Repeat a whole phrase transposed up a whole step, and repetition does the persuading — by the second pass the new key IS the phrase. Sequencing is the oldest modulation machine in the repertoire.
hear it in classical rosalias · pop pre-chorus climbs
Lead-in — how players set it upWrite a phrase worth repeating; end it open (on 5).Or sequence a turnaround, not a phrase — chords do the repeating.Or seed the lift: end phrase one on the new key's 5.Follow — where it usually goesAfter the transposed repeat, cadence in the new key or climb again.Stop after two — a third repeat starts to feel like a treadmill.Or climb once more and treat rep three as the destination.
Copy the phrase EXACTLY a step up — melodic sequence is the modulation; changing the line breaks the spell.Target tones (in C)C — lean on E (3)F — lean on A (3)G — lean on B (3)D — lean on F# (3)G — lean on B (3)A — lean on C# (3)Half-step wiresE → F · C ↘ B · G ↘ F# · F# → G · D ↘ C#Across the borderno shared tonic tones with D — cut clean and re-land