Very common it seems for songs to change keys into a higher one but I dont think I’ve really ever heard something doing a descending modulation or key change…

closest I can think of is Strawberry Fields by The Beatles but my understanding is that is Varispeed or something, not really sure what the heck is happening in that song other then its gradually flattening but not sure what that even is

  • EpheraEnglish
    6·
    6 hours ago

    I’ve lived through far too many of these songs to know so little about the genre, but I believe, this applies to many polkas.
    They like to end on a hearty, cozy note, so they want the warmer sound of a downward modulation.

    I think, a common structure is something like:

    1. Chorus b-flat
    2. Chorus b-flat
    3. Some intermezzo, like commonly a bass solo
    4. Chorus d-flat
    5. Chorus d-flat, but in forte
      • EpheraEnglish
        4·
        4 hours ago

        Oh man, I figured a question like that would follow. Now I gotta listen to polka to remember what the songs were like. 😅

        So, I only know the German titles, and these are like the low-hanging fruit, the pop songs of the polka genre. I’m sure, some polka connoisseurs would have wildly different suggestions.

        Kind of the most stereotypical always-getting-played polka is “Böhmischer Traum”. It largely follows the structure I wrote out up there, although it actually puts a load of complexity on top.

        Then the polka that always got the most excitement out of the crowd when we played it, is “Die Sonne geht auf”.
        It’s a relatively non-standard polka, though, with relatively much influence from marching music, and somewhat more concert style, i.e. not really something you’d dance to.

        Well, and for a polka that really follows that structure almost to a tee (with e-flat instead of d-flat), there’s the “Kuschel-Polka”.

        Some others we frequently played: Morgenblüten, Slavonicka-Polka, Wir Musikanten, Böhmische Liebe, Südböhmische Polka
        I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to find out, if these ones actually match the structure above. 🙃

        Edit: Oh, I forgot another pretty much always-getting-played polka: “Auf der Vogelwiese”