They completely skip over Schubert's patented "quick-cross-over to flat-VI" in the first theme. It's even followed by-- you Schubert fans already guessed it-- a

They completely skip over Schubert's patented "quick-cross-over to flat-VI" in the first theme. It's even followed by-- you Schubert fans already guessed it-- a German sixth to sneak back to B-flat. So smooth. Highlight reel. Listen to the famous third movement of the String Quintet in C major. Where does it first modulate? You guessed it-- flat-VI. And after he stops on that German sixth chord, where do we go? Well, to G here, but that's just prep for the repeat signs back to-- you guessed it-- C major, baby! Yeah, Schubi ftw! How bout the Unfinished Symphony in B minor-- where's that 2nd theme? Well ok, it's regular VI there but still... Schubert likes going to VI. It's his signature move. And if I start reading through one of his Lieder at random I bet I don't go 4 pages before hearing another such moment. I like the idea of realtime notes, but you gotta have a pretty wide context for them to be anything more than an arbitrary collection of trivia for newcomers. That's a nice way of saying if you're a newcomer, you got to listen to a lot of music before things make sense. Just like you can dribble in one square meter of a basketball court and understand the game. I mean, what could F# minor as a "distant key" possibly mean to a newcomer who hasn't had music theory? Without the context it's the musical equivalent of talking about some new software including "blockchain" technology. Maybe it means something significant. More likely in the context of mid-19th century harmony, it doesn't. But if put on your Schubert jersey and get a season ticket, ask yourself-- how exactly is F# minor related to anything? Well, we started changing keys earlier by quick move to a sublime melody G-flat major. Any musician will tell you F# is just another way to spell G-flat. Wait a sec: Schubert took us to the minor version of that same key for the second theme. Minor-flat-VI. Holy cow! Austria wins the championship! Austria wins!