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Example of modulation from the tonic to the dominant. [1] Play ⓘ Key signature change example: C major to C minor. In music, modulation is the change from one tonality (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change).
The term "modulation" invokes the analogous and more familiar term in analyses of tonal harmony, wherein a pitch or pitch interval serves as a bridge between two keys. In both terms, the pivoting value functions differently before and after the change, but sounds the same, and acts as an audible common element between them.
A piece in a major key might modulate up a fifth to the dominant (a common occurrence in Western music), resulting in a new key signature with an additional sharp. If the original key was C-sharp, such a modulation would lead to the theoretical key of G-sharp major (with eight sharps) requiring an F in place of the F ♯. This section could be ...
Despite being three sharps or flats away from the original key in the circle of fifths, parallel keys are also considered as closely related keys as the tonal center is the same, and this makes this key have an affinity with the original key. In modern music, the closeness of a relation between any two keys or sets of pitches may be determined ...
The most widely known example of this is the use of equal temperament to address problems of older temperaments, allowing for consistent tuning of keyboard and fretted instruments and enabling musical composition in, and modulation among, the various keys. [citation needed]
In Western tonal music, the simplest and most common type of modulation (or changing keys) is to shift from one major key to another key built on the first key's fifth (or dominant) scale degree. In the key of C major, this would involve moving to the key of G major (which uses an F ♯). Composers also often modulate to other related keys.
In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, art music, and pop music. Tonality (from "Tonic") or key: Music which uses the notes of a particular scale is said to be "in the key of" that scale or in the tonality of that scale. [1]
Musical symbols are marks and symbols in musical notation that indicate various aspects of how a piece of music is to be performed. There are symbols to communicate information about many musical elements, including pitch, duration, dynamics, or articulation of musical notes; tempo, metre, form (e.g., whether sections are repeated), and details about specific playing techniques (e.g., which ...