Key Modulation Path Finder

This widget allow you to hear (and plan) the potential journey of a piece of music from one key to another. Just click your trackpad/mouse button on the interface to explore it. Or, if you prefer, you can use your computer keyboard to get faster control over the interface. It help you see the tonal centers and hear how they connect harmonically.

On the console, simply select your starting key from one dropdown menu and your destination key from another. The widget will then finds possible routes according to established relationships within music theory. At any point you may alter the endpoints to explore new combinations between keys.

How to Use the Widget

Choose your engineering technique. In the pivot tunnel, we use a common chord between two keys as a bridge. In the dominant runway approach, we builds up the tension by approaching the new key via its dominant chord. Or, there is the chromatic color cut, which is more vivid if distant switch of keys that are close but not necessarily immediate neighbours.

The pivot intersection area shows you what chords you has in common between the keys you’re interested in. Every button is a common triad found in both scales. Hit one. It’ll highlight the button, which will be the pivot point of your route. The widget show you other ways to make it work if there are no chord in common.

Above is circle of fifths used by Route B that includes all twelve major keys (shown in the upper-right waypoint map). To make your journey more involved, add waypoints to create intermediate stops. Simply click on any station and it become a waypoint that you can string together into a series of key changes. It is great for testing out multi-step harmonic journeys.

The dispatch board appears below the map and lets you play back a route based off your engineering choice (Route A), or manually manipulate waypoints using the map (Route B). Tap each lane header to arm the corresponding route(s) for playback, so that you can test varying harmonic choices. Press the dispatch button, and you’ll hear the chosen route played through. At the speed of your choosing, the audio engine plays every chord in the progression. You can use the slider to set the pace from fast and energetic than slow and deliberate. With the volume slider, you can balance the output so it fits in with any noise around you while you work.

As the sequence is played back, you’ll notice that each ticket light up as a chord changes. By combining this visual aid with what you hear, you can connect it more easiler with the underlying theory of the progression. You’ll also see the train move across the map when each new tonal center come into play. These two layers of feedback help you follow the harmonic reasoning in real-time.

The widget does work without a mouse; just use your keyboard. Pressing one through three on the number row switches between the three methods of engineering. A and B arms the associated routes so they’ll play back. X erases all waypoints and returns to a direct route. The U button remove the previous waypoint you entered. Dispatch starts when you press the H key and begins playing back your armed route. Using arrow keys you can also shift the focus across key stations on the map. The keyboard layout is made for speed so that it’s possible to keep your hands close to the home row while experimenting with alternative routes.

To get a feel for it, begin with easily reachable keys such as C major and G major. You’ll notice that these are fairly close in relation and that there is easy common ground found using the pivot tunnel approach. Next, attempt to move to more distant keys, for example, F sharp major and C major, which will show how the chromatic color cut method introduces more dramatic changes. Try inserting some waypoints and observe the impact of intermediate keys on the progression. Perhaps a pause in the relative minor bring extra feeling to an otherwise straightforward transition? Examine the dispatch board and view the cost of various possible paths. In general, lower cost means easier (more standard) paths.

The fullscreen button lets you remove distractions and see the relationships between harmonies more clearly. It frees up room on your screen to get around controls and the map itself. If it’s ever helpful, there is also a help panel that quickly explains conventions and keyboard shortcuts. So you don’t have to memorize everything (just the important stuff).

Experiment with the various options and combination of keys. Every route you take creates a distinct harmonic taste and there’s no correct or incorrect method of using this tool. Consider it your sandbox where you can play with ideas without having to write them down in your work. It’s meant to be an easy-to-navigate tool; click away and see what happens.