Motivic modulation & harmonic storytelling

One of my favorite ways to modulate is NOT led by the chords. Of course, the chords are very important to the modulation. But they are secondary to the element that actually affects the modulation. In the example below, from my new arrangement of "Silent Night" (which you can get for FREE at this link)... ...I'll show you how this works. It's an example of what I like to call Harmonic Storytelling. In this particular case, think of this passage as a motivic modulation. Instead of leading with...