Modulation tips?

[Herbal]

I've been trying to teach myself some key modulation.
So far I've found going into a closer key works e.g. from F to Eb.

A stumbling block is I might play in Fmajor then go to a common chord in Ebmajor say Bb, but where do I go from there?
I am sort of so used to staying in just one key that changing into another sounds 'off' to my ears and I automatically want to return to the original key..

Also I read of changing into a relative minor so again in Fmajor I would go into Fminor, but there are a lot of Fminors .
it could be the 6th chord of Ab, or the 3rd of Db etc, the websites I've been reading don't make this point very clear.?

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Ole Google to the rescue....

"Pivot Chord Modulation. The smoothest way to modulate from one key to another is to use a pivot chord. A pivot chord is a chord that both keys share in common. For example C major and G major share four chords in common: C, Em, G, and Am...."​

Then from memory; the viidim chord in you present key is often used as a move somewhere chord, i.e. normally the first chord in the start of a turn-a-round, viidim, iii, vi, ii, V7, I. So lead into the modulation with the viidim chord, of your present key, then go to a pivot chord, aka, common chord in the new key.

Once there move to the tonic chord of the new key and away you go. Point of interest; a lot of the time the new key's chord progression will remain generic to the old progression, just in a new key. The 5th verse of "Another Hallellujah" changes key. Here we did nothing, after the 4th verse we repeated the chorus and when we came back - to the 5th verse - the sheet music changes to the key of A instead of G. If you were just following the chords, you may miss that a key change has happened, it's suttle.

Simple chord movements normally works best, no need to make this a complicated process.

 

[Jloch86]

You're on the right track. Just make the Bb chord a Bb7 chord. Playing an Eb chord after a Bb7 chord resolves nicely.

2 bars of F, 1 bar of Bb7, 1 bar of Eb. You're now in the key of Eb.

It's about creating tension and then releasing that tension. Use your ears.

 

[mambo4]

There is too little context to give a concise answer.

What /Why are you modulating?

Are you simply riffing in a scale and looking for some new place to go?
Or is there a song melody that seems to go outside the key you're in?
Or is there a chord progression you are following that you want to take somewhere new?​

I strongly suggest learning tunes that modulate in a way you like, and seeing how it's done in those cases.

In practice most modulation happens by playing current chord as a dominant 7 and then treat it as the V7 of a new key

for example:
Cmaj Dmin Emin Dmin
Cmaj Dmin Emin D7
Gmaj Amin Bmin Amin...

It also happens in jazz all the freaking item by approaching the new tonic from a ii - V7 .
Coltrane's giant steps modulates a slew of keys a major third apart by this method

||: Fm7 Bb7 | EbM7* | Am7 D7 | GM7* | C#m7 F#7 | BM7* | Fm7 Bb7 | EbM7* | C#m7 F#7 :||


Try to outline the tonic of the new key as strongly as possible.
Don't just start playing some chords or notes from the new key,
play patterns and cadences that resolve to the new tonic note.
That's why modulation almost always occurs via a new V7 chord.

Since I tend to approach songs and compositions as chord changes ( instead of patterns in a scale or key,) I never "try" to modulate explicitly.

 

[Herbal]

There is too little context to give a concise answer.

What /Why are you modulating?

simply riffing in a scale and looking for some new place to go?

This mainly, and always trying to learn more and add more skills.
Rather than staying in the same key for very tune I make up I want to learn to add some variety.

 

[mambo4]

Also I read of changing into a relative minor so again in Fmajor I would go into Fminor...

F major to F minor is a parralell minor (same root note, different scale)
F major to D minor is a relative minor (same scale, different root note)

again, if you move to the relative minor you need to hammer the idea home by approaching Dminor from a Gminor (or better yet G7) a whole bunch.

 

[mambo4]

Modulation is defined as changing keys
and beginners understand that as changing scales
but in practice you are changing chord progressions.
generally speaking