Brian Wilson's Brilliant 1-3-5 Modulation

Tim Smolens breaks down the amazing yet simple 1-3-5 modulation path that Brian Wilson employs in more than one early Beach Boys ballad.
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[@TimSmolens]

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[@grinpick]

The Beach Boys appeared just as I was entering my teens. (I'll turn 77 next month.) Brian Wilson's compositions and vocal treatments have haunted my pop music consciousness for all these intervening decades. Thanks for shedding some light on just what he was up to.

[@reziahamed6654]

Wish you a very happy b'day & Health... God Bless ... 🎉👊

[@garygimmestad4272]

It’s a spin-off of Blue Moon which is also chock full of I VI II V and it’s own brief and yummy modulation to bIII (which is skipped in several pop versions of the tune). BW took a standard tune (giving the nod to the original with his title) and, instead of a single brief moment of surprising harmonic shift, he expanded the third-related chords into the harmonic scheme for his own tune.

[@modalmixture]

Love these Brian Wilson deep dives, that modulation is a great find! Also, you have a fantastic singing voice for this music. One of my favorite BW tricks is sticking a bVII in between the predominant and the V7, where the root of the bVII lifts up chromatically to the 3rd of the V. Usually he does this while holding on a single syllable at the end of a phrase -- "I'm making real good bre--ead", "Wendy, don't believe a word he sa--aid", "In my roo-oo--om". It's such a quintessential Beach Boys sound.

[@saturatedneowax]

Wow!

[@N0Camping4U]

Can you give some chord examples of this? I get it.. but I don't if that makes sense.

[@andrewpiro9072]

I met Tim once, over 15 years ago, when he and the rest of Estradasphere were living in the 608 in Seattle. I was a young metalhead and he wound up talking my ear off about a creative tritone substitution Brian Wilson made in Pet Sounds, and it captivated me. It’s so, so good to see him doing this. As a musician, I’ve been missing talking about the nuts and bolts of songwriting with my peers a lot lately. Tim, keep it up! This video was good for my brain and my heart.

[@conor2337]

I had a similar interaction w/ the Estradasphere boys at 608/Chummery (and also saw some GREAT shows there). They were beyond kind and Tim in particular was very open w/ his knowledge and time. He also sent me a cassette of his Smile edits from way back when. Absolutely love that he's doing this.

[@Bipedlocomotion]

The standard Beyond the Sea has this 1 - 3 - 5 key change scheme as well

[@shortchord]

Yup. Almost the same bridge as Beyond the Sea.

[@brenthooton3412]

Yes - thank you!! I listened to the modulations about a dozen times, knowing there was something really familiar about it but couldn't place it.

[@TheRWE12]

Just found you and loved this video breakdown. You sing falsetto wonderfully. Cheers

[@picksalot1]

Me too. Outstanding in every way!

[@TheOtherJCBroadcast]

Yes , agreed I really like this guy’s falsetto. Channeling Brian Wilson very clearly

[@mat992]

Your voice is amazing! Great songs

[@lastritt]

The "4" chord aka IV in the key of Gb is Cb - B is a #3 chord. The key signature for the key of Gb major is (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb & Cb)

[@lastritt]

nice voice Tim

[@jmaygarden]

That B really confused me at first until I realized it was Cb in this context. I used to think it was super pedantic to point out that correction, but it does really help when thinking of it as a I7-IV.

[@lastritt]

I think it's just that people are more comfortable with notes without flats and a B is more familiar than a Cb, but when you consider that in the key of G major the 4 chord is C then it's only logical that in the key of Gb the C would also be flatted. If Tim's chord chart had been in the key of F# instead of Gb then the B would be accurate. @@jmaygarden There are slight differences between Cb and B if you're a violinist even thought they are enharmonically the same. On a piano there is no difference. But I was intensely schooled in music theory and seeing a Cb is just a normal to me as seeing a B. :)

[@careyhuang8292]

More than 20 years ago, my band played a few shows with Estradasphere. We sat down and had arguments about who lived The Beach Boys more. I LOVED them… but you proved quickly that I knew nothing compared to you. Then you gave me a copy of your edited version of Smile, before Brian Wilson released it. Always had HUGE respect for you, and I’m damned happy to see you’re still loving it!

[@robertstapleton3598]

Excellent. Your incredible voice stole the show! Got more videos of that?

[@Isabellaaskaan]

if you like the vocals in this video, just wait til you hear the "She's a Girl" album by Tim's band I.S.S.

[@herdeka]

Astounding! I subscribed immediately. Wilson seemed to rely on the previous generation’s methods but simplified the orchestration. Much like McCartney. This is when modern pop music was born. I want to add one thing- The song ”Beach Boys” by Weezer is, in my opinion, the first melody anyone else has crafted that really captures the Brian Wilson vibe. They don’t go for the obvious BB sound, but the way the melody moves would get Wilson’s approval, I believe.

[@taweller]

Good job! It’s amazing how much information you can glean when it’s presented in a clear and concise way. At first I thought it was Brian singing!

[@yeemosenpdad]

Can’t wait to binge watch all of tour videos New favorite channel

[@leeclarke8993]

Thanks Tim. You’re a monster.

[@lordcoco_]

damn I wasnt expecting those vocals!! excellent video dude

[@kaistrandskov]

The 7 is a diminished chord, so rarely the quality the composer wants. It's common to go to the b7 instead. Not only do you avoid a diminished chord, but it has a magical quality because it's a borrowed chord from the parallel minor key. Borrowed chords are awesome. The Beatles were doing it too, and later Nirvana and Radiohead. Thanks for sharing this video, so insightful.

[@BessieBopOrBach]

Wow. Nice breakdown but also, you sing beautifully!

[@georgeonerato575]

Great video. Amazing singing. Thank you so much

[@hathouses]

really cool! your voice is great, and this is really helpful as well! I’ll definitely try some of this out in my writing

[@RocknRollkat]

Excellent presentation, tank you ! Bill P.

[@Naderhasan]

Just found your Channel . This is cool. Thanks

[@taylorfusion]

Just stumbled onto your channel. Enjoying the video, thank you. Can you share why the chart and the piano patches are transposed up a whole step?

[@TimSmolens]

Yes I made a decision to show the chords in the original key in case people wanted to know but it is a little easier for me to sing it up a whole step. I meant to say that in the video. Maybe in the future I will just transpose the chart and do it that way to avoid the confusion. Thanks for watching!

[@taylorfusion]

@@TimSmolens Always happy to know the original chords.....just needed a sanity check on what I was actually hearing!

[@doobledoo]

I don't even like the beach boys but this is the best music discussion I've ever seen on KZbin. This is gold

[@HeathenHammer80]

That’s really cool and I’m glad I clicked on this video!!

[@rockdfunk]

very nice vid, enjoyed the format and learned something too, thanks!

[@TheAdultInTheRoom74]

This is good stuff! I’m gonna be that guy and point out a few things, probably in a few lengthy, hopefully not disrespectful comments. So, when the Gb then goes to Gb7, making it the dominant 7 moving to B, you kinda said what that was but it wasn’t really definitive. It’s a secondary dominant, also known as an applied dominant. When you turn a I chord into a dominant 7 and move to IV, that chord becomes V7/IV (read V7 of IV for anyone not familiar with them), this tonicizes IV, which means it makes IV temporarily sound like I, and makes moving there very satisfying. This is not to be confused with modulation. The most common secondary dominant is probably good ol V/V or V7/V, but V/vi is another common one too. You can also use secondary leading tone chords.

[@kimseniorb]

subbed, great useful stuff

[@terrycolberg6543]

Tim, thanks for that very enjoyable analysis of the works of the brilliant Brian Wilson. Very informative.

[@ThisMichaelBrown]

Great study! I may have to try to write one like that...very melodic! Thanks

[@rc3754]

Nice work, Tim.

[@halcyonacoustic7366]

Your voice is perfectly suited to singing beach boys. Thanks for sharing!

[@arturbomert9877]

Marvin Berry and The Starlighters. I hear Earth Angel vibe. Amazing songs!

[@greglee1174]

Great explanation of these modulations. Thank you.

[@Interstellore]

What a great channel to discover thx!

[@shatchett4116]

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you, and thanks to others who mentioned somgs with the 1-3-5 modulation. I will add another: the bridge in I Could Have Danced All Night

[@PaulGTerry]

really nice singing there too!

[@SpaceRevolver222]

I like the decision to analyze in Gb instead of F#; the song definitely has that silky, downy sound that just feels like a flat key. However, that means the IV chord is Cb, rather than B! It did throw me for a loop when the B came around and you said it was the IV chord; I thought, isn't that III in G? But no, it is (enharmonically equivalent to) IV. Ah well. It works. Good video.

[@edgarsnake2857]

Thanks for the breakdown.

[@Chilajuana]

Awesome Tutorial!!!!!

[@jayt-mac2074]

Cool video. I also dig "Surfer Girl".

[@ajadeleye4970]

My guy, you have a beautiful voice! Really good analysis too 👏🏿

[@firstboyonthemoon8876]

Brilliant analysis, good job, tim.

[@TheAdultInTheRoom74]

Next up is the minor iv chord. This is known as modal interchange. What you’re doing when you do that, is borrowing the iv chord from the parallel minor to the key you’re in (ex., key of C, borrowing iv from Cm which would be Fm). This is by no means the only type of modal interchange, but it is the most popular. On a personal note, I don’t tire of the borrowed minor iv, I still love a well placed one. Next, the two types of modulation you refer to are actually called a chromatic modulation and a phrase modulation. Yes, a chromatic modulation does use a preparation chord or chords, either a dominant or leading tone chord of wherever it’s headed. It’s called a chromatic modulation, because in either case you’re using a leading tone to resolve up to your landing spot in the new key, which is a chromatic movement. A phrase modulation is a modulation without preparation. One phrase ends and the next just magically starts in a new key. I believe there is a third type which is unique, which is the “A Day In the Life” modulation, using the cacophonous orchestra to get us from G to E. It’s not really either of those other two. I’m still watching, so there may be more, but I love it!!

[@MrPc4keyz]

Bobby Darin’s Beypnd the Sea starts in F, next section is in A, then there’s the section in C. 1-3-5.

[@EarOpener]

great falsetto.

[@Stepneydragon]

Many thanks for these Brian Wilson files. I hazard to comment: The cool change from the I chord through VII7 as a M3rd key change modualation before the I vi ii V7 sequence, has been seen, famously, on the Louis Armstrong cover of "When it's Sleepytime Down South." Brian's modulations occur twice(!) as he anchors the changes through the 1st, third and fifth of the I chord. Simple. but simply gorgeous. There's this from... Songfacts®regarding When It's Sleepytime Down South This song was written for a 1930 stage production called Under A Virginia Moon, which was written by Georgia Haswell Fawcett. Billed as "A character comedy of southern life," one title that was rejected for the play was "When It's Sleepy Time Down South." Clarence Muse, who had a part in the play, asked if he could write a song for a scene after the director asked him to sing something as an underscore. Muse liked the title they had rejected (which was a line of dialogue in the play), and decided to use that as the title of his song. When Muse went home, he got together with the songwriting brothers Leon and Otis René, and they composed "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" that night. The play had just a short run, but the song got a great response. In 1931, it was used in two films: Safe in Hell (sung by the film's star Nina Mae McKinney), and Heaven on Earth (sung by Muse). The song was recorded by Mildred Bailey backed by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra and released on the Victor label, but the best-known version is the one that Louis Armstrong would later record. After playing a gig at the Cotton Club in Culver City, California, Armstrong was invited to the René house for dinner, where Leon and Otis played him the song. Armstrong loved it, and made the song his opening number. The song was soon widely recorded and has since become a Jazz standard. Some of the many artists to cover it include Al Hirt, Louis Prima, Harry Connick, Jr., Lou Rawls, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday.chord. Cheers.

[@fiscaldisco5234]

You might already know this but that minor 4 to flat 7 turnaround is often called the "backdoor ii-V"

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

hearing you look inside the magic does nothing to hurt it Tim. It is great that you're able to reproduce the vocal particulars that made the Beachboys a kind of audio drug as powerful and hypnotic as the Beatles and often more so since they transmit all the struggle for sense and orientation the adolescent feels in his marrow. Would really appreciate a vid in which you talk about their incredible (to me) singing and vocal production and how it came about. Murray I guess, and Barbershop, obviously, but one senses that there is more than that to the magic sauce and there appear to be deliberated inventions of their own. For sure you can comment at length on how they achieved that sound. Liked, subbed --- keep it coming.

[@zedxxx9]

I really wish there were full song performances of both these songs with you you playing and singing exactly as you are doing here, but from start to finish. I would enjoy having those in my playlist... I like your more simple piano performance of these. Listening to the actual Beach Boys recordings is a completely different experience.

[@brucetowell3432]

1st generation Beach Boy fan, and Brian in particular. Thanks for breaking this down, I just happened to have this video show up on my opening "youtube page"...glad to have new videos to learn from thanks!! Will be subscribing! Oh "Surf's Up" would be an interesting breakdown, as well as "God Only Knows" and "Please let me Wonder"....also from Brian's solo catalogue "Let It Shine"!!!

[@squareonechess6939]

Brian liked the 1-3 modulation. There is one in This Whole World. (key of A to key of C#).

[@alanshewitt]

If you’re in Gb, the IV is Cb, not B

[@cyclonasaurusrex1525]

Holy shit this was good. Subscribed.

[@pettipoole]

This channel is one of the undersubscribed gems on KZbin

[@emilyrln]

Good grief, you have a lovely voice!

[@simonpayne7994]

Simply wonderful. The most beautifully presented chard analysis I have ever seen or heard. And then Tim's Beach-Boys voice! It almost made my cry. I am absolutely speechless.

[@seanhoward5562]

Great breakdown. You have a great voice, too.

[@scotty]

Keep an eye on Summer reminded me of John Lennon's Free As A Bird.

[@charliesunday1099]

Great content--love your ability to jump between talking right into singing!

[@redsky1433]

I hear these unexpected chord changes namely half steps and key changes but it's really interesting to see the theory behind them. Thanks for your explanation and great singing by the way!

[@RoyGBiv-lc8tv]

Wow. This gives me lots of ideas in my songwriting.

[@danhitchcock124]

Nice analysis and demonstration. This chord progression has a very classic feeling to it, and the B section going to the major 3 and 5 is all over the american songbook, “winter wonderland”, “between the devil and the deep blue sea”, “if you could see me now”, and I bet there are many others. “Desafinado” by Antonio Carlos Jobim is another great example, and “I loves you porgy” the bridge goes to 3 and 5 but both are minor. It’s interesting how a lot of these types of progressions disappeared from popular music over time but some songwriters I think intuitively grabbed songbook progressions because they were still familiar and had a certain symmetry.

[@Raoaone]

I zoned in on 7:52 to 8:04. Replayed it a dozen times. Spectacular!

[@eancurtis9333]

Amazing

[@Smudge4199]

This is cool thank u!

[@scottjkennedy]

Great video, loved it!! Interesting that you mention Surfer Moon is only 2 vocal parts… They’re both Brian!!

[@thebreathalyzer]

Nice video, just wanted to say I enjoyed this. There's a lot of interesting sequences in the Beach Boys' music. Warmth of the Sun is a good example.

[@sinatra222]

Awesome. Subscribed!

[@robbiepeterh]

Brilliant video. Thank you 🙏

[@Gusrikh1]

B perhaps, should be Cb. That is, if it’s six flats. Very interesting otherwise. Thank you.

[@TimSmolens]

You are 100% right. I was aware of the enharmonic mistake but for some reason I hate writing Cb.

[@q-tuber7034]

…followed by an E7 that is technically Fb7

[@lazysmurf420]

Strong Work!

[@jensmogensen]

Wow…. Great analayse… and even greater voice. Amazing.😊

[@KjellBerg81]

Great video and analysis Tim. Love your voice, feels like a perfect blend of Carl and Brian. Keep up the good work

[@GoodVibeTribe]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge!

[@MrHazelRah]

Great video, Tim. As you may know, jazzers go crazy over the bridge of the tune "Have You Met Miss Jones?" (Rogers/Hart), although the key centers there outline an augmented triad rather than a major triad.

[@tavinmj]

Like on Coltrane!

[@marcusaiello7100]

Awesome video man! Loved it

[@andrewmello367]

I love that you are all business and then you verb up and go into emotional singing mode. I wish more theory people sang. Its way better.

[@lastritt]

The keyboard must have been transposed down a step; it's sounding in the key of E major, not Gb major. Not a problem for me for those with perfect pitch it could be maddening to see Gb and hear E :) or should I say, it's transposed down a step to Fb? :)

[@Lepidoptera_AK]

Sounds like earth angel.

[@paninovevo1162]

if you think about it he does something similar but in the opposite way in Wouldn't it be nice. Think about the intro in A and the verse in F (it's 3-1) and then again with A in the bridge

[@maxpatzelt8314]

Cool vid

[@timothykeech7394]

Other songs: Beyond the sea (Bobby Darin) and Berkeley Square use the same device. Brian was a big fan of The Four Freshmen and the harmonies of their era. This song is beautifully crafted.

[@LearningDrummerSam]

Is beyond the sea a differnt song to la mer?

[@timothykeech7394]

Same song different language. It was a French song initially by Charles Trenet.

[@davidsummerville351]

Well explained, thanks.

[@crocutus]

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. American Patrol (quickly) modulates through the keys of a triad like this. In one of the less catchy bits shortly before it goes back to the top. In the orchestral version anyway. Doubt this was Brian Wilson's inspiration though.

[@andreasbreuss853]

great performance man

[@OTOss8]

This is cool. I don't totally get what's going on but it's interesting none the less.

[@PontiacS.]

Well done. Interesting.

[@Zawiedek]

Nice explanation, easy to follow and your playing along is nice too, but your B and Bm in your first diagram really need be Cb and Cbm resp. because that's in the key. C is the fourth of G and so is Cb the 4th of Gb. Much clearer and easier to transpose. The B in relation to the Gb implies an augmented third, which is kinda weird. Amazing voice range btw.

[@libracordial]

Great analysis!

[@picksalot1]

Beautiful music, analysis, and singing. Will be watching more of your videos! Subscribed. 👍Thanks

[@dkpianist]

"La Mer" by Charles Trenet ("Beyond The Sea" in English) is basically doing the same thing. First to the 3, then the 5. That's probably where Brian Wilson got the idea from.

[@ashleycohen2258]

GLARINGLY OBVIOUS WHENCE HE GOT THE MODULATION...VINCENT YOUMANS,' TEA FOR TWO. (I'm really surprised you hadn't twigged).

[@b1j]

Fun video.

[@tzodearf2596]

Surfer Moon does sound like some 'ole Hoagy Carmichael type sh. About 12 min in, I heard strains of Moon River. The second song reminded me of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This is a good instructional video for me.

[@t.childs1128]

Gb ... ??? Black keys fun on the piano. You and Irving Brelin. As I played along Gb = E. Neat lesson, thanks for the insight.

[@richardfranklinmorse]

These KZbin music experts crack me up, their musical education started in the mid 60s and they have no idea that chord progressions like this had been around for decades before Brian Wilson adapted them from Four Freshmen records. The 1 3 5 bridge modulation is used in dozens of songs. Brian Wilson made skillful use of it but he by no means invented it.

[@TheJimboroni]

Tim...great video...do This Whole World...Sunflower...that woul be a trip...Jimbeaux

[@DeanusMcWildthing]

The first modulation instantly brought the song Once In A While by Johnny Mathis to mind. Where he goes to the 3 of the original key. Doesn't then go to the 5 though.

[@Pteradactylist]

Not sure if Wilson got this modulation from them but I know he was very influenced by the Four Freshman