Frédéric Chopin | “Military” Polonaise in A Major

The tonality of the “Military” Polonaise in A Major by Frédéric Chopin, composed in 1838, pivots all over the place during the many repetitions of its regal main theme. Canadian/Israeli pianist Tzvi Erez‘s version includes several more interesting points about the piece in its captions.

Stevie Wonder | Sunny

Here’s a wonderful cover submitted by regular guest poster JB:

“Stevie Wonder‘s a pretty sophisticated songwriter, but as a performer — especially in his early days — he was not above laying down a yeomanlike rendering of a pop standard. Part of Barry Gordy’s genius was in treating even his star vocalists as, in some ways, just glorified studio musicians, working their shifts in the Motown Hitsville Hit Factory.

Still, it’s kinda novel to hear Wonder cover Bobby Hebb‘s ‘Sunny,’ which features not one, not two, but three mods (1:40, 2:25, 3:06). While this kind of modulation ladder would sound cheesy nowadays, the tune comes from the era (early 60s) when cheesy lounge music was charting right alongside the early Beatles and Stones. I miss the biodiversity that pop music had back in those protean days…”

BIlly Joel | All for Lena

A long-overdue MotD debut for Billy Joel​: “All for Lena” is a non-single track from Joel’s 1980 album Glass Houses. The album topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked #4 on Billboard​’s 1980 year-end album chart. The track reached #40 on the UK pop charts, where it was released as a single.

AllMusic​’s review reports “…it’s nice to hear Joel scale back his showman tendencies and deliver a solid pop/rock record … it’s the closest Joel ever got to a pure rock album.” The lyrics seem to suggest a dark, unrequited romantic fascination, right down to Joel’s uncharacteristically edgy vocal. The tune is in A minor, with brief patches of A major between 1:54 – 2:08 and 3:04 – 3:17.

Steely Dan | West of Hollywood

The unique rock/jazz fusion sound of Steely Dan is well known to most. But their 2000 album, Two Against Nature, featured a more experimental focus than most of the band’s other releases. The tune “West of Hollywood” has a multi-minute outro which kicks the modulations into high gear starting at about 4:30.

A poster on the website Music in Practice and Theory sought insight on the complex outro: “Many, many modulations–this song must surely have set some kind of record with the sheer number of tonal-center changes during the outtro. Often, the tonal center is established only for a few measures, and the transitions happen so quickly that the listener barely notices.”

Elton John | I’m Still Standing

1983 found Elton John in a period of re-invention after riding out the Disco and Punk eras. He came back strong with a rock-fueled single, “I’m Still Standing,” from his platinum-selling album Too Low for Zero. EltonJohn.com reports that the video’s opening shots “were an homage to a popular movie series…the establishing shots of Elton driving through southern France were a tip of the martini (shaken, not stirred) to the 007 movies’ opening sequences…”

Starting in Bb minor, the tune shifts to Bb major for the verse (0:12), back to minor for the chorus (0:39), back to major for verse 2 (1:11), etc. The booming 4-on-the-floor groove is rivaled only by the strong sense of tonality: the pedal point Bb repeats throughout much of the tune while a variety of chords change over it.

Bill Withers | Lovely Day

Another modulation from frequent guest poster JB: R&B singer, songwriter, bandleader, multi-Grammy winner, and 2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honoree Bill Withers is probably best known for his hits “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” 1977’s “Lovely Day” peaked at #6 on the US Billboard R&B chart, #30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1978. and #7 on the UK Singles chart.

Starting in E major for the intro and the verse, there’s a switch to E minor for the pre-chorus (0:39), then reverting to E major for the chorus (0:59). The passing minor nature of the pre-chorus is blunted, however, by the use of bouyant hybrid chords:

||: Cmaj/D Dmaj/E Amin Bmin :||

Ignacy Paderewski | Minuet in G major, Op. 14 #1

Ignacy Paderewski (1860 – 1941) was a Polish composer and pianist who is likely just as well known for his work as a philanthropist and brief stint as Prime Minister of Poland in 1919. The composer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Irving Berlin song “I Love a Piano” (1916) includes the lyric “…and with the pedal, I love to meddle/When Paderewski comes this way/I’m so delighted, when I’m invited/To hear that long-haired genius play.”

Paderewski’s Minuet in G major (Op. 14 #1, 1887) is performed here by Polish pianist Michał Szymanowski. At 1:54, the piece transitions away from its overall key of G major, then reverts to its main theme at 2:38.