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Modulating: Tonality in Music Can Change
Modulating means the tonality in music can change, and as the composer or songwriter, you take charge of the modulating. In music, when you establish tonality, you simply affirm you are in a particular key. Modulating just means changing that key, that tonality, to a different one. There are 23 other tonalities to choose from.
When your melody emphasizes certain notes of the scale, such as 1, 3, and 5, and when you play certain chords, such as the chord built on the key note (the chord C major in the key of C major), you’re establishing tonality in the collective mind of your audience. (They don’t know consciously that you’re doing this, of course.)
Once you’ve established tonality, your listeners expect that the notes to follow will be related to the tonal centre in simple frequency ratios—the notes of the diatonic scale for the key you’re in.
When you’re composing a tune, with the intention of modulating, you have to firmly establish tonality early. A song runs only three or four minutes. You can’t successfully move to a different key until your listener’s brain has first locked into the identity of the original tonality.
Most songs have an instrumental introduction of four, eight, or sixteen bars. One of the main reasons for having that instrumental introduction is to establish tonality.