An explosive key change: Diatonic Pivot Modulation in BTS's "Dynamite"

A flawless pop song also contains an incredibly compelling key change.

My intro here assumes that you know something about the culture of Twitter. Why? Because the song discussed here might be the biggest global K-pop hit ever, and a huge reason why it became so popular is because of Twitter. If you don’t care about social media, just skip down to the video.

I have spent a lot of time on Twitter, generally speaking. Over the past several years, I have been lucky enough to find a home online amidst different communities — progressive educators and music scholars, to name a few.

One of the pedagogical luminaries among the many teachers I’ve met on Twitter is Rafranz Davis, a brilliant educator, professional & digital learning director, advocate for equity in educational tech, and author from Texas. Through Twitter, she is also a devoted member of the BTS Army. For the uninitiated, BTS’s Army is a globally connected network of super-fans of the Korean boy band. They are dedicated not only to promoting their favorite group but also to improving the world at large through BTS fandom. I have enjoyed some of the group’s music, and whenever I see them on television or hear them out in the world, I think of Rafranz.

She had to have an unfortunate surgery lately, and made her wishes known that her friends & followers should stream “Dynamite,” BTS’s first American #1 single. One thing I will say about Rafranz is that when she asks for something, there are many of us who oblige without further questioning.

So I streamed “Dynamite” for the first time, and while I’m not ready to join any Army, I can say that I get it. This song is flawless pop. And even better? It features a textbook perfect & very compelling key change. What more could you ask for?

(We can ask for Rafranz to be comfortable and back home soon. Here is hoping that your recovery goes well!)

Introduction: BTS is a record-obliterating group from South Korea. Formed in 2013, they have released four Korean-language studio albums and four Japanese-language albums, with a second 2020 digital release slated for November. Map of the Soul: 7 debuted at the top of the Billboard Album Charts in February, making BTS the fastest group to achieve four Billboard number one albums since The Beatles. “Dynamite” was a single recorded fully in English and became their first Billboard number one single. The song topped the charts in at least seven other countries, as far flung as Israel, Scotland, and of course the group’s native South Korea. Beyond awards won in the US & UK, BTS is the biggest selling South Korean group of all time. They have won dozens of awards in South Korea and across Asia, and established a fanbase that would put Beatlemania to shame. They have inspired television programs, cartoons, and even the formation of an alternate universe often mentioned on their albums. The band has also been exceedingly active in philanthropic causes and directed their legions of fans to fight for good in the world. Because of their multiple sales achievements, global social media engagement, and massively devoted fans, they garner far more comparisons to The Beatles or The Monkees than 80s or 90s American boy bands.

Analysis: Heard at 3:04 in the video recording linked above, there is a killer key change. Some keyboard arrangements of the song that I’ve seen indicate that the song is in C# minor, which seems incorrect. The primary chord changes in the song are C# min - F# min - B 7 sus - E, or in Roman numeral terms, vi-ii-V7-I. The continual cadence of V-I throughout the song makes a pretty strong case for the key of E major, as does that the fact that the primary melody of the song always lands on an E. The structure of the song is another perfect pop feature, with a call & response shout section in which the members of the group take turns singing the “na na na” hook.

The song doesn’t use a truck driver modulation like many other pop songs. Much like another boy band pop anthem from 20 years prior (the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”), “Dynamite” modulates up a full step, moving from E major to F# major. (The modulation hits at 2:40 in the song if you’re listening on Spotify; there is extra material at the beginning of the official music video.)

And instead of using a major chord to pivot up a whole step, the song uses a D# minor chord. D# is the vii chord in the original key of E, but it lands at the modulation as a vi chord. This continues the chord progression of vi-ii-V7-I in the new key of F# major. It’s kind of different, but it’s really appealing, too.

Considerations for Teaching: There should be nothing that keeps you from teaching this song. It clocks in at just over three minutes, modulation & all, contains zero profane language, and the members of the group are model citizens. The brilliant Rafranz Davis believes that BTS has immense capacity to teach us all. I think she’s right, and this song has a specific musical teaching purpose. Really, you can’t ask for anything beyond that.