3 Cool Ways to Change Key

Changing key within a song can add that spark of variety and uniqueness you might be looking for. Of course, key choice will be closely related to the vocal range of your melodies; you can’t put your song in a certain key if it puts the melody out of your own vocal range. But the good news is that since most melodies don’t extend to the upper and lower limits of your vocal range, you’ve probably got room to move the key around.
And it’s well worth trying. A key change in the middle of your song can add momentum and raise the harmonic interest level in very satisfying ways.
Changing key is also called “modulating.” And there are lots of ways to do it. So here are some ways you can change from one key to another:
1. Common Tone Modulation. Find the spot in your melody where you want to consider a key change: perhaps as the verse moves into the chorus, or maybe at the end of the bridge. Make note of the melody note you’re singing, and the chord that’s accompanying you. Then find another chord that will accommodate that melody note. That new chord becomes the new replacement chord.
For example, if your song is in A major, and you end your verse on an A note, accompanied by the tonic chord (A), try finding another chord that uses an A: perhaps an F chord. While singing the A in the original key, hold on to the A and switch the accompanying chord to F, and you can now work out a chorus harmonization in F major. At the end of the chorus, you can simply switch back to A major for a second verse.
Here’s what it might look like (try 4 beats per chord):
VERSE: A  D  Bm  E  F#m  D  Bm  E  A—- (F)  CHORUS: F  C/E  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm  C  F—-  (A)
2. Common Chord Modulation. A common chord modulation means that a particular chord in your progression is used in the new key, but with a different function. This means that the two keys you’ve chosen have at least one chord in common, and it’s used as a “pivot” to move from one key to the next.
Here’s an example of a progression that begins in C major and ends in G major:
C  F  Dm  Am  G C  D7  G
The underlined G chord is the common chord. It acts as a pivot between C major and G major. In C major, it was the dominant (V) chord, and in D major it becomes redefined as the subdominant (V) chord.
Here are some other examples of common chord modulations, with the common chord underlined:
From G major to F major:
G  D/F#  G  C Dm  Gm  C  F
From Bb major to C minor (tricky to make this work, but give it a try):
Bb  F7  Gm  Cm Ddim  G  Cm
3. Abrupt Modulation. An abrupt (also called direct) modulation means that the previous key and the new key have nothing in common, and the melody note is not going to be a common tone between the two keys.
Here’s an example:
VERSE (in G major): G  Am  D  G  G  Am  D  G  |CHORUS: E major) E  F#m  B  E  E  F#m  B  E
One other great technique is to choose your key, then figure out the 7 chords that belong naturally to that key. Then use mainly minor ones for the verse, and mostly major ones for the chorus. It gives the effect of changing key without really doing so.
-Gary Ewer