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Changing from one key to another within a piece. The harmonic equivalent of traveling to a new place.
Modulation is essential for large-scale tonal structure. Common techniques: pivot chord (a chord common to both keys), chromatic modulation (chromatic voice leading), direct modulation (unprepared key change), sequential modulation (sequence that drifts to a new key). Plan your key scheme before composing.
Schubert's modulations are famously unpredictable — in "Death and the Maiden" he shifts to remote keys through enharmonic reinterpretation of diminished seventh chords.
Modulation is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
Browse the full dictionary →