-Eb-Ab-Eb-C; a number of the song's episodes are harmonically closed through a V-I cadence, which fosters the impression of rapid, but complete modulations.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Hope that helps - very interesting thread!</div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div>Nick Braae</div><div><br></div><div>PhD Student</div><div>University of Waikato</div><div>New Zealand<br><div class="gmail_extra">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 6:22 AM, John Cuciurean <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jcuciure@uwo.ca" target="_blank">jcuciure@uwo.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Devin (and list)<br>
<br>
Interesting thread. Admittedly, none of these are pop songs from the
past 10 years or so, but have you considered:<br>
<br>
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles which moves from A
for verses to Bb~>G for pre-chorus, then to D (mixo) for chorus.<br>
<br>
"Layla" by Derek & the Dominoes has Intro & choruses in Dm,
verses in E, instrumental postlude in C.<br>
<br>
"Touch Me" by the Doors. I'm not sure I'd call the harmonic shifts
during the verses actual modulations but the verses move from G
-> Bb - > Db where the tonic remains for the chorus.<br>
<br>
"Lazy" by Deep Purple which is based on a 12-bars blues form that
modulates from F to G to A with successive verses.<br>
<br>
"Diamonds, Diamonds" by Max Webster. Another 12-bar blues form that
starts in B then moves each successive verse up, first to C, then D,
then E, followed by an unusual outro (at least for popular music)
that incorporates a harmonic progression (if you can call it that)
that traverses a WT scale outlining B-A-G-F-D#-C#-B (all major
triads with a 5-6 embellishment) where it then outlines a cadential
formula in B and closes in the same key in which it began.<br>
<br>
Lastly, there are numerous large scale songs from the prog rock era
that move through multiple keys. "Yours is No Disgrace" by Yes, for
instance, moves from A -> Bb -> Bm -> A -> Bb. But I
suspect this is too far afield from the repertoire you're
considering.<br>
<br>
All the best,<br>
John Cuciurean<div><div><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 6/16/2014 9:52 AM, hoffmaba . wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Devin and list,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The song you are thinking of is Hall & Oates's "She's
Gone," which modulates by semitone from E major to G major
within an instrumental interlude that connects two choruses.
According to the research I've done, stepwise modulations
became more and more dramatic over time, focusing the drama on
one grand moment (think Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston's "I Will
Always Love You"). Thus, modulating several times (more than
twice) like "Love on Top" is not common in the last twenty
years or so. The best example I can think of is Michael
Jackson's "I Will Be There," which does this and is
stylistically similar to "Love on Top."</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The practice of including several modulations in a single
song was most popular in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly
with novelty and story songs such as The Playmates' "Beep
Beep," Little Anthony and the Imperials' "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko
Bop," Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife," and Sheb Wooley's "Giant
Purple People Eater."</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I'll also mention that songs with three different keys (two
modulations) are relatively common throughout pop music. So, I
just want to make sure that when you say "three modulations,"
you're referring to songs that pass through four or more
keys. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I imagine everyone has his or her favorite, so I won't rob
anyone of his or her fun by including any more examples.
However, I will take this opportunity to plug my article on
stepwise pop-rock modulations, which addresses their role in
pop-rock form and style. It is "in the pipes" and will
hopefully get picked up and published before we're giving our
Spring 2015 final exams. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Brian Hoffman</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 11:53 PM, Devin
Chaloux <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:devin.chaloux@gmail.com" target="_blank">devin.chaloux@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">Greetings list,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Listening to Beyonce's 2011 single "Love on Top" from
the album "4" has prompted an inquiry to those on this
list. For those familiar with the song, the end features
four successive modulations of the chorus up by a half
step (thus moving from the initial key of C major to the
final key of E major). It's a particularly striking
example of modulation in pop music, especially recent
Top 40 hits. I'd venture to say that even finding two
modulations in one pop song is a fairly rare occurrence
in the last 10 or so years of Top 40 radio...let alone
three or four. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I seem to recall Brian Hoffmann presented at least
one example at the recent MTMW meeting, but the name of
the song is escaping me at the moment. Are there any
others that you can think of?</div>
<div>
<br>
</div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>
<div>
<div><b><br>
Devin Chaloux</b></div>
<div><font size="1">Indiana University</font></div>
<div><font size="1">Ph.D. in Music Theory (enrolled)</font></div>
<div><font size="1">University of Cincinnati -
College-Conservatory of Music</font></div>
<div><font size="1">M.M. in Music Theory '12</font></div>
<div><font size="1">University of Connecticut</font></div>
<div><font size="1">B.M. in Music Theory '10</font></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
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</div>
<br>
<br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr">Dr. Brian D. Hoffman
<div>Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory</div>
<div>Butler University </div>
</div>
</div>
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