FIGURED BASS - MODULATION

BY VICTORIA WILLIAMS
www.mymusictheory.com

At grade 7, it’s very likely that the figured bass exercise you are given in the exam contains some
modulation, or passes through different keys.

A true modulation occurs when the music changes from one tonal centre to another, and stays
there for some time. For example, a piece could start in A minor, modulate to E major and then
continue in that key for a while. It’s usually relatively easy to spot a modulation and work out
which keys are involved.

When a piece of music passes through various keys, it can sometimes take a little bit more
detective work to figure out what’s going on. When music passes through a key, that key might
only last a very short while – even perhaps just one chord. And it’s possible to move through
several keys in quick succession.

RELATED KEYS
Music from this era (late Baroque/early Classical) usually moves to a closely related key, whether as
a modulation, or just passing through.

The most closely related keys are the dominant and subdominant, the relative major/minor, and
the parallel key. (“Parallel” keys are C major and C minor, for example. Any of the closely related
keys can be used in its parallel form too.)

For example, if the piece begins in C major, then the most closely related keys are these:

• C minor (parallel key) • F major (subdominant)

• A minor (relative minor) • G major (dominant)

But, as soon as the key passes from C major to one of these related keys, it might either return to
the original key, another closely related key or pass through the next level of related keys. Let’s say
C major passes through A minor. From this point, the next key to pass though could be related to C
major again, or to A minor:

• A major (parallel key) • D minor (subdominant)

• C major (relative major) • E major (dominant)

And so on. So as you can see, you can move from C major to E major very quickly, although they are
not closely related to each other.

It’s also worth remembering that the dominant chord is occasionally used in its minor form
(parallel), in a minor key. For example, in A minor, we would normally expect the dominant chord to
be E major, and a modulation would be to the major key. But you could equally modulate from the
key of A minor to E minor.

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 1

SPOTTING KEY CHANGES
Usually you will easily be able to see where a key change is happening – there will be accidentals in
the music which do not fit the current key. If the piece begins in C major and you see an F#, that is a
good sign that the music is modulating to G major. Don’t forget though, that accidentals can be used
simply because the piece is in a minor key, or as chromatic melodic decoration.

There may be no visible accidentals, however, when the music moves between the relative major
and minor, since they share a key signature.

WORKING OUT KEY CHANGES

Once you have identified the place where a key change (or changes) is happening, you’ll need to
work out what that key is, so that the correct chord can be figured.

It’s essential to remember that at this period, most key changes were created with the use of chord
V or V7 in the new key. (An exception is when the music moves into the parallel key: when C minor
moves immediately to C major, for example.)

Don’t forget that chord vii° is considered to be a V7 substitute. The chord notes F#-A-C, for example,
make up chord vii° in G major. V7 in G major is D-F#-A-C – it’s the same as vii° with a missing tonic. In
the following paragraphs, chord vii° also works wherever you see V7.

Important: When used as a tool for modulation, the dominant chord will always be in its major form.

Let’s go back to the list of closely related keys, and examine the chords which would be expected at
those modulations.

C major > F major: via C (C-E-G) or C7 (C-E-G-Bb)

C major > G major: via D (D-F#-A) or D7 (D-F#-A-C)

C major > A minor: via E (E-G#-B) or E7 (E-G#-B-D)

In order to know which is the correct chord to figure at a modulation, follow these steps:

1. Work out the key up to this point, and list the closely related keys. This narrows down the
possibilities!

2. Look at the bass and melody lines, and work out which dominant/tonic chords would fit, always
remembering to think through the added 7th chords too.
For example, a C/F# would fit D7, and B/G# would fit E or E7.
In most cases, an added 7th chord is preferable when the key is changing, as it fixes the new key
more strongly. This is particularly important when the key is changing rapidly.

3. Jot down the chord notes, paying attention to any accidentals which will be necessary to add to
the figure.

4. Look at the next chord for confirmation. Usually, it will be chord I (or i) in the new key. But, there
may be another key change to another closely related key instead.

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 2

AN EXAMPLE FROM BACH

This is the beginning of Bach’s chorale no. 200, “Christus ist erstanden, hat überwunden”. It starts in
C major – this is apparent from the key signature and opening tonic chord.

Chord 2 is G major (V) in first inversion.

Chord 3 contains a suspension. The G is not a “member” of this chord – it’s a hanger-on from chord
2. Chord 3 contains the notes A-C-F#, which is chord vii° in G major, so at this point the music is
passing though G major.

Chord 4 is G major (I). But it includes an F natural passing note, making G-B-D-F, or V7 in the key of C
major.

Chord 5 is C major (I), but again the passing note Bb then creates C-E-G-Bb, or C7 in F major.

Chord 6 is F major (I).

Chord 7 is C major, with a suspension. At this point, whether you name this as V in F major or I in C
major is a matter of individual perception! After moving through so many keys so quickly, the
original tonal centre (key) is lost, and the final chord has some ambiguity about it.

Now take a closer look at the bass and soprano lines – in fact, these parts don’t include any of those
added accidentals. If you were given this piece as an exercise, you could do it without any key
changes at all. However, it’s worth playing it through, to notice how Bach effectively changes key
rapidly, and the effect of the added 7th chords. Play it through without the accidentals as well, and
compare the results. It sounds fine, but it’s much less interesting aurally.

Occasionally Bach changes to a less closely related key, e.g. in chorale 199 he moves from a chord of
F7 immediately to G7. However, you’re not likely to find such a progression in the grade 7 exam.

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 3

EXAMPLE EXERCISES
Now let’s take a look at some typical exercises where a modulation is not optional.

These two bars are taken from the middle of Bach’s chorale no. 215, “Verleih’ uns Frieden
gnädiglich”. The key is G minor at the start of the extract.

Notice the C sharp, and also the F (natural) at the end of the second bar. These are clues that the key
is changing.

Now find the most likely chord/key for each numbered chord.

Chord 1 is V(7) in G minor (6 or 6-5).

Chord 2 is i in G minor (5-3).

Chord 3 is V(7) in G minor (5-3# or 7#).

Chord 4 is i in G minor (cadence) (5-3). (G major would also work here).

Chord 5, with two G’s, is i again (5-3). (Think through the alternatives and pick the most “usual”
chord).

Chord 6 has C# and G, which are both in V7 in the key of D (dominant key). So this is V7 in D (6-5-♮).

Chord 7 has D and F natural, which confirms the modulation to D minor. This is i in D minor (5-3).

Chord 8 with Bb and G is open to interpretation. Look at the next chord for some clues.

Chord 9 with F and C will be an F major chord (5-3). We could then interpret the G/Bb in the
previous chord as V7 (6♮-4-3-) or vii° (6♮) in F major – the relative major key. (In fact, Bach uses vii°
and the chorale stays in F major for a few more beats.)

It can be helpful to try and assume the “most likely scenario”, when you are faced with chords that
could be interpreted in different ways. Chords 8 and 9 are a good example of this. The G/Bb in chord
8 could be interpreted as G minor, E° or C7. Chord 9 could be F major or minor. How do you choose
the most likely combination?

Firstly, F major is more closely related to the previous key of D minor, than F minor is. F major is the
relative key.

Having chosen F major for chord 9, which progression is more common: V7-I, vii°-I or ii-I? Either of
the first two progressions is fine, but ii-I is relatively unusual, so choose V7 or vii°.

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 4

This is the opening of Bach’s chorale no.206, “So gibst du nun, mein Jesu, gute Nacht”.

The key signature is two flats, and the F# in bar 1 should lead you to G minor as the opening key.

The first cadence, at chord 4, is clearly V7-i.

The F natural at the end of bar 1 is a diatonic note in G minor, because it’s part of the melodic minor
scale. By itself, it’s not enough to signify a key change.

Take a look at chord 10 though – the pause symbol means this is another cadence (you can also look
for longer note values, don’t forget). But the two notes we have to work with are both Bb’s. At a
cadence, in the final chord we’d normally expect:

• A root position chord

• A doubled root

Which means that chord 10 should be a chord of Bb major.

Chord 9 has the notes A and C – which fit with chord V in Bb major (F major). However, the C in the
bass would make Vc, but a second inversion chord would not be acceptable in this position. We
should therefore make this a V7c chord. (7th chords can be used freely in second inversion).

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 5