Transitions Tutorial

- by Heather Birch

See a post about why transitions are important. Use the charts below to determine chord progressions which can be used between songs of different keys, to create smooth transitions, or modulations.


Step 1
Decide which key you are starting in (Original Key). 


Step 2

Decide which key you are moving to (Destination Key). 

Step 3
Figure out the distance between the Original Key and the Destination Key by counting the number of semitones the two keys are apart, on the keyboard. A semitone is the distance between one note and the very next note, black or white. When counting the distance between two keys, do not count the first key. For example, if your two keys are C and F, do not count C. Count C#, D, D#, E, and F. Therefore, the distance between C and F is 5 semitones. Other examples: The distance between Aflat and D is 6 semitones. The distance between F and G is 2 semitones.

Picture by: piano-keyboard-guide.com

Step 4

Look at the row in the chart below which corresponds to the distance you are moving from key to key. Write down the roman numerals for the set of chords (chord progression) you will be working with. 

Example 1

I'm moving up 5 semitones. Therefore, my transition chord progression will be:   
I I   I7sus  I7  IV

Example 2

I'm moving up 10 semitones. Therefore, my transition chord progression will be:
I I7sus flatIII/IV  IV7 flatVII 

Step 5
Look at the Original Key row in the following chart to determine the seven notes which are played in that key, and the Roman numeral which corresponds to each note. Then, substitute each Roman numeral of your chord progression for a note letter name.

Example 1

My original key is G. Therefore, my transition chord progression will be:  

G  G  G7sus  G7  C

Example 2

My original key is C. Therefore, my transition chord progression will be:

C C7sus Eflat/F  F7 Bflat

Take note:

• When a Roman numeral has a flat, lower the note letter name by one semitone. For example, in the key of C, the III chord would be E. Therefore, the flat III is Eflat.

• When a Roman numeral has a flat, lower the note letter name by one semitone. For example, in the key of C, the III chord would be E. Therefore, the flat III is Eflat.

• When a chord indicates two letter names with a slash between them, the first letter names the chord and the second letter names the bass note of the chord. For example, Eflat/F means that you would play an Eflat chord with an F bass. This is easy to do on piano, since you play the chord with your right hand, and the bass note with your left hand. On the guitar, this is not quite as simple. On the bass, you simply play the second letter name.

Step 6
Play the chord progression. If you are in 4/4 time, each box in the chart above represents 2 beats. For the above example, you would play 4 beats of G, 2 beats of G7sus, 2 beats of G7, and then land on C, your Destination Key. If you are unsure how to play some of the chords you end up with, use these amazing Piano Chord, or Guitar Chord resources. For demonstration videos of these modulations on piano, visit <Youtube link - coming soon>.