An Easy Way to Modulate Up A Half-Step
We are going to start a "piano tips and tricks" segment on our blog. We will discuss and explain common tips and shortcuts that can be applied in a variety of performance and teaching settings.
§ An Easy Way to Modulate Up A Half-Step
During my tenure as a professional gospel and jazz pianist, I have picked up a few neat, easy tricks that really help in improvisational and band performance. One of them is how to modulate up a half step.
Modulating up is very useful, especially in gospel music, as it occurs quite frequently. Therefore, it will add to your musicianship greatly to learn a smooth, harmonious method on how to do it.
Say you're playing in the key of D. If you want to modulate up a half-step to the key of E-flat, you can follow this simple pattern.
When you get to the root (or Tonic, D), simply:
1. Move, in tempo, down to an A/C# chord
2. Move to an A-flat/B-flat chord (an A-flat sus.4/B-flat note also works)
That's it. It's that simple. Now you're ready to modulate to E-flat, smoothly and harmoniously. So, the full progression is
1. D chord (tonic)
2. A (chord)/C# (note)
3 A-flat (chord)/B-flat (note) >
4. E-flat (the new Tonic)
(You may wish to linger longer on the third chord. It gives the ear adequate preparation for the modulation.)
Visit often for more music tips and tricks.
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Gnosis Arts | www.gnosisarts.com
posted by by Gnosis Arts Multimedia at
6:21 AM
2 Comments:
I just wanted to comment that this was a very helpful, and detailed tip. I am always telling my students to work with smooth transitions, whether it be with music in front of them, or just improvising. It is a method of practice that I am quite fond of. It is important to be aware of these small things to stay grounded as a musician.
Thanks, Suzan. Just a little trick Eric learned in his days of being a professional gospel/jazz musician.
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