Why does this key change work?
In the song 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin which is a fairly simple progression in Bb major the saxophone solo part of the song seems to make a key change to the key of Em. I don't understand why this works musically. Could anyone explain?
You can hear it around 1:10 in this video:
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The Emin7 is a ii (secondary function)... as Emin7 => A7 (the complete bridge changes are Emin7, A7, Emin7, F7) it infers Dmaj but never resolves (Dmaj could be a Chromatic Mediant, it has a common tone, is a Maj3rd away, and has chromatic resolutions, as Bb and D relate as keys).
Modulation through Chromatic Pivot Chords:
2.1 Diatonic/Chromatic;
2.2 Chromatic/Diatonic;
2.3 Chromatic/Chromatic.
•These let you modulate to any key, no matter how distant.
•Practice making up chord progressions that use each of these modulation types.
So, I'm changing my answer to it's some form of a Chromatic pivot chord, (the G natural is common from Eb to Emin7 everything else moves up a half step chromatically). For all intents and purposes I should point out that this is essentially what NReilingh is saying above... but there is a name for it.
The last chord of the bridge is F7, coming from the Emin7 it's 3 chromatic half steps and one whole step shift, but clearly the F7 is the V of Bb. (The horn lick is F minor pentatonic scale descending an octave from F to F; and F is of course the V of Bb.)
Thanks to NReilingh for getting me to take a second (longer look at that)... I think we all missed the correct chord changes in the verse the first time around.
(well... let's see how quick I'll need to edit this again :)
Oh... I'll add the Verse changes here as well for completeness... ||:F7=>Eb7:|| then ||:Bb=>Eb:|| then the bridge (take me to the bridge! huh!), but there is two different "chord vamps?" (V7=>IV7 and I7=>V7).
Consider how the key change is approached.
In Bb, the chord progression is just going from I to IV and back again, i.e. Bb - Eb - Bb - Eb.
The key change comes right off of one of those IV chords, so you get a movement from Eb to Eminor.
This sounds like a key change up half a step, which is rather common in this genre--this hides the fact that the tonic note is shifting by a diminished 5th (tritone).
The 'original' version appears to be in Cmaj. Chords for verse being G and F. Thus V-IV, going to I. This puts the solo into F#m with B maj.,ending back on the G, straight into the next verse.The solo is using the blues scale of F#m, which could translate as F# Dorian or key of E.
There's no V chord that's found usually in a modulation, either into or out of the solo, so 'key change' rather than 'modulation'. Could easily have been recorded at a separate time, and just dropped in. C to F# (or Gb) is a tritone - both ways, so it's exactly half way round the octave, out and back. There doesn't need to be a musical theory reason for it: it's just as is. It works, although the first time it's heard would sound funny. However, best part of 50 yrs later, we've got used to it. Haven't heard the idea used much since, though.
Just my opinion.
Em is the same key as G. Changing from Bb to G (modulation down by 1.5 notes, or up from G to Bb) seems to be common in gospel music.
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