Figuring out how this modulation works

[neueliteratur]

Hi folks,

Today I'm analyzing this Austrian idol band's song



Actually, I wanted to figure out how the bridge works.

The song is in C# minor.

Verse:

I VII I VII
VI VII VI VI

I VII I VII
VI VII I VII

Chorus: (in relative major)

I III / II / I III / II
V / II / I / I

Bridge: (back in C# minor)

I / I / III (IV) / III (VII) /
I / I / C natural major / D major

The last two chords get on my harmony newbie nerves.

How do I explain them??

(Another little question: can we say that the song is modal because there is no V-I or IV-I cadences??)



Thanks loads.

[Gamma-UT]

That looks suspiciously like the use of chromatic mediants (but I haven't checked against the recording) - basically moving up or down a half-step (coincidentally) to bIII or #III. This also works for VI chords. Do a search on chromatic mediant on Google - some useful links turn up on the first page IIRC. While you're at it, check out secondary dominants, because they turn up a lot in pop and rock too and are dead useful.

Harmony theory isn't a straitjacket, just a set of rules to make it easier to find useful chords for tonal music.

[Ogg Vorbis]

I hate to throw a wrench into your machinery, but I would say that the song is actually in E Maj.

The verses focus on vi a lot (C#min) but when the chorus busts out, it really feels like "home" when it gets to E.

The dwelling on the vi area doesn't sound like it really establishes C#min as a tonality.

It is sort of a "tease" because the verses keep going back to the C#min (as a lot of song verses do. You tease and then release the tension definatively in the choruses).

This teasing in the verse is called the "deceptive cadence." It's been used since at least the Renaissance. Instead of IV V I you get IV V vi.

That seems to be a common songwriting technique...you keep the verses sounding just a little bit tentative and uneasy. The lyrics even tend to ask more questions.

The Chorus sounds more definitive and the words will more often make statements and answers and conclusions.

(Although I don't understand German, so I couldn't see if that was the case with the lyrics in this song).

So for the C D E to transition back from the bridge, that's called "modal borrowing" and it too has been used since the old old days.

So when you get to a bridge there ought to be contrast. Often there is contrast in beat, feel, lyrical content and tonality. Sometimes a bridge is in some other key completely.

What the songwriter decided to do is to address the lack of tonal variety by not reinforcing the key of E in the same old IV V I style.

But instead she decided to go for a borrowing from the Dorian temporarily. So in E dorian, you'll have VI VII and instead of i you will of course have I (major) and back to E.

The whole purpose is to break up that tonal monotony from all the same primary chords in E major running through the song.

Do songwriters always KNOW if they are doing modal borrowing, deceptive cadences and the like? No way. They are probably doing what sounds good to the ear.

But being able to describe what's going on functionally is helpful when we're all trying to learn how to write better music.

Final thought...it is standard to use uppercase roman numerals for major and augmented triads and lowercase for minor and diminished.

Or that's how I learned. Maybe there is some geographic variation...???

[neueliteratur]

WOw, thanks a lot.

Now I feel better lol.

(indeed I used to write "ii" for IIminor but ever since my teacher told the classroom to forget about it, I lost the reflex.. )

[jancivil]

Actually, I wanted to figure out how the bridge works.

The song is in C# minor.

Verse:

I VII I VII
VI VII VI VI

I VII I VII
VI VII I VII

Chorus: (in relative major)

I III / II / I III / II
V / II / I / I

Bridge: (back in C# minor)

I / I / III (IV) / III (VII) /
I / I / C natural major / D major

The last two chords get on my harmony newbie nerves.

How do I explain them??

(Another little question: can we say that the song is modal because there is no V-I or IV-I cadences??)



Thanks loads.

1) Are all of these capital Romans Major Chords?
Going to assume 'natural minor' by this 'VII', so that's a B major then?

Technically that's an 'aeolian mode' type of result; the term 'minor' has kind of a harmonic implication, ie., tonic/dominant, in this case it's absent. These are modal type changes more than harmonic ones. {Your guess is in the right direction, there's no V-I which is a sign it might not be 'harmonic'... +, there is a "bVII" probably which is a sign of modality. OTOH, absence of IV-I means nothing either way. IV-I can be 'major' or 'minor' which for me is harmonic usage, or it can be a modal thing. Say, you can go IV-i, F# to C#m as an all-day vamp and you got the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression for C# dorian jamming...}

Relative major being 'E', the chords C and D major would be explained as bVI and bVII in E being "borrowed" for the relative minor key. You could roman number it by calling all of it in E, or indicating these two, 'in E'.
I don't know how useful it is to roman number everything you encounter after you get the swing of it, but it's good practice for you at this stage I guess.

You have to realize that pop music doesn't always play by 18-19th c. etc harmony class "explanations". I've given you one, but it's kinda sorta besides the point, in fact I doubt the thought adheres to any such thing as I said, but was done by ear. For instance the move to C major chord isn't "prepared", it just goes there.

Oh, per topic title: there is no "modulation" here, in terms of how that 'classical' theory works. That's a harmonic thing... 'It just goes there' in this case. A modulation would do other stuff and be 'prepared' by some device for instance...