Songs with a Downwards Key Change
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- The vast majority of key changes in pop songs move up, not down! So I've analysed the few songs that do modulate downwards, including Penny Lane, Layla, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Bohemian Rhapsody and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, to get a better idea of what the downwards key change has to offer.
❗️CORRECTION: I transcribed “You Are The Sunshine of My Life” all one semitone up from the original key! So it should be in B major modulating down to Ab major, not C major modulating down to A major. My analysis and all of that is still 100% accurate and relevant! Thanks to those who pointed that out. Sorry!
📌EDIT: I have removed "Something" by The Beatles from the honourable mentions at the end as it wasn't an ideal example of a downwards key change. Sorry for any confusion.
Thanks to Franco Saavedra for providing Spanish subtitles for this video!
And an extra special thanks goes to Daniel Long, Christopher Ryan & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / davidbennettpiano
Howard Goodall's appreciation of The Beatles: • The Beatles: a musical...
❗️CORRECTION: 8:17 I’ve transcribed and described ‘You Are The Sunshine of My Life” as being in C major shifting down to A major, when the original recording is actually a semitone lower than this; B major shifting down to Ab major! Sorry about this mistake... I’m so used to performing this song in C major that I stupidly forgot to check the original key! All of my analysis and arguments in the video are still 100% valid though. Sorry for any confusion!
Pin your own comment, mate, it's pretty far down in the comments.
Thanks for the correction. One small detail, the F6 chord (or E6 in the correct key) is really an F#/E. The E aug chord (your ii chord) is a weird F/Ab!-kind of an incomplete b13b11. Took me a while to hear this one correctly.
I know from learning some of Stevie's other songs that he likes the black key keys.
@@toprak3479 thanks for the reminder! I thought I already had!
David Bennett Piano
Okay. The ideas are the same, thanks.
Dude, the key change in "Wouldn't it be nice" got covered by the single snare drum beat: total camouflage!
Percussion is great to hide the harshness of key changes because the percussion comes to the forefront and surprises us...just like an out of key note would. Was a tasteful way to help blend the change.
I couldn't hear it myself because of that
Tweba Senoi it’s quite an easy trick to do, your ear is listening to a certain key which has its home (in example, key of c being the note c) as soon as you get distracted by something your attention goes straight to that allowing for the home to be swapped behind your back...and unless it’s been replaced with a drastically different home the small changes will go unnoticed
That snare also scared the shiz out of me
@@callumbooth6802 Personally I find it very lazy, if that was the intent. Let the change make so much harmonic sense, due to your strong voice leading, that you could strip away everything else and it would still work. If the harsh change serves a specific purpose, let that shine as well.
‘Wouldn’t it be nice’ is one of the creepiest intros with an almost discordant sound and then the downward key change. It’s brilliant.
yeah its always made me really weirdly unnerved
A good way to display the themes of the uncertainty of love and growing up smack dab in the beginning of the album.
I realise why ive been obsessed with the into now
It sounds like a generic Android alarm
Also the first note sung is an 'A', which fits well into both A Major and F Major.
I’ve always thought that the opening key change to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is mimicking a Doppler effect, like when an ice cream truck rounds the corner and the music pitch starts to shift. It’s also why the line doesn’t quite sound right on an acoustic piano
That evokes the same for me!!
Cool thought, you're right!
True also the fact that de piano was recorded by stroking the strings directly instead of pressing the keys (I hope I explained that well lol) helps with this.
Yes!!!
Yesss!!! Same!
When I saw the title, the first thing I thought of was Strawberry Fields Forever. “Let me take you down, ‘cause I’m *going to, Strawberry Fields* “
The edit in that line was a masterpiece of the Beatles. It is really hard to not unhear it.
Link?
Only SpektralZ what do you mean?
@@everberry51 if you havent noticed, it goes from take 7 to take 28 in the second chorus. In "Let me take you down cause Im *going to Strawberry Fields* ", Ringo's drumming becomes very intense and John has a devilish voice or should I say slower or deeper.
\: D @everberry51 ua-cam.com/video/62HLZVVFRwU/v-deo.html
Gee! Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" - "Dammit, I'll just put the three songs together."
**Genius!**
It honestly explains why the lyrics make absolutely no sense :P
@@SomeOfTheJuice They do make sense if you look for it.
John Lennon: *Laughs in walrus noises
@@SomeOfTheJuice Apparently the lyrics were about a boy who ran with a gang, killed someone and had to leave, while being pursued for it.
McCartney did the same thing numerous times.
All this proper music theory is well and fine, and perfectly explained, but if you ask McCartney about it he’d just go something like :
“Yeah, uhm.... I was doing Penny Lane, and ... I was playing A ... then I went oh... this other chord sounds good to me... and so I did. It’s a nice song.”
This is exactly what I'm thinking when people analyze The Strokes or Nirvana. Like, no, they just thought it sounded cool. Stop it.
Just because musicians might not be strictly aware of the theory in their work doesn't mean we shouldn't analyse it.
That is just what you hear explained at 14:09
Music theory isn’t necessarily meant to explain what the composer was thinking when they wrote it. It’s meant to provide a framework of how the music functions and compares within our pre-existing knowledge of music. Not that it matters since David has an… unorthodox understanding of how functional tonality works. Some of his reasoning is pretty arbitrary; you could argue that the shift from E to A in Penny Lane is either a modulation up or down. But that doesn’t matter within functional harmony. What matters is that the key of A is related to the key of E by one sharp and modulations between related keys like this are a common occurrence in western music. Paul McCartney might have wrote it this way not only because it sounded good, but because he’d heard it before in other music and wanted to evoke a similar feeling.
Paul has said that he was influenced by Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Chuck Berry among others, who all were influenced by the jazz of the early 1900s, who were influenced by Romantic composers, and so on and so forth. This "passing down" of influences is so common in music that most music theorists, and many classical and jazz musicians for that matter, don’t bat an eye when they see it. I’m not saying that Paul McCartney didn’t write great original music. But to say that he arbitrarily picked chords and melodies out of a vacuum because they "sounded good" would be a disservice to all the music that came before his.
Exactly. Over analysing music is just as time wasting as people who try to analyse UFC fights.
So many of these downward key changes make me feel like they’re actually going up
Because the keys aren't a straight line so much as a circle, this is natural! Depending on how the notes are placed when the key changes and what chords are used, it can feel like an upward change because it could technically be described as one. (It's just going up a lot.)
And also because often the actual chord change into the key is an upward one - like in Layla it moves up from a C chord to a C#m, plus the tempo speeds up, and the vocal comes in up the top of his range...
Explanation for some of the cases: 5:47
Even the operatic section in Bohemian Rhapsody feels like there's an upward movement in terms of energy and mood of the song from the somewhat sad/emotional verse section
I read the title as “condescending key changes” and was both confused and intrigued. And even after realizing my mistake I still clicked because music!
trent reznor does this whenever he switches to major
Penny Lane is genius, it's not even noticeable going in or out.
QueeferSutherland that’s the genius of Paul McCartney.
It's also realy cool that Paul McCartney didn't need to know anything about music theory to do it.
True. I didn't know the key changed until I studied music theory and listening to the track one more time
@@paulnottherealmccartney8558 nice username
@@bignutsinyourmouf4606 Thanks mate. I emphasized the NOT since people were actually mistaken me for Sir Paul McCartney which we all know doesn't surf the web and youtube for some unknown reasons. Thanks anyway lad
Love the “key change” graphic
Looks like those sticker things(?) on MSN Messenger that we used to send to friends so they can collect them and use them in the chat. 2000's kids will understand me 😆
LOL
I love talking theory, really cool the descending chromatic bass line moving to the A in Bohemian Rhapsody. Great video.
"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my EYES."
I thought so! That's what makes it rhyme with "suburban SKIES."
Okay good... the Mandela Effect is still fake...Phwew!
It says "eyes" on my copy of penny lane
in my arse
"WET beneath the blue suburban skies" too
“Our House” by Madness has some boppin downward key changes
Finally someone who had the same thought. At the end the song jumps all over the place with its keys (well done ofc).
I love to use this as an example too. It's what makes the song.
I was waiting the whole video for him to mention that song
Love that song!
It's jarring. Up and down and all around.
Bold move having a channel with real music on UA-cam.
I like to live on the edge. Every video that doesn't get atomic-bombed by the content ID system is a victory!
@@DavidBennettPiano no joke. When you kept playing the actual music for more than one nanosecond I was biting my nails and figured this video was uploaded only 5 minutes ago.
I was trying so hard to get a stupid hair off my screen then i realized it was your avatar.
I thought that too until I saw that it moved with the screen as I scrolled, lmao
That’s the precise reason I just subscribed!
Whether the key change in Layla was planned or not, I think it's perfect. The intro grabs you and gets you excited because of how energetic it is, despite the minor key, and then the sudden drop when the lyrics start gives the song a darker and more desperate feeling. Like the "YESSSS I LOVE THIS SONG!" distracts you enough to ambush you and pull the spirit of the blues out of you when you start singing along.
It mirrors the feeling of falling for someone too fast and then losing them. He's not just sad that she's gone, he's in the bargaining stage of grief. The difference in those types of pain is perfectly represented by the key change.
Maybe I don't listen to enough music, and I must confess I don't know anything about music at all, but I always liked how some 20th century rock songs would go through different stages. Layla has a clear intro, singing section, guitar section, piano section, then final instrumental section. To me the changes help tell a story, but I again must restate I have no idea what I'm talking about.
I think it's planned, because the way it gets back to Dm for the chorus using an A pivot chord wouldn't work if the verse were in Dm.
Very well put! It's the sound of good adrenaline (excitement) turning bad (panic and desperation)
I love the key change in Layla. Makes it feel like the song settles at that lower key after an intro that’s a sort of tease of the rest of the song.
The brilliance of that downwards keychange in Layla is that the mood dips down in the verses and then lifts you up in the chorus when we go back to Dminor. Injects just a little more excitement into the chorus when it comes.
He does a similar trick in Bad love so I think perhaps there was more to it, than stiching two parts together and more it was a trick he liked the sound of
Badge too I think
agreed!
Yeah, I think it's mostly about the climate of the song and this kind of change is kinda "depressing" trick, making song sound more sad, which would be correct here because it's not a song about happy love.
Except I would insist that it DOESN'T modulate down to to C#m, it modulates up to E major. The first chord in the verse is C#m, yes. But the verses actually make a lot more sense if you think of them as being in E major, and then modulating back DOWN to Dm for the choruses.
What I love about the key change in Penny Lane is that as the piece transitions into the last chorus, it stays in B major. This makes it feel like the song’s key has changed, when in actuality, it’s the only chorus where the key doesn’t change. Classic McCartney.
Do I dare speculate (with zero knowledge or evidence) about how much of the brilliance attributed to Paul was actually George Martin? Haven't read any books but I think that guy was more like the 3rd Beatle than the 5th.
Actually, unless my memory fails me...lol,I'm pretty sure that after the last verse,they do 1 chorus in A,and then modulate to B for the final chorus,which still makes it very cool.
@@garycitro1674 Dear Lord. George Martin gets so much credit that he does not deserve. In reality: He suggested some tempos. He arranged some strings. He played piano on a few tracks. This is the kind of stuff that goes anonymous on other records. Andrew Loog Oldham arranged strings on Stones Records. Ian Stewart played keys on Stones records. No Beatle has ever suggested that George Martin ever contributed to the songwriting of the Beatles. Never has a producer received more credit for such a workmanlike contribution.
@@reginaldperiwinkle I don't think it's quite fair to describe Martin's contribution as 'workmanlike'. His string arrangements on Beatle records were distinctive, outstanding and innovative. Yes, he translated the brilliant ideas of two non classically trained composers into reality, but added real value too in my opinion.
I think Martin was what the Beatles needed. However Martin often said Paul nearly always had his songs arranged when he came into the studio and knew what he wanted. I think McCartney even suggested the french horn to be played on Penny Lane after seeing it on TV. Whilst Martin deserves his accolades McCartney, Lennon and Harrison were in a class of their own.
As a complete amateur of music theory, most of this went over my head and I retained very little but still watched the whole thing which says something about your skills as a presenter. Great stuff 👍
This guy isn't loud and shouty, using lots of fast cuts, loud BGM, bright colours and added memes. I'm subscribing for the clear, concise and restrained presentation. Great content.
It’s so refreshing to find a serious youtuber that doesn’t follow the stupid trends that include forcing click bailt, over emphasising titles, ridiculous thumbnail with extremely forced happy faces etc.
Thank you.
As interesting as always!
Yeah like davie504 used to be good but now he just repeats the same words like "epic", "bass" and stuff like that and makes meme review kinda things honestly he is one of the worst right now
@@ukkovuorela4196 I agree. I really enjoyed watching him play bass without uttering a single words (that was his unique style) He is not really fun when you listen to him talk.
You put it perfectly, man.
@@ukkovuorela4196 I'm so tired of meme shit on UA-cam. It's not funny if you're over the age of 14.
YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHICH SONGS USE THIS MINDBENDING TRICK!!!!!111!1ii
This is brilliantly explained and your graphics and audio examples with “what it would sound like if you didn’t key change” are sublime.
Thank you.
Thank you!
I agree. The extra work in those graphics and "what if?" is much appreciated.
The Beatles have another really great example of creative key changes with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The tonal center starts off as A in the verse, but it cleverly moves up to B-flat for the line "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over your head", and then down to G in time to lead into the chorus, which stays in G. The second verse and chorus repeat the whole pattern, but the truncated third verse skips the B-flat part and goes right to G for the chorus.
Indeed, but the Bb section is actually more in F major than Bb major, it just starts on the IV chord.
@@althealligator1467 Depends on how you hear it. To me the melody and chord placement put the tonal center in Bb.
@@johndipinto8816 Maybe at first, but clearly the chords end up being IV-V-I in F.
@@althealligator1467 Well, no. I hear it clearly as I - II (major) - V - I in Bb. The melody sits on D for the first three chords (Bb, C, F) and resolves to Bb on the second Bb chord, which ends the phrase.
@@johndipinto8816 Yeah sure, I'm not saying Bb is the wrong analysis, but you can always hear any chord as tonic, it's subjective, plus context alters your perception. The composer only guides the listener through the way they're trying to hear it, which is where keys come into play, but I don't think they're an objective, unilateral, and infallible concept at all. Like look at Sweet Home Alabama, D-C-G-G, people always debate as to whether it's in D or G. The answer is both, because the way the composer guides you through it makes it ambiguous. Every note is diatonic to G major, but the progression starts and loops back to D major, which makes you hear both as resolved even when you're not paying attention to what sound tonic or not. Similar to our Bb-C-F-Bb chords here, where it starts on Bb but is diatonically in F. You can hear both as tonic, but I think Bb is not as obviously tonic as D is in SHA because we only loop back to it once and we don't approach it from a dominant chord. I guess it still sounds tonic though, just like F does. The melody resolves to Bb, but try this: sing an A after that Bb, over an F or Dm chord preferably. You'll see it sounds even more unambiguously resolved.
You’re analysis of music in both a simple AND complex fashion SIMULTANEOUSLY...
Is very absorbing and satisfying.
Good stuff.
Enjoyed it immensely.💪👍
Thank you!
David, you forgot a masterpiece: Rosanna by Toto! The verse modulates from G down to F, but the vocals go up an octave, giving brightness while descending
Gianmarco Lodi of course!! How could I forget Toto! 🤭
David Bennett Piano How dare you 😭
Africa does the same thing. I was waiting for him to talk about it!
And dont forget the most important thing of this piece, the fucking shuffle
"masterpiece" lol
Copyright claims on these is the biggest goddamn self-own, like you _want_ musicians to know about your music well after it falls off the radio, what better way than to be a part of educational material? Ridiculous lol
explosu for real. There’s been countless instances of me adding a song from a video that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. Like the other guy said tho it’s just people tryna cash in however possible
I feel the same way about the exorbitant licensing fees for music in media, such as TV, movies and games. Doesn't the music industry realize how many people buy music, and discover new musicians, because they heard a song on a tv show, or in a video game?
@@kirinrex Virtually no one buys music now. Streaming services pay pennies for work that takes years to achieve, and exposure is absolutely worthless to us on that level. I mean yeah it's great that people are listening, but musicians are one of the most criminally underpaid professions outside of mainstream "artists," which are really actors performing with a much larger production team. Collecting royalties is one of the safest ways to earn money as a musician, I'm not against that, and don't even fucking get me started on game devs just expecting us to work for free, but just outright claiming a video's whole revenue or demanding it be taken down when it's not even about distributing your music specifically, is absurd.
@@explosu Maybe if there were acts like MJ or Genesis or Van Halen or Madonna today, there would be a bigger draw to go to live shows and record companies could make money that way. Live shows are cool when there's a band, like Genesis or Van Halen, on stage playing difficult and awesome music, or when the spectacle and theatrics are just that off the wall in the case of Madonna or MJ. There's no fun or camp in today's music, everything is sterile
According to fair use doctrine, educational videos like this shouldn't be copyright claimed at all, but unfortunately laws like that are only enforced with lawsuits, which are almost impossible nowadays (especially with mandatory arbitration in most EULAs).
I have zero knowledge of musical theory, yet, your videos are totally unmissable to me, thank you David
"I've talked about Bohemian Rhapsody in great lengths in my Brief Analysis video" ah yes the juxtaposition
I've always struggled understanding music. This told me something in a clear way that I'm not sure I understand, but makes sense.
I'm glad I helped!
I like what I learn with you, especially in this video: I can’t read music, but I can Hear It! Each of these examples had caught my attention as subtly different from expectation, right where you outlined the changes. It is so much fun that you explain it, and I love the combination of auditory and visual examples. When you repeat it just for a few bars, after you have explained it, it really consolidates the learning process. Well done!
MGMT's 'The Youth' has my favourite downwards key change, it's stunning!
Thank you for mentioning this. I had "Youth" playing in my earphones during an early morning jog, and when the key change hit, I saw the sun burst through the horizon. It was so exhilarating that it gave me a burst of energy. Easily my favorite recent musical memory.
I'm surprised he didn't mention it, considering it's from one of his favorite albums!
"Impossible Year" by Panic! at The Disco also has interesting downwards key change.
Starts off in the key of F , then Bb and finally Eb.
Anirudra Gc you know, panic has so much intricate songwriting. I think they’re going to have some major staying power as time goes on.
Technically going up perfect 4ths not down
they're all very straightforward modulations to related keys though
i was just thinking “hm panic at the disco sound like they should have this” and i saw this comment. what are the chances
Modulations to the fifth aren't that special
“It’s My Life” by Talk Talk - verses in Eb major, choruses in Db major.
best new wave song of all time
The verse is in Eb but the chorus is in C major/A minor. At the end of the verse they step up a half tone to E ("one half won't do...") which is a secondary dominant leading to Am / F / G / C in the bridge. The chorus is similar to the bridge: Am / Dm / G / C
Talk Talk were the masters of the key change
@@triksox You're right - I was trying to remember this song from memory, and I keep mixing up the chords in the original with the chords in the No Doubt cover version, which is a half step higher than the original version. At least I was correct that the chorus is a downward modulation.
Queen again, Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon: the guitar solo at the end changes up (or down) a tritone from Eb to Amaj.
Love that song
Been watching foe several months. Wonderful to watch! I especially like the Beatles examples! Hope your station GROWS
"The Youth" by MGMT is also really interresting, going a halftone down for the last chorus and the song sounds sundenly more epic !
Agree. It sounds so good.
came here to say this, such an excellent song
Yes! What's cool about that halftone change is that it really adds to the psychedelic sound of the song. Almost like you're coming down of an acid trip! Literally!
I love that song
Don't forget The Simpsons theme, switching from
C Lydian b7
to B Lydian b7
to E Lydian b7
back to C Lydian b7
And that's what makes it sound so wonderfully CHAOTIC, to go with America's favourite dysfunctional family! (Bear in mind this was started at a time when angry, argue-y sitcoms were _rare_ .) Danny Elfman is awesome. I like the Simpsons, the Tim Burton Batman theme, and of course Oingo Boingo...
@@robinchesterfield42 Chaos on the surface...Groening is as sentimental as Spielberg
Shut up Flanders!!
Hands down the most clever theme music ever made. It doesn't actually sound like anything else. It's so weird how one of the most iconic pieces of music of all time is so...strange...as far as theory is concerned. Danny Elfman had a stroke of genius making it
Robin Chesterfield *bare
I’ve only recently discovered this gem David. I moved to assisted living facility about 4yrs ago and no room for my piano, it really hacked me off but nothing I could do about it. I’m now a huge fan of your contributions. I’m in awe of how super smart you are and, I wondered if you had perfect pitch? Keep on keeping on👍👏👏
David: You are an inspiration! Thank you for your crisp, accurate understanding of Music Theory as it pertains to GREAT popular songs. You inform and educate..and carry on a canon that is of great value to humanity ..THANK YOU!
Rosanna by Toto. Starts in G major, modulates to F major. The vocals in the F major part are higher, though, which is why it may not sound like a "descending" key change.
The Layla intro/verse key change is iconic. It's like he is screaming with passion in the intro & choruses but down trodden and sad in the verses.
White Room by Cream is another great example, where it switches from the key of D to the key of C from the verse to the chorus.
This channel is pure gold!
Great video David. I love your analysis.
Jeff Teza 😊😊😊
Our House by Madness modulates downwards in the chorus (starting with the second chorus)
Doesn't the last chorus also keep modulating over and over?
Which is interesting, because it's thematically very similar to Penny Lane.
He could do a whole video about all the things that make that song genius, honestly :D
@@cdifreakguy or Madness in general. They had pretty atypical chord progressions for a ska band (primarily)
I was playing Bb and Eb instruments when I had to do Our House, but I think it was in D, modulated to B, modulated to C, D, B and faded out.
Your guidance is at the head of the class, very insightful. Thank you.
Thank You.
Spot on presentation and resources. Love your approach to dissecting songs and analyzing their creative intent. This is like chemistry for musicians. 🙇🏻
Thanks!!
Sting’s “Everybody Laughed But You” is the most obvious example I can think of.
GiacomoJimmi
Sting also does it with “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You “.
@@diddygt Same album. Must’ve been a phase ol Stingo was going through.
@@GiacomoJimmi yeah he was getting all jazzy up in here.
Penny Lane is pure genius
*Indeed!*
It really is . That’s a very suave change . Probably the most technical of all the changes discussed here .
The beatles 'And I love her'...starts in F#m (key of E)..jumps up one to Gm (key of F) for the solo.. then ends on a D major chord... for some reason it sounds perfect.. :)...also 'Lucy in the sky' has some strange key changes..and 'walrus'...and 'strawberry fields'...lol...so many...i'll shut up now..
Can you guys tell me about the Beatles a day in the life because that shift reminds me very much of bohemian rhapsody, but I'm not well aware of key changes and all that, but it seems like quite the song it comes together in a cacophony of sound then boom
So I went to the day in a life video... 2009 remaster turns out the same piano was used for each song. That's pretty crazy
“I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders has a downwards key change in the second verse
And also Mariah Carey’s cover to “I Want To Know What Love Is” (originally by Foreigner) has a downwards key change of a half semitone in the last chorus
"Songs with a downwards key change"
Metal Breakdowns have entered the chat
I thought that comment said “mental breakdowns” for a second and I started laughing.
Lardo Yek same
Doktor_Kitten SAME
Idk most breakdowns are in the same key is the main riff or whatever
@@notabed800 There's been a recent trend of guitarists pitch-shifting down for breakdowns, such as in Stitch by Wage War, or Blessed Be by Spiritbox
The whole Abbey Road medley shifts back and forth between C major, A minor, and A major. So do Something and later Free As A Bird. Stevie Wonder must have loved it, choosing the same idea in Sunshine
When the key change in Layla occurs the chord goes from C major to C# minor, therefore going up as it goes down. Brilliant.
Great analysis, you have at least a masters or even a doctorate in music theory. I really enjoy watching and listening to your videos. Keep up the evaluation and explanations. Most people probably just like what they hear. Some of us enjoy knowing how it develops. I still feel that a lot of "music writers", who don't read music but have an innate inner ear, first feel what sounds unique and understand how to build the cords. Outstanding video. Thanks.
I love your channel so much !! Thank you ✌🏼
Stevie has some of the most beautiful key changes ever ! 🤯
It’s because a lot of his songs are very jazz-based. Lots of minor 7 and major 7 chords and 2-5-1 progressions.
@@AaronB99999 He really likes using the "back door" change, too.
Golden Lady
Almost every song on SITKOL
That wasnt one of them
I always remembered Sting's "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" having a downwards key change. One of the choruses near the end of the song is shifted down a perfect 4th. It's then followed by the chorus again, but in the original key.
True !!!
When the phrase "key change" is used, something obvious like the downshift in "Prologue", as you indicated. Then others in this comment section point out the downward key changes in Earth Wind & Fire's "After The Love Has Gone" (ua-cam.com/video/S383VfgAETQ/v-deo.html) and "In The Stone (ua-cam.com/video/oaCnjA50W9E/v-deo.html)", songs which I should know better than just about anyone on youtube, and these are far harder for me to discern because the key change occurs from chorus to verse or vice-versa
That's the first song I thought of when I saw the title of this video.
I’ve never seen your channel before, but I must say, what you’ve written about Penny Lane is brilliant...I’m now seeing that song in a brand new light. The modulation in wouldn’t it be nice is well described too!! Very informative!! Very well done.
This is just the kind of thing I need more exposure to, thanks! I also like that you gave Howard Goodall credit. Sometimes when people post content they don't give credit where credit is due, so this is good to see. Howard Goodall did a great analysis of the Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts club album which was recently shown again on TV.
It's so interesting seeing Schoenberg's modulation theory applied in songs I've known forever! You never realise just how much music builds on itself until you see things like this. Awesome video!
this is such a well made video oh my gosh wow
Thank you - that really means a lot!
Excellent videos, David!
Great explanations.Thank youfor sharing your knowledge of harmony and passion for music.
I love your videos; very inspirational for songwriting and very educational
No Content 🙂🙂🙂
I always learn something from your videos-often things I thought were difficult, but which you make rather simple. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
"Come On Eileen" has a key change down when it switches to the chorus, I'm pretty sure.
some key changes feel painful, and that is one of them. Ugh.
Nope. It's lovely, joyful downward shift.
I find it nice, too
I just listened to it 3 times and didn't notice it, so I guess it was good? I love the song.
the intro is in f major, moving down to c major for the verses, and up one tone to d major for the chorus
Your videos are pure gold.
Outstanding. Your analyses are savvy and instructive. Well done!
Tyrion Lannister thank you! 🤩
OMG you have taught me in 14 minutes what was never really explained in depth, or nearly as comprehensively as you have managed to do.
I studied music for 2 years at college, a long time ago
Thanks! Just before I watched this video, I saw "4 Inventive Key Changes" [also by yourself, of course!], & in addition to thanking you, I just wanted to make 1 comment. For all those out there who play music, compose music, study music, struggle to understand music, or any of the above, please keep the following idea in mind. As a general rule, one does not cobble something together, & then ask, "What problem does this solve?" Instead, one encounters a problem *_first_***, and ***_then_* one cobbles something together to solve it! There are a very few popular musicians in modern history who've been both smart enough & talented enough to get away with setting out to write something for the express purpose of being clever in some particular way they've dreamed up. And this can most certainly be instructive! I myself quite enjoy these videos that deconstruct & examine things, as they are both informative & fun. BUT: a really surprising amount of the time, things that (in retrospect) end up being thought of as clever or brilliant, etc., are mostly down to the fact that something wasn't quite right... and the clever bit fixed it. And in music, there is only 1 criterion for making that judgement: *_DOES IT SOUND RIGHT?_* If it does, fine. Otherwise, it may be time to do some problem solving. Only time will tell whether your solution makes anybody's list in the future! tavi.
I'd like to add as examples within many of David's videos have shown or have made it clear. The Beatles very often changed time signature not because they set out to change time signatures as some sort of display of how clever they were, but rather to invoke a certain emotional context at any given moment during the course of a song. I feel that it's pretty clear when listening to Happiness is a warm gun that the the timing changes that are made throughout the song are done specifically to help add emotional weight to the subject matter even though they couldn't read or write music they were clearly aware of how to utilize timing and voicing to convey the emotion that they intended.
Great speaker David, I fall into your channel some diferent days, and I enjoyed a lot! Keep doing this please!! :) :)
You are an amazing human being! Thanks for this QUALITY content!!
Thanks! You're very welcome. Thanks for watching
Great topic, great explanations, and great song choice examples.
great comment, great commentator.
ice la honk Great reply, great replier.
“My Girl” by The Temptations uses the string section to gradually climb into D from C.
I must say you are quite the competent music theorist. Thanks for the videos, man.
This is so fascinating! Thanks for doing this!
Thanks for watching!
Very insightful, thanks for posting!
Thanks for watching!
What an interesting video! Thanks! The visual presentation with commentary is a great learning tool.
You're very welcome!
I know this is quite late but the descending key changes at the end of speech bubbles by the smile is the most masterfully done continuous key changes I have ever heard. So smooth and beautiful.
I love you bro thanks for making music theory simple without watering it down too much yet entertaining, also get to listen to some great music here!
Thanks!
Hi David, great stuff. Keep it coming.
Totally love your channel man. Felt proud that I've even found your channel!
Mighty interesting and revealing, David!
Fantastic video once again. Inspiring. I’m going to try it. Thanks David!
Daniel Manicolo thanks Daniel!
Learning about downward key change opens a lot of ideas in my compositions. Thank you! :)
With great examples following all these theories, modal changes will never be formidable again to me. Thanks dude.
I’ve Seen All Good People by Yes has several downward key changes at the end
You beat me by just one year.
I actually love when they key change down at the end of Close to the Edge when they'd play it live.
This was fantastic! All of these are such favorites of mine. It is great to know just a little bit more as to why! Great Video! Thanks.
Thank you!
John Lennons Just like starting over A to G in the middle 8
Underrated song
yeaah
Brilliant. Thanks for the insight and knowledge.
Well done! Another example that comes to mind is "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meat Loaf. Most of that song is in D major, but right before the final section, a chromatic chord progression modulates us down into C major. After a D major cadence, the chords ascend Eb-E-F, and the F major chord resolves smoothly to C major. It's especially creative because the chords go up to accompany a key change going down. It's also creative because this descending modulation reflects the "downward spiral" of the song itself, beginning in paradise and ending in an unhappy relationship.
Another incredibly informative and enjoyable video! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Monsieur Bennett, I'm just savouring your videos on theory, keys and tempo etc and find the analysis incredibly interesting and insightful. Cheers!
FlyBoySee thank you! That really means a lot
Totally agree!
Pisna mi by Preslava
The melody is in G Dorian,the vocals are in D Phrygian(G Aeolian) in the verses,but later in the chorus,her vocals change to G Phrygian(C Aeolian),but the chords are the same(G Aeolian). The song is in 130 BPM,but some hear it as 140 BPM and the melody is in G Aeolian,but some hear it as F Mixolydian.
Notice the singer's key change in the vocals:
Писна ми от твоите хиляди-
Flat A(F Minor)
Вече не издържам с тебе-
Natural A(F Major)
'Our House' (not CSNY but the British one) does a ton of bizarre down and up key changes in the outtro.
Fantastic video! Great visuals to help.
thanks!
Informative and articulate! Nicely done good sir
Thank you!
My God. That very strange in Penny lane without the key change is frightening! Your videos have given in depth answers to different anomalies I've thought I noticed in song throughout the years. Strawberry fields one was brilliant. Thanks a bunch.
Check out Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line", which has no less than six key changes, both up and down. The really cool thing about this song is that Johnny Cash himself vocally establishes the key before each verse.