I never knew about the Anti-Modulation Movement till a few days ago. If I had known, I'm pretty sure I would have made certain that the arrangements on the new album included a good handful of extreme, final chorus step-ups. Just for spite, because I'm that way.
As it happens, though, and to my horror, I realize that there is not a single final chorus, full-step modulation among the new songs. There's one that has some pretty extreme, abrupt key changes in and around the bridge; and one which commits the alleged sin of making the V chord minor for a stretch (I don't think there's a website about that one yet, though I could be wrong.) For the most part, though , the key changes/migrations are a subtle, evolutionary affair that I doubt the anti-modulation crowd would even notice. Damn.
Posted by Dr. Frank at August 17, 2003 04:04 PM | TrackBack2morrow's my birthday and i have nothing to look foward to...honestly who invented being 17?! Or birthday's on Monday's for that matter! You don't get 2 do anything wunderous. At least @ 18 you get to order stuff off the bleu screen on TV....::pouts:: ¿Can i get an early cup of christmas cheer or maybe a Strawberry/Bananna cake sprinkled with some Dr. Frank?
Posted by: Allyson at August 18, 2003 02:17 AMWhat's all this talk about anti-mod-elation?! Mods have the same right to be just as happy as anyone else, even if their Vespas do always break down and their high-water pants do always seem to pinch them in all the wrong places. I personally promise to hug the next mod I see on the street, and wish him/her a happy future filled with many happy skinny ties and/or plaid miniskirts, even if it means choking on more than my fair share of two-stroke smoke. Mod-elation indeed!
Oh, wait, I read that wrong. Mod-u-lation. Got it. Very well then. Change those gears. As my truck-drivin' pappy always said, "If you can't find 'em, grind 'em."
So I finally went to the anti-modulation website to see what the fuss is about and discovered, after reading the FAQ and finally understanding what modulation is, that I umm....
like when a song does that.
Do I have to turn in my Official Rock Music Fan card for that transgression?
Posted by: Michele at August 18, 2003 12:11 PMAfter reading about this, I thought about it and realized that I can't recollect ever writing a song with a key change in it - not one. Guess I always figured "three chords" meant three damn chords, and only three. Maybe that's why I suck.
Posted by: Mike at August 18, 2003 12:56 PMDF, while I am of the opinion that modulation is just a tool like anything else, and isn't inherently good, bad, or anything else, ALL of this recent material you've been doing on songwriting and production, etc. would sure look mighty spanking good on Blogcritics!! Best, EO
Posted by: Eric Olsen at August 18, 2003 06:07 PMThe anti-modulation heads will probably come after my band's keyboardist first. He's as guilty of key-changes as they come. While in the car with his family, driving home on vacation, I guess everyone else fell asleep, so he wrote music in his head to stay awake.
When they got home he had an epic. Mostly written in 'C' whole-tone, but it moves around plenty.
I suppose I'd better warn him.
Posted by: Dymaxian at August 18, 2003 09:42 PMmodulations are one of the best tricks in the book. i know i've used them to spice up my otherwise bland songs. that's why they are so common in many top40 songs. nothing's catchier than the keychange.
Posted by: kendra at August 18, 2003 10:52 PMHeh.
I thought of this thread when Led Zeppelin's All of My Love played on the car radio today.
Posted by: JB at August 19, 2003 12:50 AMFirst of all allow me to thank you again Dr. Frank for introducing me (though at the time of course not to your knowledge) to Television Personalities (in relation to the topic). But I've gotta agree with you about Modulation. I think it really is a tool that is helpful. It adds a different dimension to how a song can be dramatic. Vocal tone, instrumentation, volume levels all do this. Chord changes and structures of course, but Modulation I think helps most when one wants to take a song to a different place. The Attractions were always very brilliant with doing this. I recently wrong this song that uses a similar chords progression for the verses all the way through but on the final verse (and there is no final chorus) a Bminor becomes a Bmajor, and it works. I was actually quite proud of myself. Though currently I have no band to tell me "Please chach, don't do it".... soon that will follow though.
Posted by: chach at August 19, 2003 05:28 AMWell, I don't see eye-to-eye NOR do I listen ear-to-ear, here...
Its been used before, as have the notes A-D-E, and EVERY OTHER note! He states that use of this technique is NOT creative BECAUSE its been used before... implying that only "previously-totally-unused" is creative.
By that implicit, non-openly-asserted standard, only ghastly concoctions of non-chromatic, dysphonious, non-rhythmic agglomerates would be 'creative'...
Don't buy it, I don't.
Just because a note, or chord, or pattern of chords has been 'used before' does NOT automatically make it 'uncreative' or 'boring' or useless. I'm not about to create a new mathematics EVERY TIME I need to tote up my grocery bill...
Bushwa.
Posted by: Sharpshooter at August 19, 2003 03:34 PMit is great to read such blogs!
thanks for getting it so informative.