Changing tonal centers?

[hbasm]

First off: I'm stupid, so please use layman terms. I wish I could study music on the highest level at the university. Sigh. But I don't have the time.

I have a question regarding the effects of changing the tonal center in a piece of music. I seem unable to find clearly written answers to this.

I always thought, and I still believe, that a piece of music better begin and end on the tonic to feel resolved. All along the way there would be harmonic changes, but never to the point of losing touch with the original tonic. I was surprised when, in a recent little composition of mine, I ended up changing the tonal center and I felt no need or longing to get back to the original tonic.

My question goes: How should a composer go about changing the tonic PERMANENTLY in a piece of music? How does it influence musical form, and what are the pitfalls? What function does it serve? What about coherence when the music nolonger ends on the same note that it began on?

[Ogg Vorbis]

Most typically, the composition "be" in a certain key, like F minor. However, it will often modulate (look that word up) to a different key because staying in F minor for a long time will get tedious and boring. Modulation allows some interest and variety and helps music give a sense of departure.

The "arrival" back to the main key is typical, but there are no rules. If you start a piece in F minor, you will not get fined by the authorities for ending the piece in D major. It all depends on how your particular piece wants to be.

But yes, mostly and most typically a piece comes back home to the orig. key and will sound as though we have returned and summed up.

Now there's another thing...it's not a modulation per se, but a straight-out key change that happens in music to freshen up a sound after dwelling in a particular key for some time. In "Mack the Knife" with Bobby Daren singing, each verse is a step higher than the previous. It's a sort of arranger trick to build interest and keep the variety coming.

But even in more modern pop tunes, a sudden shift up a step will brighten the sound. There's no "common tone" pivot like in a modulation, you just simply GO to the new key like how Jason Bourne drives from one road to another without worrying about intersections or exits.

Once you change key UP a step or do this sucessively, it would NOT be appropriate to go back to the original key to finish the song out! That would depress the crap out of everyone. In this case, the new key IS the new key.

Modal changes can happen too. You can start in F minor and end in F major, for example.

Examples of songs or pieces that do a proper modulation and do not return to the original key...now that's probably a rare case. I can't even think of any examples off the top of my head.

To address your question about SHOULD a composer change key and never come back? I suggest that your music will answer that question. In the end, it's "does it work?"

[tapper mike]

I had an old songbook that had "When ever I call you friend by Kenny Loggins" Modulating up but not back down.

There was a song by the classics iv (either stormy or spooky) that also had a half step moduation up which didn't return back down.

[psenior]

This is a big question. You've got good advice so far. I'd say ultimately you ought to listen to a lot of other people's songs and discover how they modulate from key to key. You should start to notice some patterns after a while.

I don't know what style of music you're into, but I like jazz. There's a website called jazzstandards.com where they analyze the chord changes for the top 100 or so jazz standards. I think if you were to read the analyses of some of the top tunes, such as "Body and Soul" it might give you some of the insight you are looking for.

[hbasm]

Thank you for the good answers. It seems, we agree about what is conventional.

I'm wondering though if there are some elaborate classical pieces of music from the great masters that does not follow this convention? If so, they must have carefully thought it through.

I'm inspired mostly by instrumental film music; emotional works with many surprises and contrasts along the way. So I'm not playing it safe and I've always been experimenting. But I like to KNOW what I'm doing, and I like to learn from others...

[anomandaris1]

use common chord and after that cadence to establish the new tonality - btw pitching up one tone/semitone tonality change is overused in pop music

[MackTuesday]

The Wikipedia article on key modulation gives a taste of several different kinds. You might find it helpful.