Ultimate Guitar Lesson

XIII. Modulations

Modulations are also known as key changes. There are two main types.
A. Direct Modulation.
These jump abruptly from one key to another.

G Minor         B Major    
Gm Am7b5 D7b9 Gm7 Cm7 C#m7 F#7 BMaj7
im iim7b5 V7 im7 ivm7 iim7 V7 Imaj7

B. Pivot Chord Modulation.
The two keys share a common chord, with the impact of the change being softened.

D Major     G Major      
Em7 A7 DMaj7 Em7 Am7 D7 G
iim7 V7 Imaj7 iim7 iim7 V7 I

The Em7 chord belongs to both the D major and G major keys.