How in the Heck Do Key Changes WORK?!

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How in the heck do key changes work in music? How do we smoothly change keys, and should we ever go for super abrupt changes?! The answers lie in understanding the circle of fifths, and i'm gonna show you how Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Jackson, Damn Yankees, and so many other artists have done it over the years! You don't have to know a ton of theory to make this make sense, just buckle up and follow your good buddy Uncle Ben Eller for this key change lesson extravaganza!
Gear:
Suhr Alt T
Fractal Audio Axe FX 3
What topic should we dive into next on FAQ You? Lemme know in the comments!

[erPiccoloTotti]

Hearing that Turtles game music intro made me have flashbacks of going through the map, and ofcourse getting annihilated when I got to the underwater level with the shocking coral or whatever it was. I was just talking to people at work about how old video games were way more difficult than current games, like that hovering jetski level on Battletoads.

[DaringDan]

A dog, a red arrow or two and the wheel of fifths is a surefire thumbnail. Kudos.

[ChrisRash]

Don't forget the Metallica modulation. They do it in so many songs. Just move up a full step. Usually E minor to F# minor (and usually just for a pre-chorus)

[Deekthagnome]

The half step up key change in the last chorus is hugely popular in pop music. It adds to the energy of that last chorus. At this point, it should be considered traditional. Pitch-Axis would be a cool one to cover. As if any of us need an excuse to study more Satch.

[blackfender]

great video Ben . Rush got hammered in the 70's about key changes in the rock magazines. they sounded great for 50 years.

[phillybri]

One of my favorite key changes is in Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”.

The key shifts up at the beginning of the 2nd verse and it gives a feeling of hope, but later in that same verse, the key shifts back down and that feeling of hope is gone…

[chadsux]

Wow, Ben! I have to say, I've always heard about "borrowing a chord, " but never really knew how the hell that was accomplished. Now, I GET it!!! Add to that the idea of key changes the way you explained them makes this so much more digestible. Thank you for so much great content over the years!!!

[fab.silva]

I’ve been subscribed to this channel for several years and I have to say that this video is one of your best ever.

[CJtheClaimed]

And this is why we gotta love Uncle Ben! Breaking confusing stuff down to simple bits that stick with you forever!

[Ken-oswg]

Wanted to say thank you 👍 I’m a adult learner that started 2 years ago and while I primarily am interested in blues/classic rock I get the most from your Chanel out of a plethora of other YouTube channels. Great teacher and great sense of humor!

[Lupoexperience]

This was the most useful presentation of the Circle of Fifths I've ever watched...and I've watched dozens of them!

[jackdemoguitar]

Awesome video. I learned something and laughed a few times. I think my favorite key change is the change in “To live is to die” from F# Phrygian (yes I know modes 😎) to A minor. So emotional. Also I like the key change in almost every Iron Maiden guitar solo section.

[flavy]

Thank you for sharing your Key Changing Journey, Ben!

[Novemberbridges]

Great video(as always). There's one video by Rick Beato where he talks about this crazy song he had to perform back in the day. It's titled "The most complex song" or something. That could be a good example too!

[adambreska]

@BenEller I started writing something in E Minor and then I borrowed some chords from E harmonic minor that also shared chords with E major and I modulated into E major from E minor. So how I transitioned it right before I change keys was I started the section with an embellished A, then from there I went to D major, then I threw in a borrowed D# diminished right before going into E major

[ChasingSoundGuitar]

One of your best videos yet. Def. sharing this with my guitar friends.

[pseudonymlifts]

My uneducated rock guitarist view of Freebird, is to see the F as a chorded up bluesy minor third interjected in the shift from G ionian (plainer, more vanilla diatonic, classical, more melancholy) to D mixolydian, which tends to be used as the 'bluesier' version of the major scale and suddenly turns it into rock. It gives it an interesting duality of character, that's echoed in the shift to the straight up rocking second half.

[BeToTony]

"Duran Duran - Too Late Marlene" has quite a few nice changes as well!

[Robert]

It’s also common for songs in minor keys to borrow the parallel major chord, for example playing an E minor progression like Em-Bm-Am-D and then something like Em-Bm-C-E major

Edit: A key change in a popular song which I find very interesting and unique is the one in “Pretty Woman”, it goes from A major to C major (and the back to A major) and it somehow works perfectly

[bmwilson]

I’ve seen a number of videos about the cycle of fifths, read stuff online, read book excerpts. I’ve never had trouble understanding shifting an interval but no one bothered to explain why or how to use it in a song. This video did that perfectly with examples like Freebird. I’ve known for a while now I could drop an F chord into a song in G. Now I know why. Thanks, Uncle Ben!