Roger Hecht wrote (on hearing key relationships):

>Can't help you here.  I don't have perfect pitch or anything close, so
>I too adjust.  But I must admit, I don't try and listen for key changes
>either.  I'll be this can be trained or learned, though, since different
>keys do sound different.  I would guess you'd have to bear down to learn
>this sound.  (E.g., major keys are brighter or more cheerful than minor
>keys--generally.  Eb major is supposed to be a "sunny" key, I think, etc.
>Maybe F, too.  YOu might get better stuff on this from other list members.)

I don't know whether you can get anything better from me, but I'll try.
I also have trouble hearing relationships between the keys of various
movements in a multi-movement work (I think this was the original
question), and I consider myself a pretty fair amateur musician.  It is
probably easier to hear modulations within a movement, if you know when
to listen for them and what you are listening for.  In the classical (read
"Mozart/Haydn/Beethoven etc") sontata-form movement (symphonies, concertos,
sonatas, quartets, etc.) the first theme is usually in the tonic key (the
main key of the movement) and the second theme is in the dominant (a fifth
above the tonic--from C to G, etc.).  Sometimes there is a modulation, in
which the second key is reached through a chord progression, and sometimes
the composer just jumps from one to the other.  In the latter case, it is
easier to hear, once you know what you are listening for.  If you can get
a friendly pianist or other musician to play some modulations for you, you
should get the idea.

In the recapitulation, when the themes come back at the end of the
movement, they are both in the tonic, so you can contrast this with the
modulation at the beginning of the movement.  Hearing key changes from one
movement to another is probably harder because it is more difficult to
remember the sound of the key of the first movement over the interval
between movements.

In the latter 19th century, with Bruckner, Wagner, Mahler, etc., the key
changes are so frequent and irregular by the rules of classical harmony
that only a real expert can identify them without looking at the score, and
in the 20th century, of course, all bets are off.  By and large, though,
I'm not sure that being able to recognize modulations consciously adds much
to your enjoyment of most works--they will have an effect on the listener
on a subconscious level anyway.  But it is a good idea to learn the
difference between the sounds of major and minor keys, and that is not too
hard for most listeners.  Once again, some demonstration on the piano or a
similar instrument helps.

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]