Imagine a rugby player running towards you. You need to make a tackle and so move in the direction you anticipate the player will run, but at the last minute the player side steps and you are left surprised and perhaps even stretched out on the grass in their wake. At their most colourful and extreme musical modulations can have a similar effect on our ears.

Listen to the opening of the 'Troika' from the Lieutenant Kije Suite by Prokofiev for an example of a sudden, ear crunching modulation from one tonality to another (there is no way you can miss it!) For subtler, but much more innovative modulations (less the sudden side step and more the insightful, elegant cross field pass), listen to any of Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues. These are full of tuneful passages taking unexpected directions that surprise and delight the listener (especially when that listener is also the person playing them!) Modulations breathe colourful life into musical journeys by seeking out new and interesting routes along the way.

And, of course, this is not only a musical prerogative. 

To stop your working life, tasks and activities from going down the same old ruts time and time again, the same old views, the same old feeling, the same old anxieties and frustrations, try adding stimulation and surprise. Take a side step in an unexpected direction.

Come at a problem from a different angle. How would another team or organisation deal with the issue? What would be an interesting, less well – known approach to try out? What would happen if you broke the rules (written or unwritten) that relate to the task or situation?

Modulate your thinking by taking the path less travelled. It might do you good to catch yourself off balance now and again!

To listen to the Troika from the Lieutenant Kije Suite click Here.

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