The Doobie Brothers‘ longstanding rock/folk/Americana sound expanded suddenly when the soul-infused songwriter Michael McDonald joined their lineup. 1978’s “Minute by Minute” features crazy amounts of syncopation, long instrumental-only breaks, and a modulation up two full steps as the bridge arrives at 2:28. The tune hit #14 on the pop charts, helping the album it appeared on to reach #1.
Tag: pop
Christina Aguilera (feat. Demi Lovato) | Fall in Line
“Fall In Line” by Christina Aguilera (featuring Demi Lovato) is the second single from the album Liberation (2018). The New York Times calls the track “a defiant dirge addressed directly to ‘little girls’ … it insists, ‘You do not owe them your body and your soul.’” The key change is at 3:00.
Five | Until the Time Is Through
Five has sold over 20 million records worldwide and has produced 11 top ten singles and four top ten albums in the UK. “Until the Time is Through” (1998) features a unique modulation prep type — silence! Key change at 3:14.
Player | Baby Come Back
“Yacht Rock” royalty, Player’s polished southern California sound was all over the charts in the late 70s. Multiple lead vocalists, complex chords, and tight vocal harmonies were some of the band’s hallmarks.
For “Baby Come Back,” the band’s smash 1977 hit, the modulation lasts for the duration of the bridge (2:23 – 2:48) before reverting to its original key.
Michael Buble | I Believe in You
Here’s Michael Buble’s 2017 hit “I Believe In You.” The album which is home to the track, Nobody But Me, hit #2 on the Billboard album chart and was also a hit across Europe and much of Asia. The modulation is at 2:49.
Jennifer Hudson | Where You At
Here’s some JHud with “Where You At,” the lead single from her 2011 album I Remember Me. Key change at 2:48.
The Fifth Dimension | One Less Bell to Answer
Among the top hits for legendary songwriting team Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David, 1970’s “One Less Bell to Answer” helped to cement the career of The Fifth Dimension.
Starting with Bacharach’s trademark torch song melancholy in the first verse, a more hopeful tone is reflected in the long bridge, which starts with a modulation at 1:07. An instrumental verse, beginning at 1:43, returns to the original key.
Chicago | Hard Habit to Break
“Hard Habit to Break,” a 1984 power ballad, was one of Chicago’s biggest hits and part of the band’s era of increasingly pop-friendly tunes. David Foster, well-known for producing lush songwriting, was one of the song’s co-writers and arrangers at this time, layering the band’s trademark horns with towering strings and synth saturation like there was no tomorrow.
The modulations are everywhere: 0:35, 1:00, 1:32, 1:56, 2:19, several quick pivots during the bridge around 3:12, and 3:18.
Jason Mraz | The Remedy
“The Remedy,” Jason Mraz’s 2002 breakthrough hit, reached #15 in the US. It features a bridge which initially continues in the tune’s overall key of Bb major (2:33). Mraz then jumps to Bb minor for the second segment of the bridge (2:53) before returning to the feel-good chorus in Bb major.
Duncan Sheik | Barely Breathing
Duncan Sheik‘s tunes are full of quirks — harmonic and otherwise — but fewer full modulations. His best-known hit, 1996’s “Barely Breathing,” sticks to fairly straightforward territory through the first two verses and choruses. But then the bridge (2:40) presents several short but compelling key-of-the-moment segments (I major / V minor pairs) that don’t closely relate to the rest of the tune — but then, that’s often true of a good bridge. By 3:09, we’re ready to dive back into the familiarity (and relative simplicity) of the chorus as it reverts to the original key.
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