Category: Elise

Pretenders | I’ll Stand By You

US/UK’s Pretenders, better known for guitar-driven, uptempo rock raveups, released the power ballad “I’ll Stand By You” in 1994. The tune was co-written by Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg.

Songfacts reports on Steinberg’s memory of the songwriting experience: “I remember when we wrote it I felt two things: I felt one, we had written a hit song and I felt two, a little sheepish that we had written something a little soft, a little generic for The Pretenders … I know that Chrissie felt that way too to some extent. I don’t think she really entirely embraced it to begin with, but she certainly does now because when she plays it live, it’s one of the songs that gets the strongest response. It’s done really well for her and for us.”

The anthemic track starts in D major and features a compelling I-vi-v progression in the chorus. We’re then surprised by a rare downwards modulation to C major at 1:13, which reverts back up to the original key at 1:55.

Elton John | Harmony

Elton John‘s smash 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, considered by many to be the peak of his career, featured plenty of well-known tunes. “Harmony,” the humble B-side of the hit “Bennie and the Jets,” utilized Elton’s unique wall-of-sound multi-layered background vocals. It modulates back and forth between Eb minor and Eb major. Starting in minor, it modulates to major just before the first chorus (0:33), then back into minor for the next verse at 1:09, and then back to major at 1:31 through the short balance of this distinctive tune.

Al Jarreau | Mornin’

Al Jarreau, the only vocalist in history to win Grammy Awards in three different categories (jazz, pop, and R&B), released his top-10 album Breakin’ Away in 1981, at perhaps the peak of his career. A standout track from the album was the feel-good tune “Mornin’,” featuring plenty of modulations in the bridge (1:55 – 2:49). Then we land back in the orignal key with an instrumental verse at the bridge’s conclusion. 3:32 features a classic direct modulation into the final verse.

Todd Rundgren | Hawking

Here’s a 1989 tune by musician, composer, and producer/engineer Todd Rundgren written in honor of Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist and cosmologist. It’s a gospel meditation on the challenges of grasping the unknown and maintaining one’s love for humanity.

The modulation arrives with the bridge at 2:57, reverting to the original key at 4:07.

The Tubes | Amnesia

San Francisco-based The Tubes started with unhinged neo-Burlesque performances in the 1970s. They morphed into a unique pop/glam/funk fusion in the 80s, never abandoning their careful balance between keyboard and guitar. In keeping with the band’s bizarre streak, its frontman/lead vocalist/co-writer, Fee Waybill, was once on the band’s roadie team!

There are several brief key-of-the-moment spots in 1981’s “Amnesia.” The bridge (2:27) starts off with a modulation, transitions to a new key at 2:46, then settles back into the original key at 3:05.

Sergio Mendes | Pipoca

Like much contemporary Brazilian jazz, Sergio Mendes‘s “Pipoca,” composed by Hermeto Pascoal, is loaded with modulations. This 1992 track starts off with a tumbling, mischievous feel, throwing us its first modulation at only 0:16 (!) after a playful ascending chromatic run.

The intro sets the scene for key changes which continue to to turn on a dime as they arrive frequently throughout the track.

AJ Rafael (feat. Deedee Lynn Magno Hall) | Only Us (from “Dear Evan Hansen”)

Singer/songwriter AJ Rafael covers “Only Us” (2017) from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, featuring Deedee Lynn Magno Hall. The first modulation (1:43) somehow sneaks up on the listener gradually, while the second (2:55) clearly announces itself.

Madness | Our House

Madness occupied a very specific corner of 1980s New Wave — a UK-based ska/pop hybrid band that that was more about the music than the era’s flashy fashions. “Our House,” released in 1982, reached top-5 status in the US, Canada, the UK, and much of Europe.

The tune cycles through piles of modulations: 0:46, 0:54, 1:10, 1:18, 1:26, 1:41, 1:49, 2:05, 2:13, 2:44, and then every four bars all the way to the end.

Ben Folds Five | Don’t Change Your Plans

Ben Folds, probably best known for his 1997 single “Brick” with his band Ben Folds Five, features several modulations in 1999’s “Don’t Change Your Plans.” Centered around Folds’ trademark confessional storytelling, this song’s first modulation is in the middle of the multi-section bridge (2:20); the last, a rare downward modulation, is in the closing seconds of the tune (4:46). There are several other modulations in between as the lyrics shuttle between future and past, hopefulness and melancholy.