PAPARAZZI: Common-Chord Modulation

For this article, you need to know:
- The Basics
- Cadences

Sometimes just one key isn't enough. Sometimes you gotta change it up. When you change keys in the middle of a song, it's called a modulation.

In any regular modulation, you're going along in one key, then you hit a pivot chord (or modulating chord), and then suddenly you're in another key. Basically, the pivot chord is one that's diatonic (made only out of notes in the key's scale) in both keys. For example, here's a basic modulation:

C:	I	vii6	I6	vi
			G:	ii	V6

The vi and ii are the same chord (an a), and it belongs to both keys. It is the pivot chord of this modulation. You could continue in G major for the rest of the song; there's no requirement to modulate back to C unless you want to.

There are some guidelines for which modulations sound best. Take a look at the circle of fifths with each major key's relative minor on the inside.

[circle of fifths]

Two keys are considered closely related if they are a fifth apart OR one is a fifth apart from the other's relative key. A key's relative key is also considered closely related. So, looking at the circle, you can go one space in either direction and/or cross into/out of the circle. For example, look at C major. You could modulate to a minor, or move up to G major or e minor, or move down to F major or d minor. That gives you five keys to choose from.

The reason for this is that closely related keys have many chords in common - relative keys have *all* of the same chords, just in a different order; keys a fifth apart have four of the same chords. If you went further away, you'd have fewer options - keys that are two spaces apart on the circle of fifths only have two common chords, and beyond that, there are none at all.

So let's consider another example: Look at c minor. c can modulate to E♭, g, B♭, f, or A♭. In "Paparazzi", Gaga chooses to modulate from c to A♭. The opening verse is is in c, and the chorus is in Ab. Let's look at the pivot chord. Starting from "ready for those":

	Ready	for those	flashing lights...	know...I	I'm your...	follow...	love me...
c:	VI	VII	i	III
			A♭:	V	I	V	vi

The pivot chord, an E♭, happens on the phrase "know that, baby, I". Listen to the song, and you'll notice how, when Gaga then sings "I'm your biggest fan", the music forms an authentic (V-I) cadence. It might be easier to hear in the acoustic version.

[to be finished]