Rock Modulation and Narrative

Abstract

Key changes have long been employed in rock music to great dramatic effect. This paper takes as its point of departure the premise that modulations constitute “marked” events, which provide fertile ground for narrative analysis. Specifically I demonstrate, through analysis, the profitable intersection of ideas of musical narrative on the one hand (Burns and Woods 2004, Almén 2008, Burns 2010, etc.) and, on the other hand, current understandings of modulation in rock music (Capuzzo 2009, Doll 2011, and Temperley 2011b). Acknowledging the elusive nature of one-to-one correspondences between musical narrative and the patterning of pitch materials, my analyses instead seek to highlight relevant analyticalquestions. Six songs are considered as examples: “42” (Coldplay), “One Foot” (Fun.), “Hay Loft” (Mother Mother), “Knights of Cydonia” (Muse), “Across the Sea” (Weezer), and “Everlasting Everything” (Wilco). These demonstrate a range of situations, from passages in which a modulation away from a song’s initial tonic key occupies only a few measures to complex tonal trajectories that engage the majority of a song. The conclusion suggests five potential archetypes, each describing a different narrative function that may be supported by modulation.

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