Are key changes making a comeback?

Sabrina Carpenter's latest hit "Please Please Please" features what has recently become an endangered species, a key change! And this song isn't alone... in the last few years we have seen a small resurgence in pop song key changes. So today let's take a look at the handful of key changes that pop has given us over the last few years and consider whether the key change is due for a comeback!

And, an extra special thanks goes to Chase Heeler, Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇

0:00 Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter
1:40 Key changes in pop music
2:40 Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic
3:30 Dynamite by BTS
4:53 HDpiano
5:26 Sicko Mode by Travis Scott
7:12 Are key changes coming back into fashion?
7:54 Patreon

[FishMonger]

When I first heard that song I shouted like a moron to my wife, “ Key Change!! Holy Fuck a key change!” and all her response was to say “that’s nice” and condescendingly patted my should

[janekalbinsky]

We used to have this drinking game for the Eurovision Song Contest: one shot for every key change and one for every time the wind machine was used. I stayed depressingly sober the last few years...

[tylerhackner]

I hope so. It’s sorely missed. It gives drama, and energy to a song

[adri_mirn]

I wish David would talk about Mitski. She's a real genius on composition and production. A lot of her songs use key changes, modulation and other techniques.

[taeblends]

The key change is literally what MADE the song for me. I noticed it right away- it added something so unique and special to the song & I LOVED it

[catomajorcensor]

"Truck Driver key change" is an interesting term
I've usually heard "Eurovision modulation", "Disney modulation", or "Schubert modulation"

[AmtrakProductions]

Never thought I’d see SICKO MODE on this channel

[KillSilenceLoudly]

My wife and I listened to and had a discussion about “Please, Please, Please” while on a drive. I was CONVINCED the second verse of it was a Bridge because of the sparse difference was from the first verse. Never heard a song that does a key change like that on a verse in the middle of the song and reverts back. I have now conceded to her I was wrong. Thanks for the very informative video as always 😊

[FillyNouch]

In hip-hop, it's usually called "beat switch" cause the whole instrumentations change, like you where noting in the video. It was used quite a lot from 2018-2022, it's not used as frequently nowadays. Thanks for the great content as always! Hip-hop song with an actual key change that his quite recent : Little Simz - Two Worlds Apart (very subtle, only one bar).

[MakoMusicYT]

Some Kpop groups use lots of key changes. The last two Red Velvet songs, Chill Kill and Cosmic are really cool examples

[stitchgroover]

Key changes have become increasingly rare at Eurovision as well. They used to be so common they even formed part of a drinking game - have a shot everytime there's a keychange.

[AeptaX]

One I find interesting is in Billie Eilish's song "THE GREATEST" (at around 3:06), where for the drop the song switches from G major to either G mixolydian or C major.

Also, Olivia Rodrigo's song "obsessed" is normally in the key of F dorian, whereas in the bridge it transitions to F minor for some measures and then goes back to F dorian (starts at around 2:06)

[FMaple]

Things that need to come back in modern pop music:
1. Key changes
2. Instrumental solo

[twistedmuffin]

i freaked out when i saw sabrina on a thumbnail for david bennet piano, i knew there was a key change in it and i was waiting to see if david would make a video, OMG!! thanks so much

[embersun.]

I went to a band camp for a few summers and during lunch they would play music. It was a tradition during lunch time to shout "key change!" whenever a song did one. It was very fun and very on theme with a band camp lol

[SheetFiber]

The first thing comes to mind was Sweeter Than Fiction, the first work from Antonoff and Swift. The intro and the verse are on B major but shifted 3 semi tones to Db major for the chorus and the bridge. It was released in 2014 as single.

[badgasaurus]

Livin’ on a Prayer has to be the best truck driver gear shift there is

Edit: Variation on a truck driver gear shift

[mysterioussquid]

Just on that final comment about Taylor Swift, Gold Rush from Evermore has a key change from A to D (or maybe G Lydian?) from verse to chorus. It gives the chorus a really nice lift that stands out from the other songs in her discography, kind of a shame it wasn’t more of a hit because I really love that song (and Evermore in general). She mostly does truck driver key changes so this is a pretty rare exception for her.

[joshdykstra]

I haven’t seen anyone here say this yet, but the kind of key change in sicko mode is often called a “beat switch”. This is quite common in hip-hop where the instrumentation completely changes in not just key but also tempo, time signature, melody, harmony and whatever else you can think of. Beat switches are often accompanied by a flow switch, where a rapper changes the meter and rhyme sequencing as well, or a feature spot. This isn’t exclusively in hip-hop though, as some of the greatest songs of all time such as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody employ a very similar technique.

[titanofplasma]

J-pop and anime music feature key changes a lot, and it hasn't stopped doing it, especially that minor third up when transitioning from the verse to the chorus (and yes, that cheesy whole key for the end of the song too xD). YOASOBI, a superduo who became famous by being the first Japanese performers in many years reaching #1 in the international Billboard (excluding the US), change key in about 90% of their songs.