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
Can you think of any other musical forms or genres that are characteristic of downwards modulation?
Yeah, really not sure. I feel like downward modulations were generally not that uncommon during my time in wind band here in Germany, but aside from polka, I find it difficult to say, if it was any particular genre.
I guess, it would probably be similarly common in the more traditional German wind band music, which we often played alongside polka. You might find some of that, if you search for “Blasmusik” (which technically only means “wind band music”, but yeah).
It’s also quite possible that I’m being a fool and I’m just remembering the downwards key change in my notes, which I guess you’d have just as much, if you’re doing the usual upwards modulation by a fifth. In particular, I always played lower instruments, so it’s possible that we went down by a third even though the rest of the orchestra jumped upwards.