The Truck Driver's Gear Change Hall Of Shame

The Truck Driver's Gear Change , that jarring key change in many songs, is analyzed in great detail with examples and humor by the author of a book called The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles.

I've always called such a key change a "direct modulation," and am surprised he doesn't refer to that term. I'll prefer "Truck Driver's Gear Change" from now on. [It's also interesting -- if very explicable -- how often all kinds of modulations go up and how relatively rarely down, although he doesn't remark on that.]

I'm also surprised to hear:

Former Spice Girls songsmith Richard Stannard even explains how, in the modern dance music market (and especially the Ibiza scene), the truck driver's modulation is seen as such an essential element that the A&R men actually demand it from their songwriters. As he puts it: "If it's not there, you can guarantee they'll say: 'where is it?'!"

A Spice Girls songwriter allows his name to be used in public!