Harmony
Modulation: How a Key Change Is Confirmed
A modulation is not a chromatic chord; it is a new key confirmed by cadence. The routes into one, and how to read them off the page.
Pivot chord
A chord that belongs to both the old key and the new one, used as the hinge of a modulation because its function changes between them.
Also called: Pivot, Common chord
A pivot chord is a chord that belongs to two keys and changes its function as the music passes from one to the other. In a modulation from C major to G major, A minor is a pivot: it is vi in C major and ii in G major. Once the pivot has been heard, the music continues with a chord that is dominant in the new key, such as D7, and then resolves to G major. The pivot hides the change of key by making the transition smooth, since the ear hears the same chord in two roles. Relative keys such as C major and A minor share all their notes, so every diatonic chord in one is also diatonic in the other. The pivot is usually the chord just before the new dominant.
Related terms
- ModulationA change of tonal centre in which the music settles into a new key with its own tonic and cadence, often through a pivot chord.
- TonicisationA brief passage that makes a chord other than the tonic sound like a temporary home, usually through a secondary dominant, without a full key change.
- Functional harmonyA system in which each chord in a key has a role: tonic for rest, dominant for tension, and predominant for preparation.
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Fundamentals
Relative and Parallel Keys Explained: Major and Minor Partners
A major key has two close minor partners. The relative minor shares its key signature, the parallel minor shares its tonic, and each pair connects keys in a different way.