Composition 105: Modulation

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Since there’s some confusion: When I say G-major 7 I mean G7 / Dominant 7, not G-major with a major 7 (Gmaj7). All 7-chords in this video are dominant 7 chords, there’s not a single major 7. The reason I tried to avoid Dominant7 and other functional terms is because ppl without a theory background don’t know what that is. So the major is simply referring to the chord, not the 7. Additionally, in Germany (where I first learned about harmony), we don't use the same word for the chord and the intervals. Chords are classified as Dur and Moll whereas intervals are classified with major and minor. Old habits and all...

[@AtlasBenighted]

Pin this comment so everybody can see it on top. Otherwise, you are going to get asked the same thing 1 trillion times 😆

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

@@AtlasBenighted Ah thank you! I thought I had pinned it but apparently not. 😅

[@WhiteDove73-888]

It is very confusing without explanation

[@olymoon2008]

It's good for you that you pinned this comment but I understood it right in the video. Which is very well done and useful, thank you.

[@BinarySounds]

As a hobbyist suffering from chronic key entrapment, you just gave me several 'get out of jail free' cards 😂 Love the new look also.

[@JamesNorris9]

The single most useful and well thought out video I have ever watched on KZbin. Thank you so much!

[@PasjaMusic]

Discovering this channel has been a joy.

[@fredrikoscar4741]

There is no other youtuber as clear! Super professional, though easy to understand! So much know how presented this nicely is not what we are used to find! Fantastic!

[@nemanjabogunovic]

This has officially became my favorite KZbin channel!!! Passing on knowledge in such an easy and natural way is truly a gift! 🙏❤️

[@SharmaYelverton]

The 5-6 chord is in jazz parlance a tritone substitution for the dominant of the new key. For those that like to think of it that way. In this case I find the classical theoretical explanation for the 5-6 more convoluted than the jazz theoretical explanation for the tritone sub. Just goes to show there are always multiple ways of think about music theory.

[@johanneschristopherstahle3395]

Of course there is. And I think it is a good thing that nowadays you can use the simple explanation. Sometimes it can be fun to analyze the function of each chord. In other cases it's just enough to know that it will work when you use it that way.

[@ObsessiveCostumingDude]

Thank you as always for this wonderful video. So many KZbinrs overcompensate trying to make their videos "interesting" with all kinds of rapid cuts, FX, loud voices, constant attempts at humor, etc., etc. but I enjoy how calm you are in your videos and the relative simplicity of discussion, example, discussion, example, etc. :)

[@ParadiseProjectsGroup]

You don't need makeup, you look great.

[@GadesChannel]

I agree! You look lovely! 🥰

[@DinkoKulenovic78]

Totally agree. :)

[@tristandietschmusic2516]

True

[@johanneschristopherstahle3395]

Du brauchst Deine Schönheit wahrlich nicht hinter Make up zu verstecken 😅

[@marcoylinen9543]

Anne-Kathrin, thank you for great videos! But since you mentioned it yourself, I've could have sworn you hade an extremely well made makeup in this video.

[@EdokLock]

I can't express how grateful I am. Thank you for sharing these gems, I respect your work and efforts and wish you the best in your journey

[@Herfinnur]

You look equally competent with or without the make-up. Just know that it really doesn't matter. It's your charisma, insights and communication skills that makes you so good at this KZbin thing. I live in Austria but I've never heard of Hollywood Worksop, so thank you for the tip-top tip! Edit: DamnitI I looked into that workshop. Really interesting and even pretty reasonably priced, but I don't have the days free to go all the way to Vienna and stay overnight 😢

[@paulstatezny4185]

There is so much pure GOLD here!! The way you lay out all of these methods and explain conversationally about the nuances and reasoning really makes it accessible and understandable. Just purchased the MIDI. 🙂 PS: The alt version of the Minor V where you land on Eb major - what a really cool feeling of "pleasant surprise" whenever the melody starts without the chord even changing. (Felt like the "5" and it's suddenly the "1".) Mind blown!

[@CharlesMoore2]

Only halfway through and totally energized. Fascinating; super useful; beautifully explained and demonstrated. Thank you. 🙏

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Glad this is helpful!

[@subbbass]

german 5-6 chord hab ich noch nie gehört. Im Jazz nennen wir das Tritonus-Substitution (weil der Dominatseptakkord mit #11 die gleichen Töne hat, wie der gleiche Akkord um 1 Tritonus versetzt, nur einen anderen Namen/Basston) In meiner Hochschule nannten wir das Rückung im Unterschied zu Modulation, wenn kein "Modulator"-Akkord zwischen Ausgangs- und Zieltonart stand.

[@davidtaube2123]

"lower one note in a diminished chord and it becomes a dominant chord" I jumped up went to the keyboard and my mind was blown. I have been playing for 30+ years and never saw that. Thanks

[@estebancoestaocupado]

Golden summary, an incredible, well thought out and planned class on practical modulation theory. I believe your calmed, down to earth, humble style of explaining things with this clarity shows that you're a top notch professional. This is the kind of content the community needs.

[@multichannel5739]

One of the best compo tutorial ever

[@neviensniekur4522]

With harmony, humanity invented the first synthesizer. A compound wave generator based on additive synthesis. All musical notes are stable, consonant sound waves. The additive synthesis of several musical notes can generate equally consonant sound waves, but also unstable, tense sound waves, with internal conflicts, like the diabolus in music of the tritone. This harmonic expulsion from the paradise of melodic consonance is the founding event of complex musical systems.

[@grobinson9352]

Yes you were missed very much...🙂Thank you for this

[@arthurchanson5345]

Very nice and clear, thank you Anne-Kathrin!

[@robduff]

Yes, you were missed. Looking great.

[@MatthewEverettGates]

Very clear, dense but easily useable, and a wonderfully elegant use of one theme for demonstration. I appreciate your example of thoroughness in setting out each progression possibility for diminished 7ths, too. Thanks very much!

[@fretnesbutke3233]

One helpful way I came across for interpreting dim 7ths is to think of all 4 chord tones as potential leading tones for the next harmony.

[@jon_do]

Thank you so much, Anne. Very inspirational!

[@richardmillingtonmusic]

Thanks a lot Anne, there's some really useful information here! I always struggled to get my head around the German 5-6 (I learned it as the 'augmented sixth'). I like your way of just remembering it has the same tritone as a regular Dom 7 chord. Much easier to remember! A lot of these modulations sounded lovely as well. Thanks!

[@JeffWardMusic]

Helpful?! Probably the most useful video I've watched on the subject ever. Seeing it in piano roll really helps crystallise it. Thank you!!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thank you! I keep wondering if the piano roll is more helpful than sheet music but I figured it's something everyone can read (as opposed to sheet music).

[@GregLassalle2015]

Yes............missed you Dern. This was, as usual, a great lesson with lots of useful info. I always learn so much from ypour posts. Cannot thank you enough. Wish you blessings. 🙏🏾🌞

[@-sui-]

Fantastic video. Modulation always has been fly-by-night for me, and now I feel I could actually do it with purpose.

[@OtelloAzzali]

Hi Anne! This is simply fantastic. True, there is a lot of resources about modulation but you make it so clear and understandable. Many thanks again. Keep going. A big hug from Italy

[@karlspear6729]

I just found this channel and it's pretty cool. I have been playing music as a drummer for 53 years. I'm self-taught and never had any formal training. Since 2006, I've been writing music on the computer, first under the name "Correlate of Consciousness" and lately "27 Goats". I have watched different people teaching theory and am slowly picking stuff up.

[@gusmore26]

Lovely lesson. Easily understood. Thank you so much.

[@flyingbananapeel6495]

Awesome video!! I had one professor refer to the sudden type key changes as "Cymbal Crash Modulations".

[@mkjohnsonmusic]

It's fantastic how clearly you describe aspects of harmonic theory Anne-Kathrin!

[@JoeBennett-u9s]

Best music tutorial I’ve seen in months. Can’t wait to get started.

[@stormvamp]

Thanks from the bottom of my heart !

[@jemmahooper7415]

That German 5-6 chord approach is just a straight-up tritone substitution. For a little extra spice, you can flatten the 5th to give it more of an altered dominant sound and provide a shared tone between pivot and destination. :) Jazz musicians are very familiar with that technique.

[@kenwiltshire7834]

Excellent.

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Terrific refresher. Papa Bach himself wrote parallel 5ths on occasion, even in four-part choral pieces. Sometimes, it’s the lesser evil. Everything is trade-offs, and if it sounds good, it is good. Oh. And, yes. We did miss you.

[@barneyboy2008]

Not on purpose he didn't. Not given lengths he would go to to avoid them.

[@marklarm]

Great video Anne. Very thorough. I really love the depth of information you use to cover your topics. Makes the information much easier to digest. Keep up the great work! 👍

[@ajadrew]

I've understood more from this video than pretty much everything else I've either watched or read - thank you!

[@StefanoRean_FilmMusicComposer]

21:23 The German 5-6 chord is usually used for dominant double chords that resolve to dominant chords. In this case is a tritone substitution of C# (V of F#) (pretty jazzy)

[@emmanuelschalit8853]

A lot of complex information packed in a very simple to understand form. I knew about all these modulation paths but this is the clearest explanation I have heard so far

[@stevendevries1395]

Was enjoying a movie on Hallmark channel recently and saw you were the composer. Congratulations. Nice work!!!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thank you!

[@norwalltino]

Modulation to a small third form the main key is very effective and let say natural, Wagner use this much in 'Tannhauser' , 'Tristan and Isolde' and 'Parsifal' it's abseloutly fantastic! Yes you're totally right about modulation, very interesting 🙂

[@spiral-m]

I love the mod- through Gm / Fm. Creates mystical ambience. Lovely

[@davidsinclair699]

Thanks Anne-Kathrin for a well explained video. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

[@trukapipa]

Welcome back! Enjoyed the post and looking forward to the counterpoint video you mentioned.

[@andreasheierre8915]

Absolutely brilliant video - thanx!! 🎉

[@markdoeze2304]

Thank you Anne. A Great and simple explanation of modulation. My personal favorite is the secondary dominant, it always feels like a very elegant way to change the key.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Wonderful explanations Anne-Kathrin 🙂As always. You have great ways to verbally explain those simple tonal shifts (modulations) to students. We - jazz musicians/composers use these techniques all the time on daily basis, but when it comes to explaining in simple words "how we did it" it becomes a chore sometimes... You do it so wonderfully ! I am gonna forward this (and all of your videos for that matter) to all my students. Thanks for a wonderful content !! 😃

[@kaeleb1968]

Thanks again for these videos. I’ve been thinking about modulation a lot recently, so the timing and usefulness of this was perfect! Also, the no makeup look suits you!

[@deriktofil]

Really love your content. You are a great teacher, you make sometimes very complicated subjects, like modulation, and how to achieve it, easy to understand. Thats the sign of a great teacher!

[@seanfourie7]

So glad your back Anne-Kathrin

[@tangbigturtle2694]

Couldn't solve a too-long scene and came across this video during dinner....problem solved!! Thanks for the great content as usual Anne!

[@alangray3784]

Thanks Anne you’re awesome

[@GuitarAnime]

im gonna have to watch this video too many times. thanks!! LOTS of information and resources.

[@HomesickMac]

😂

[@olymoon2008]

The minor trick is very interesting, thank you. The entire video is very inspiring and we'll done. Tomorrow I'll exercise these on diferentes already made piece of ideas I have. Big thanks.

[@StopmotionStudios13]

This is a great video. Havent come across someone talking about all types of modulation like this when browsing yt just yet.

[@electricmonkeyproductions5021]

very inspiring. Thank you

[@charlesyateschalfant]

Fantastic video as always. BTW, you look great without all the makeup, you don't need it.

[@mortengu1385]

Second that!

[@richardjecooke8036]

Yes, please normalise not wearing makeup. This KZbin obsession with appearance, and ridiculous thumbnail faces, is harmful to everyone.

[@TrevorKowalskiMusic]

was just at the Bloc ⬛ love this overview

[@carlirwinmusic]

Regarding Direct Modulation (that's what we called your 'truck driver's shift' in conservatory)... I think your opening remark defining modulation as 'changing the key' sort of settles the debate about modulation. I think the debate isn't about what modulation is, but rather about what 'smooth' modulation is. Some direct modulations are inherently smooth, like you said regarding related tones, etc. and some direct modulations are not smooth at all. But I don't think modulation really needs to have any perquisites to be modulation. Direct modulation is certainly efficient, and I have used it on occasion to just get somewhere new... right now. It's not like the music stops and then starts again. The key is truly being changed within the context of a singular musical moment. I think your opening definition nails it pretty well. I've been loving your videos! You have a lot of no-nonsense content on here and your writing is very polished.

[@AntHawk]

Love your explanations! Please make more composition tutorials!

[@DojoOfCool]

Thanks good seeing you and hearing again you sharing your insights.

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

Great to see you again. No makeup is fine. Very helpful your instruction. Thanks Again

[@NaN-Dala]

Really love listening to your videos, so informative and chill, thankkkk you!

[@supernerdinc5214]

Thank you. These are great!

[@Karmkane]

I dig the fact that you have an alto recorder lying on your keyboard behind you.

[@Ueberschaer]

Moin aus Bremen. Sehr instruktives Video, Anne. Danke!

[@gabrielmacarron]

The most usefull modulation tutorial I've ever seen. Suscribed, and thank you.

[@lincolnmmitchell]

Glad I found this channel

[@ReubenCornell]

Solid. Gold.

[@vincentcolletti7664]

Thank you Anne-Katherine for the great info. You are always clear and concise. PS you look great without the icing.

[@fabianweisenberger]

Thank you Anne very helpful!!! 👌

[@kass898]

the minor 5 is literally beautiful

[@jenssieckmann]

A very comprehensive video with good explanations of some types of modulation. As I'm a very bad piano player and a lacking knowledge of music theory I sometimes struggle with harmony. I subconsciously used one or two of the techniques mentioned in the video and know I can put a lable on it and dig deeper. Thank you.

[@sykromsmile6303]

Great sounds design ...congrats

[@emilyrln]

Great video! I don't know why, but in the last 4 major diminished examples, I had a different intuition for where 2 and 3 would go lol, but the minor examples all clicked exactly as you wrote them.

[@ChrisMuellerMusic]

There is so much valuable information in your videos and you have a way to explain complicated stuff in a very practical and useful way. That is awesome. I had a hard time remembering and understanding the german 5-6 chord but you just went straight to applying it in a simple way! That is golden! Thanks a million!

[@paulstatezny4185]

Agreed 👆 Also, the way she explains it, isn't the German 5-6 chord the same thing Jazz musicians use all the time and call a "tritone substitution"? Or is there a nuanced difference?

[@renaldodavis7372]

Thanks Anne! Really enjoyed this video!

[@grammophone1]

What a wonderful exposition! Bravo!

[@norwalltino]

I understand your teaching very well, I've done much music using common tones for modulation, it's so uplifting and refreshing😎🤤😷

[@pscott000]

Woah, I would love to hear this with a full orchestra.

[@sammyguellfilmmusic]

Really cool video. Thanks for that

[@DJKennethA]

Thank you for continuing to make these!

[@enzocypriani5055]

Wow, just found your channel and im sad i didnt find it earlier. Super awesome

[@almur88]

just watched The Devil Conspiracy. your choir melodies are pure heaven, rarely heard these days. considering the movie I must say Eveline Hall stole the show, I couldn't take my eyes off this incredibly beautiful woman.

[@kappabravomusic2101]

Love this. I always was wondering ifbending on the note, and starting another new phrase with the same first note worked. I guess it does haha.

[@timotheesoriano]

Thanks for that vid. I just want to share my own experience on modulation. Even if I also have a theoretical point of view of music, when composing I more think about where the music wants to get by itself and how I can alternatively find another way to get somewhere else. While composing, I refuse to keep in mind any predefined technics. In the contrary, when leading a choral or arranging a song where a modulation would be suitable, I will use known technics so not to loose either the audience and the singers. When it comes to an original composition meant to be heard by itself (so not a song), I prefer ignoring rules and let it go with experimental tries lead by feelings. It's possible to apply a theory afterward but the theory was not a driven factor at first. One thing I use a lot (but again not driven by theory but by feeling it when appropriate) is to end-up with a sus4 on a minor key. Then the context says we're in minor but the sus4 wants to resolve on a major chord. Then many options are opened: you may resolve on the major chord (as a picardi chord) or use it as a dominant chord to modulate the fourth (example: you are in Dm, end with a Dsus4 going to a D used to modulate to Gm - by the way you can go back for example by using a Bb7M chord leading back to Dm where Bb is in the GM scale but the 7M is not and retrieve the DM context). The sus4 chord may also unexpectedly resolve back to the minor key. But at that point, the audience was (as the chord said) suspended to a resolution that finally went to the weakness chord and from there, since the audience is lost in their references (certainly expecting a major resolution after the sus4), you can do whatever you want and why not a multi-steps modulation, using a new reference which turns to be an intermediate to a final destination (and so a combo of modulation). Everything is possible, the thing is "has the audience be prepared for fancy stuffs" or does it come out with no sense. The context, the intensity, the drums and bass playing are very important to guide the audience. Getting surprised by a modulation is a thing, leading the audience (unconsciously) to accept this modulation makes it work. So thanks for the tips, this is very valuable. But for composers, always be focused on listeners point of view as if you were listening your own music for the first time. Then the modulation can be judged as efficient or not and the appropriate way to get from A to B will get out, using predefined technics or why not more personal uncatalogued ways.

[@grantmoon689]

This was really helpful - thank you Anne. (And welcome back!)

[@MaxLoutzenheiser]

Great info! Maybe it's just my inner jazz musician, but shifting into a new key with ii-V-I has always worked well for me. It works especially well for modulating by thirds. Disney has lots of great examples of this. Gear change! Made me laugh. I think we called it a phrase modulation when I studied, though it was implied that the modulation occurred at the beginning of the new phrase.

[@davidlamothe2942]

I like to use common tones between sections even if they don't modulate. Although my application of these tutorials may be rather different than orchestral works I always get some useful information out of them. Looking forward to the next one 🙂

[@J-MLindeMusic]

Happy to see a video from you again, so much valuable information in here (as always)!

[@ArgoBeats]

German 5-6 Chord = Tritone Sub Thank you Anne-Kathrin for this valuable video.

[@markquavertune2003]

I find it helpfull that you use the piano roll .If it was in notation I would not understand .I got an add come up just when you finnished explaning the filler chords and it was a MacDonalds burger add .I will see where the diminished chord takes me .Quite exiciting .Thank you .

[@Mansardian]

If that's what you look like without makeup - leave the makeup out. You are 1. beautiful. 2. Much more relatable that way. 😍

[@serotonix987]

Missed your videos! As always, super helpful for hobbyists like me to see clear examples of fundamentals. Thank you!

[@WizardOfArc]

I've been playing with using the augmented triad as a "portal" to different keys

[@jcjacques]

Très bon, et l'exemple mélodique utilisé est magnifique. TVery good, and the melodic example used is magnificent.

[@chasebethersonton5169]

These videos are amazing. I hope to see more and more of them.