
What is a secondary dominant chord?
A secondary dominant is an altered chord having a dominant relationship to a chord in a key other than the tonic. If that sentence was confusing to you, have no fear!
What is the secondary dominant of G in C major?
In the key of Am the dominant, or V chord, is E. We also said that a secondary dominant is a Dominant 7th chord, so the secondary dominant of Am is E7. Similarly if our Target Chord is G, the dominant or V chord in the key of G is D, so the secondary dominant of G is D7. Here is a list of the Secondary Dominants in C Major:
How do you find the secondary dominant on a guitar?
Because of that trait, the way to find a secondary dominant is to look at the chord it’s approaching. Secondary dominants most commonly occur in the approach of the V (dominant) chord in a piece.
What happens if you don’t have a secondary dominant?
Without the Secondary Dominant we lose all sense of the tension and release that creates the excitement of the new section. Another great Beatles example is In My Life, which uses Secondary Dominants in two different ways. Here are the chords from the first phrase of the verse: Your browser does not support the audio tag.

How do you use secondary dominants?
Secondary dominants are often used to anticipate the natural dominant of the song. For example, in the previous case, the natural dominant of the song was G7, so we could play another dominant before it to prepare going into G.
How do you read secondary dominants?
3:426:38What is a Secondary Dominant? - Music Theory - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo the one of the secondary dominant must be a chord in the original. Key now how do i know themMoreSo the one of the secondary dominant must be a chord in the original. Key now how do i know them which keys i can go to well i work through all the chords for f. Major. So there's chord one in f major
How do secondary dominant chords resolve?
13:2215:44Music Theory: Secondary Dominants. - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe seven of my five seven of five is the D natural E is the root and D is a seventh above. And IMoreThe seven of my five seven of five is the D natural E is the root and D is a seventh above. And I resolve it down by step to a C sharp.
How do you find secondary dominants?
Finding Secondary DominantsFind a chromatic chord. (accidentals!)Find its root. It is a dominant seventh chord or major triad.Find the pitch a P5 below the root.This new pitch is the root of a diatonic major or minor triad.The chromatic chord is a secondary dominant. Label it V(7)/x.
How do you identify a leading tone and secondary dominant chord?
Secondary dominants and secondary leading tone chords function the same way: they tonicize (give special emphasis to) the major or minor chord that usually comes next. The secondary dominant acts like the dominant (V) of the tonicized chord and its root is a 4th below or 5th above the root of the tonicized chord.
How do you solo secondary dominants?
8:1612:00Secondary Dominants - What You Want To Know - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipJust to pull towards the d minor. And actually in the same way i could also turn the d minor into aMoreJust to pull towards the d minor. And actually in the same way i could also turn the d minor into a d7 to pull me towards g7. So i. Get. And i can even add an extra secondary dominant before the a7.
Does a secondary dominant have to resolve?
Secondary dominants often do resolve to their own tonic, but they can also resolve deceptively, an action sometimes hidden with traditional Roman-numeral analysis.
Do secondary dominants always resolve?
The roots of secondary dominants do not always resolve down a perfect fifth to the tonicized chord. In many of the examples of popular music with secondary dominants at the beginning of this chapter, the secondary dominants resolve deceptively.
What precedes a secondary dominant?
Right away, we see a secondary dominant preceding a D Minor chord. The dominant chord in D Minor is A Major, the secondary dominant. Remember, A Major is a secondary dominant because it is not a chord found in the tonic key (F Major).
Are secondary dominants always major?
No, secondary dominants aren't required to be seventh chords. They can be plain triads (e.g. V/vi). They also aren't required to be major or have a major triad--I've heard plenty of vii°7/V chords, and those are diminished 7th chords. The "vii°7" would be the Barry Harris style dominant.
What does a secondary dominant chord look like?
Secondary chords are referred to by the function they have and the key or chord in which they function. Conventionally, they are written with the notation "function/key". Thus, the most common secondary chord, the dominant of the dominant, is written "V/V" and read as "five of five" or "the dominant of the dominant".
What are the most common secondary dominant chords?
G – Am – A7 – D7 Once again, the A7 is a secondary dominant. A7 is the V of D7 (“five of five”). This is one of the most common secondary dominant chords you will find. This progression also contains chromatic movement between the chord tones.
What does a secondary dominant chord look like?
Secondary chords are referred to by the function they have and the key or chord in which they function. Conventionally, they are written with the notation "function/key". Thus, the most common secondary chord, the dominant of the dominant, is written "V/V" and read as "five of five" or "the dominant of the dominant".
How do you identify Tonicization?
Applied chords are notated with a slash. The chord before the slash is the identity of the applied chord within the secondary key , and the chord after the slash is the chord being tonicized. It's read aloud from left to right with the word “of” replacing the slash: V/ii becomes “five of two.”
How do you identify applied dominants?
7:4614:11SECONDARY DOMINANT CHORDS, Identifying and Labeling - LESSON 1YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipFirst we need to determine the root of the secondary dominant in this example the root of theMoreFirst we need to determine the root of the secondary dominant in this example the root of the secondary dominant is a next what pitch is a perfect fifth below or a perfect fourth above.
How do you find the secondary leading tone chord?
5:4314:02Music Theory - Secondary Leading Tone Chords. - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf it is is it a diminished triad or 7th chord the answer to that is yes we have likely have aMoreIf it is is it a diminished triad or 7th chord the answer to that is yes we have likely have a secondary leading tone chord.
What is secondary dominant?
A secondary dominant is any chord that has the dominant function over another chord that is not the tonic of the song. For example, in the key of C major, the dominant chord is G7.
What is the dominant of G?
G’s dominant is D7. So, we would have the sequence | D7 | G7 | C |, where D7 is the secondary dominant. This dominant is also called “ dominant of the dominant “, since it serves as dominant for another dominant.
Is a secondary dominant a natural key?
Note that secondary dominants are not part of the natural key. They are auxiliary chords, they only serve to “prepare” a progression for some other degree of the key.
Why do we use secondary dominants in music?
The main reason a secondary dominant is used in a song or a chord progression is to “tonicize” a chord that is different from the main tonic chord. This is all part of the musical concept of “tension and release”, which is a foundation of harmonic function.
Where does the dominant of a dominant occur?
The dominant of a dominant often happens at the end of a line or verse.
What are Secondary Dominant Chords?
Now that we know how dominant and tonic chords work, and how they relate to each other, we can understand the concept behind secondary dominant s.
What is a dominant chord in C?
So a C dominant chord would be C – E – G – Bb.
When does tension release occur?
This tension and release occurs whenever a dominant chord is followed by a tonic chord.
What is harmonic function?
This brings us to the idea of harmonic function in music, which is the concept that certain chords have specific functions in a chord progression or a piece of music.
What does a Secondary Dominant Sound Like?
What a Secondary Dominant does is create tension that relaxes on a new tonic.
Why are secondary dominants dominant 7th chords?
So why are Secondary Dominants typically Dominant 7th chords? In a dominant 7th chord the 3rd and 7th notes of the chord create an interval of a tritone, which is the interval of greatest unrest. It's the tritone that most wants to resolve into the Target Chord. For example in an E7 chord the 3rd and 7th of the chord make up a tritone (G# and D). The G# wants to resolve up to A and the D wants to resolve down to C# (or in the case of a minor chord, down to C). Listen to this modified progression without the 7th to hear how the E chord still pulls us into the Am but lacks color and is not as strong. We don't get the satisfying resolve down of the D to C.
What is the dominant chord in C?
You'll remember from last time that in a given key the tonic is the I chord and the dominant is the V chord. In the key of C the tonic is C and the dominant is G. Going from G to C feels like a very satisfying move from tension to release.
Secondary Dominant Chords: What Are They?
Let’s start with diatonic chords. Diatonic chords refer to the chords which result when we build a chord on each note of the a major scale. Below are the diatonic chords, and their Roman numeral names, in the key of C major.
Secondary Dominant Chords: How Do They Work?
Now let’s understand how secondary dominant chords work. In a nutshell, a secondary dominant chord is borrowed from another key.
Secondary Dominant Chords: How Does This Info Help Me?
Understanding secondary dominant chords raises your musical awareness and understanding. You now know what a secondary dominant chord is, how to label it (with Roman numerals), how it functions, and why it is used. Practice playing the progressions above to get a sense of what secondary dominants sound like.
