Greatest Key Change in Pop Music History

barbee0715

Proud Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2012
Messages
6,940
Points
63
Location
Texas, USA
Let’s take a moment to enjoy the greatest key change in pop music history


By Daniel Ross, 17th June 2016, 15:16
Michael Jackson’s ‘Man In The Mirror’ features one of the most satisfyingly epic key changes in all music. This is why it’s so good.
image: http://assets7.classicfm.com/2016/24/michael-jackson-key-change-1466172822-article-0.jpg
michael-jackson-key-change-1466172822-article-0.jpg
So we’re looking specifically at this moment here:
<iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PivWY9wn5ps?start=163" width="420" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; float: left; width: 460px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 20px; max-width: 100%;"></iframe>
This one:

<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://giphy.com/embed/NaYIrJPeZ39ja" width="480" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; float: left; width: 460px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 20px; max-width: 100%;"></iframe>
Let&#8217;s just celebrate for a moment the audacity of this key change. For a start, it occurs on the word &#8216;Change&#8217;. Not only that, it occurs on the word &#8216;Change&#8217; during a song ACTUALLY ABOUT change. Key change, changing person, on the word &#8216;Change&#8217;. It&#8217;s change central.

&#8216;Man In The Mirror&#8217; begins in humble, plain, unassuming G major. The harmony is sweet, fairly unadventurous, but functional. Jackson, a keen improviser (&#8216;HEE-EE!&#8217;), clearly enjoys rattling around G major and exploiting that killer 7th degree of the scale for maximum impact. Fine. We expect this.

But then, at about 2:50, it happens. Change happens. In a stroke of genius, the key change itself is pre-figured with a moment&#8217;s silence, which completely removes the rug from under the listener&#8217;s ears (if that&#8217;s physically possible), and establishes a new reality of A flat major (or G sharp major, which looks more impressive) without so much as a cursory consultation period.

It is brazen, insane, wonderful.
<iframe frameborder="0" height="355" src="http://giphy.com/embed/NENKWiQoPJqo" width="480" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; float: left; width: 460px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 20px; max-width: 100%;"></iframe>

<iframe name="fd54739ac9f77c" width="55px" height="1000px" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" title="fb:like Facebook Social Plugin" src="https://www.facebook.com/v2.0/plugins/like.php?action=like&app_id=357357177653391&channel=http%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D42%23cb%3Df160c97edd6f9ec%26domain%3Dwww.classicfm.com%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.classicfm.com%252Ff2c8019a1637cb%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=0&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com%2Fdiscover%2Fmusic-theory%2Fman-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change%2F&layout=button_count&locale=en_US&ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&sdk=joey&send=false&show_faces=false&width=55" class="" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 87px; float: none; border-radius: 0px; position: absolute; visibility: visible; height: 20px; background: none;"></iframe>

<iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-share-button twitter-share-button-rendered twitter-tweet-button" title="Twitter Tweet Button" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.178875e873dd548f81376d8be28c2163.en.html#dnt=false&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com%2Fdiscover%2Fmusic-theory%2Fman-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change%2F%3Ffb_comment_id%3D1086161354790464_1086400021433264%26comment_id%3D1086400021433264&size=m&text=Let%E2%80%99s%20take%20a%20moment%20to%20enjoy%20the%20greatest%20key%20change%20in%20pop%20music%20history%20%40classicfm&time=1466209743368&type=share&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com%2Fdiscover%2Fmusic-theory%2Fman-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change%2F" data-url="http://www.classicfm.com/discover/music-theory/man-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change/" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: initial; padding: 0px; width: 61px; border-radius: 0px; display: block; position: static; visibility: visible; height: 20px; background: none;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" tabindex="0" vspace="0" width="100%" id="I0_1466209743340" name="I0_1466209743340" src="https://apis.google.com/u/0/se/0/_/+1/fastbutton?usegapi=1&size=medium&annotation=bubble&width=&hl=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com%2Fdiscover%2Fmusic-theory%2Fman-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change%2F&gsrc=3p&ic=1&jsh=m%3B%2F_%2Fscs%2Fapps-static%2F_%2Fjs%2Fk%3Doz.gapi.en.2cv2ukNQR74.O%2Fm%3D__features__%2Fam%3DAQ%2Frt%3Dj%2Fd%3D1%2Frs%3DAGLTcCNOPOlYPyViTRZzB0LhQcLsf3eauw#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh%2Conload&id=I0_1466209743340&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.classicfm.com&pfname=&rpctoken=13758322" data-gapiattached="true" title="+1" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 90px; float: none; border-radius: 0px; font-size: 10px; position: static; top: 0px; left: 0px; visibility: visible; height: 20px; background: none;"></iframe>

Share

<tbody>
</tbody>
2K

<tbody>
</tbody>

<tbody>
</tbody>


Comments





Read more at http://www.classicfm.com/discover/m...chael-jackson-key-change/#GSoSAz10i5maDMGt.99













Cool little article that I ran across
 
Last edited:
..... it is a pretty life-changing modulation lol. :wub:
 
Back
Top