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Article: The death of the key change
Interesting to me, because I like songs that change key. Not sure if the thesis is true, since I don't listen to a lot of popular modern music.
Comments
Interesting, especially the 1990 date of change. That was the time I was getting into making music and I couldn’t stand for the life of me a key change in music at that time - I think I felt them too obvious and cheesy, and I recall furious arguments in band meetings about them in our songs.
I’m far more open minded now though, and fully acknowledge my teenage self to have been to some large extent, an absolute ass 😆
Ah yes, not really missing the mandatory truck driver’s gear shift in the middle of every song. 🤣
In the context of “Living on a Prayer” or something like “I have nothing” by Whitney Houston, it’s extremely effective because it’s about singers hitting those high notes. The song is too high to sing and then it goes higher! It’s actually an impressive vocal feat, always noticed and appreciated by vocalists.
Otherwise, I do think it’s kind of a lazy compositional technique to make a 3 minute song into a 4 minute song.
Ahh FINALLY modern pop songs have embraced what modern composers have done - abandoned the tonal center and chord functions…
Er… ah I see they have only made things even simpler and made EVERYTHING one tonal center
I now have the sads
Key modulation is an amazing thing. I wish a new pop "bouddha" will rise to enlighten us, transforming Coltrane's Giant Steps brilliant major third modulations into an international hit. Very unlikely.
Talking about the overused half step trick on the last chorus of a song, I kind of agree. Back in the 90s, even if it was not really my cup of tea, I found this trick fascinating when used by acrobatic singers to hit the impossible note. Nowadays, I find this extremely boring, mostly because of the "I am so sad and heartbroken" lyrical context, and also because I am not interested anymore in great voices in pop music. If I am looking for great vocal performances, I find opera more satisfying even if the narrative sometimes gets my nerve. but it is very personal.
Just like you, I thought the half step trick was a lazy thing to do and thought I would never use it, until I accidentally included it in one of my songs. It happens to come after a bridge with a strange chord progression which makes the half step key change almost unnoticeable but the last verse and chorus are a half step higher. In that context I find it interesting because thel vibe and energy of the final is slightly different but you don't necessarily know why and, you don't feel like you've been fooled. This completely changed my perception of this kind of key change. So, as you said, it can indeed be too evident and lazy, but it can also be used subtly. Sorry for the long comment.
My favorite song I’ve ever written takes it up a half step for the guitar solo, then back down a full step (to a half step down from the original key). It’s very effective. The last chorus sits a little lower and feels more like a relaxed, coasting outro after the bridge/solo climax.
I can go on all day about key changes, they’re simply fantastic when done right.
Interesting article and its logic feels convincing. I've got a piece that I'm trying to modulate up half a step without noticing to give extra energy in the final chorus and agree it'll be cool when it works... which in my case it doesn't... yet.
In the meantime if you want modulation then Jacob Collier always has more than seems necessary or possible!
Very good article. That reminds me of the original version of my song "Mysterious Girl" from 2005. In the original version that I wrote, I had a bridge that lead into either a half-step or whole-step key change on the final chorus (I can't remember off the top of my head lol it's near 3 in the morning).
When I remade Mysterious Girl (which the talented ReneAsologuitar did a cover of!), I cut out the bridge entirely, retooled the lyrics, and most importantly kept everything in the same key. Not out of laziness as I could easily switch the key of the MIDI with a few taps, but because to be honest the key change itself annoyed the hell out of me. 😂
It was the only thing about the original 2005 version I despised, and thus I got rid of it and let the lyrics do the work instead.
In the right context a key change can be amazing, just by creating something unexpected and emotional. I agree that the truck driver's half-step is really cliché though.
My favourite key change of all time: ---- descending chord sequence ----- Oh look out! ------ She Came In Through The Bathroom Window 🎇
It gives me the shivers every time. And it was competely accidental because in the original running order Her Majesty was meant to be in between those two songs, they were spliced together later.
What key change? Listening to some of the output of the producers and creators out there today, a chord change would already represent a radically new direction.
You just DO IT, no transition needed for that type of key change. Listener is supposed to notice and say “Hey! Yeah!” if you want that energy shift.
I understand just doing it can be a hangup for some, but don’t worry about it, trust me.
My favourite key change of all time: ---- descending chord sequence ----- Oh look out! ------ She Came In Through The Bathroom WindoW
At the 39th minute …..
There are songs where every verse is in a different key and it isn’t obvious. There are also songs where the verses are in the same key, but it sounds like the tune modulated. It’s all about the way you prepare the listener for the change.
One thing I miss in 'modern' music is the is the 'drive' feeling of forward momentum...
Modern music is like a washing machine, keeps on going and going from start to end at the same pace with very little variation apart from a few drops and risers regardless of genre.
I know this one is super cheesy but for me an true classic...
Key change were so cheesy, you are right, we are better without xD I prefer modal changes
The video is set to start at roughly the right point, in theory. You can set YT links to play from a certain timecode.
It started from the beginning when I hit play …..
I guess that way you get to enjoy the whole album 😄
Thanks for posting. I also abhor key change in my own bands, except, come to think of it, in a vocal quartet.
Banjo players abhor key changes even more than I do, by the way.
I am however very conscious of keys and varying them effectively in, for example, a set list for live performance, song order on an album, and when arranging medleys.
Love this J-Pop tune released in 2022. I think there's a key change
I don’t understand why you’d need a key change in a song. I mean, if a guitar string breaks, then yes, try and change the string before anyone notices what you’re doing (or if you’re posh, get handed a replacement guitar in mid-song) but how often does a key snap?
🤣
The washing machine comparison is an apt one. So much of popular music is aural brainwashing and not rewarding.
There are so many interesting things you can do with music, and almost none of them feature in most modern pop songs, most of which seem to be the same looped four bar chord sequence, repeated ad nauseam.
We are progressing nicely toward the basic geriatric position of "everything used to be better (when we were young)", so let me throw autocorrect on the pile, which has been gradually but reliably killing vocals since 1998, and as Exhibit 1 let me present to you the toe-curling collection of machine-treated voices aka. the Loopmix factory vocal presets. I mean, what a tragic assembly.
And now, back to the studio and the topic of key change.
Big shout out to all the Jazz musicians changing keys with every chord.
Surprising to no one, one of my favorite tunes (since I was a wee boy) was Human League's Don't You Want Me It has a key change in the chorus.
Just don’t forget to change the locks at the same time…
k pop does it fairly often, so does an EDM subgenre, hardstyle. Both fairly popular in their own circles, but yah not mainstream.