🧠 This Raye song uses a modulation trick worth stealing

Hey music maker!

Raye recently dropped her new album, This Music May Contain Hope, and I think this project has changed my way of thinking about creating commercial music.

I'm not exaggerating.

If you haven't heard it yet, you've got to check it out. I'm probably going to be dissecting this album and sharing my notes with you here and there over the next few issues.

It’s really that good!!!

I'm currently stuck on "Click Clack Symphony." The song features the legendary film composer Hans Zimmer...that's crazy. I wonder what that production budget looked like.

As you would expect coming from Hans Zimmer, the arrangement is beautiful. I love how the song shifts emotion between sections without adding complexity. It's sophisticated, but the trick is pretty simple with a little practice, of course.

One tool they used for this emotional shift is a clean modulation between the verse/pre-chorus and the chorus.

Here's how it works.

💿 "Click Clack Symphony" by Raye feat. Hans Zimmer

Verse (E♭ Major): Cm - G - Cm - B♭ - E♭ - B♭ - E♭ - Cm - G

Nashville Numbers: 6m - 3 - 6m - 5 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 6m - 3

Pre-Chorus (E♭ Major): Cm - Fm - B♭7

Nashville Numbers: 6m - 2m - 5⁷

Chorus (B♭ Mixolydian): Fm - E♭ - B♭

Nashville Numbers: 5m - 4 - 1

The verse establishes the E♭ major key but with a minor feel by starting on the 6m and making heavy use of the 6m and 3 (major) chords.

Then the pre-chorus pivots with the B♭7 chord doing double duty. It's the V7 in E♭ major, but it's also setting up to become I7 in B♭ Mixolydian for the chorus.

When the chorus hits, you're in a new tonal center. B♭ is now home. E♭ is now the IV chord.

The stage changes, but it doesn't feel jarring because the voice leading is smooth and the chords in use are closely related.

The modulation is confirmed on that IV (E♭) to I (B♭) move in the chorus.

That's when my ear fully registers the shift.

Why this matters:

A lot of modern songs stay in one key the entire time. Raye modulates between sections, and this keeps her sections feeling fresh without adding a lot of harmonic complexity.

This is a modulation strategy worth stealing.

Let's practice, shall we?

Pick a song you're working on.

Try shifting the tonal center between verse and chorus.

At the end of your verse progression, pick a chord you can use for a modulation.

For example, if you're moving from C major to its relative A minor key, play the V chord in C major (which is G) and pivot into the A minor key.

Let the melody confirm the new tonal center.

See what happens.

The best songwriting moves aren't always the most complex. Sometimes it's just a shift in perspective that’s needed to keep the music moving along.

That's what Raye does here. And it's brilliant.