Unlock the Secret to Songwriting: Master Key Changes That Transform Your Music Instantly
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Whole-Step Modulations: This is the most common method that has been used over the last 60 years or so to add energy to the last chorus of a song. In the key of C major, the chords built from the scale are C Dm Em F G Am Bdim. When we move a whole-step higher to the key of D major the chords will be D Em F#m G A Bm C#dim (note: the symbol for sharp in music is #, which means higher in pitch).
Considering the melody with how to compose songs with key changes: if you only look at the letters above, not the chord quality, you can see that there are a lot of common pitches between the two scales, five to be exact, and two different ones F# and C# in the key of D. This means that any melody will be able to utilize a lot of the same pitches in the new key, and as a result will sound somewhat related. Yet, raising the F to F#, and the C to a C# can add energy to the song.
