When you are able to back up and think about the major shifts in your cue you begin to have more control over the direction of the story. While a hit lasts for a moment, a shift can last for an entire cue. A shift on the other hand, marks an entire change in the mood and character of the scene. A hit marks a specific moment as significant, such as a powerful action or an important line. There is a difference between a hit and a shift. Obviously a C major triad is just as вЂњmajorвЂќ as an A major triad, but because itвЂ™s coming at us from outside the key the character of the chord is heightened.Дў. C chord feels far more uplifting, and in a weird way it even feels more вЂњmajorвЂќ. listen to what happens if instead we change the chord to C, a non-diatonic major triad: The melody note E is accompanied by an A major chord and it feels nice and happy. We have a little melody harmonized with diatonic chords. In other words, a non-diatonic major chord feels more вЂњmajorвЂќ and a non-diatonic minor chord feels more вЂњminorвЂќ. Chords from outside the key have a heightened sense of major or minor. They both deserve much more detailed discussion, but for now hereвЂ™s a general summary.ДЎ. Key TakeawaysДЄs we analyze a cue of James HornerвЂ™s classic score from Braveheart, IвЂ™ll keep coming back to two core ideas. In this article weвЂ™re going to take an in-depth look at how an James Horner uses modulation to bring out the significant shifts in a story. We can use modulation to increase the intensity of a scene, to propel the audience into a new frame of mind, and to get a lot of mileage out of a single theme. Modulation is one the most important dramatic devices we film composers have in our toolbox.

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