Secondary chord

Last updated December 21, 2023

Secondary chords in Mozart's Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 ^[1]

A secondary chord is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device that is prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period: the use of diatonic functions for tonicization.

Secondary chords are a type of altered or borrowed chord, chords that are not part of the music piece's key. They are the most common sort of altered chord in tonal music.^[2] 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". The major or minor triad on any diatonic scale degree may have any secondary function applied to it; secondary functions may even be applied to diminished triads in some special circumstances.

Secondary chords were not used until the Baroque period and are found more frequently and freely in the Classical period, even more so in the Romantic period. Composers began to use them less frequently with the breakdown of conventional harmony in modern classical music—but secondary dominants are a cornerstone of popular music and jazz in the 20th century.^[3]

Secondary dominant

V7 of V in C, four-part harmony ^[4]

A secondary dominant (also applied dominant, artificial dominant, or borrowed dominant) is a major triad or dominant seventh chord built and set to resolve to a scale degree other than the tonic, with the dominant of the dominant (written as V/V or V of V) being the most frequently encountered.^[5] The chord that the secondary dominant is the dominant of is said to be a temporarily tonicized chord . The secondary dominant is normally, though not always, followed by the tonicized chord. Tonicizations that last longer than a phrase are generally regarded as modulations to a new key (or new tonic).

According to music theorists David Beach and Ryan C. McClelland, "[t]he purpose of the secondary dominant is to place emphasis on a chord within the diatonic progression."^[6] The secondary-dominant terminology is still usually applied even if the chord resolution is nonfunctional. For example, the V/ii label is still used even if the V/ii chord is not followed by ii.^[7]

Definition

The major scale contains seven basic chords, which are named with Roman numeral analysis in ascending order. Because tonic triads are either major or minor, one would not expect to find diminished chords (either the vii^o in major or the ii^o in minor) tonicized by a secondary dominant.^[2] It would also not make sense for the tonic of the key itself to be tonicized.

In the key of C major, the five remaining chords are:

Of these chords, the V chord (G major) is said to be the dominant of C major. However, each of the chords from ii to vi also has its own dominant. For example, V (G major) has a D major triad as its dominant. These extra dominant chords are not part of the key of C major as such because they include notes that are not part of the C major scale. Instead, they are secondary dominants.

The notation below shows the secondary-dominant chords for C major. Each chord is accompanied by its standard number in harmonic notation. In this notation, a secondary dominant is usually labeled with the formula "V of ..." (dominant chord of); thus "V of ii" stands for the dominant of the ii chord, "V of iii" for the dominant of iii, and so on. A shorter notation, used below, is "V/ii", "V/iii", etc.

Like most chords, secondary dominants may be seventh chords or chords with other upper extensions. Dominant seventh chords are commonly used as secondary dominants. The notation below shows the same secondary dominants as above but with dominant seventh chords.

Note that the triad V/IV is the same as the I triad. When a seventh is added (V⁷/IV), it becomes an altered chord because the seventh is not a diatonic pitch. Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 begins with a V⁷/IV chord:^[8]

According to the principles exposed above, in fact, V⁷/IV, which means the C⁷ chord, i.e. the dominant seventh chord on the F major scale (C–E–G–B♭), does not represent the tonic because it contains a B♭, which isn't included in the main key, as Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 is written in the key of C major. The chord then resolves on the natural IV (F major) and in the following bar the V⁷, i.e. G⁷ (dominant seventh chord on the C major key), is presented.

Chromatic mediants, for example VI is also a secondary dominant of ii (V/ii) and III is V/vi, are distinguished from secondary dominants with context and analysis revealing the distinction.^[9]

History

Secondary dominants in Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 10, op. 14, no. 2, mvmt. II^[10]

Before the 20th century, in the music of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, a secondary dominant, along with its chord of resolution, was considered a modulation.^{[ citation needed ]} Since this was a rather self-contradictory description, theorists in the early 1900s, such as Hugo Riemann (who used the term "Zwischendominante"—"intermediary dominant", still the usual German term for a secondary dominant), searched for a better description of the phenomenon.^{[ citation needed ]}

Walter Piston first used the analysis "V⁷ of IV" in a monograph entitled Principles of Harmonic Analysis.^[11] (Notably, Piston's analytical symbol always used the word "of"—e.g. "V⁷ of IV" rather than the virgule "V⁷/IV.) In his 1941 book Harmony, Piston used the term "secondary dominant".^[12] At around the same time (1946–48), Arnold Schoenberg created the expression "artificial dominant" to describe the same phenomenon, in his posthumously published book Structural Functions of Harmony.^[13]

In the fifth edition of Walter Piston's Harmony, a passage from the last movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata K. 283 in G major serves as one illustration of secondary dominants.^[14] This passage has three secondary dominants. The final four chords form a circle of fifths progression, ending in a standard dominant-tonic cadence, which concludes the phrase.

In jazz and popular music

Measure 2 shows a bebop cliché arpeggio upwards from the third to the ninth of A^7♭9, which is the secondary dominant of D minor, the ii chord in the key of C (V/ii).^[15]

In jazz harmony, a secondary dominant is any dominant seventh chord on a weak beat^{[ citation needed ]} and resolves downward by a perfect fifth. Thus, a chord is a secondary dominant when it functions as the dominant of some harmonic element other than the key's tonic and resolves to that element. This is slightly different from the traditional use of the term, where a secondary dominant does not have to be a seventh chord, occur on a weak beat, or resolve downward. If a non-diatonic dominant chord is used on a strong beat, it is considered an extended dominant. If it doesn't resolve downward, it may be a borrowed chord.^{[ citation needed ]}

Secondary dominants are used in jazz harmony in the bebop blues and other blues progression variations, as are substitute dominants and turnarounds.^[15] In some jazz tunes, all or almost all of the chords that are used are dominant chords. For example, in the standard jazz chord progression ii–V–I, which would normally be Dm–G⁷–C in the key of C major, some tunes will use D⁷–G⁷–C⁷. Since jazz tunes are often based on the circle of fifths, this creates long sequences of secondary dominants.^{[ citation needed ]}

Secondary dominants are also used in popular music. Examples include II⁷ (V⁷/V) in Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and III⁷ (V⁷/vi) in Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)".^[17] "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" features chains of secondary dominants.^[18] "Sweet Georgia Brown" opens with V/V/V–V/V–V–I. Play ^ⓘ

Extended dominant

A diatonic I–vi–ii–V turnaround ^[19] and a progression with secondary dominants: I–V/V/V–V/V–V–I

An extended dominant chord is a secondary dominant seventh chord that resolves down by a fifth to another dominant seventh chord. A series of extended dominant chords continues to resolve downwards by the circle of fifths until it reaches the tonic chord. The most common extended dominant chord is the tertiary dominant,^{[ citation needed ]} which resolves to a secondary dominant. For example, V/V/V (in C major, A⁽⁷⁾) resolves to V/V (D⁽⁷⁾), which resolves to V (G⁽⁷⁾), which resolves to I. Note that V/V/V is the same chord as V/ii, but differs in its resolution to a major dominant rather than a minor chord.

Quaternary dominants are rarer, but an example is the bridge section of the rhythm changes, which starts from V/V/V/V (in C major, E⁽⁷⁾). The example below from Chopin's Polonaises, Op. 26, No. 1 (1835)^[20] has a quaternary dominant in the second beat (V/ii = V/V/V, V/vi = V/V/V/V).

Secondary leading-tone

A secondary leading-tone half-diminished chord in
Brahms's Intermezzo, op. 119, no. 3 (1893)^[20]

Three measures from "Easy Living"
showing secondary leading-tone chords.^[21]

In music theory, a secondary leading-tone chord is a secondary chord that is rooted on a tone that is a leading-tone of (in short, has a strong affinity to resolve to) a tone just 1 semitone from that root (typically 1 semitone above, though can be below).^[22] Like the secondary dominant it can be used as tonicization of only one subsequent chord (which will be rooted in the resolution tone), or the music can continue with other chords/notes in the key of that chord's root for a phrase, or even longer to be considered a modulation to that key. This one-semitone-apart resolution of the secondary leading-tone is in contrast to the secondary dominant which resolves through a wider distance of perfect fifth below or perfect fourth above the chord's root (as per the two distances between dominant and tonic).
While the root of a secondary leading-tone chord needs to be the leading-tone, the other notes may vary and form with it one of: the triad ^[23] or one of the diminished sevenths (as in seventh scale degree ^[23] or leading-tone, not necessarily seventh chord) where the type of the diminished seventh is typically related to the type of tonicized triad:

If the tonicized triad is minor, the leading-tone chord is fully diminished seventh chord.
If it is major, the leading-tone chord may be either half-diminished or fully diminished, though fully diminished chords are used more often.^[24]

Because of their symmetry, secondary leading-tone diminished seventh chords are also useful for modulation; all four notes may be considered the root of any diminished seventh chord. They may resolve to these major or minor diatonic triads:^[22]

In major keys: ii, iii, IV, V, vi

In minor keys: III, iv, V, VI

Especially in four-part writing, the seventh should resolve downwards by step and if possible the lower tritone should resolve appropriately, inwards if a diminished fifth and outwards if an augmented fourth,^[25] as the example below^[26] shows.

Secondary leading-tone chords were not used until the Baroque period and are found more frequently and less conventionally in the Classical period. They are found even more frequently and freely in the Romantic period, but they began to be used less frequently with the breakdown of conventional harmony.

The chord progression vii^o⁷/V–V–I is quite common in ragtime music.^[22]

Secondary supertonic

A secondary supertonic chord: ii⁷/V–V/V–V in C major (a⁷–D⁷–G)

The secondary supertonic chord, or secondary second, is a secondary chord that is on the supertonic scale degree. Rather than tonicizing a degree other than the tonic, as does a secondary dominant, it creates a temporary dominant.^[23] Examples include ii⁷/III (F♯min.⁷, in C major).^[27]

Secondary subdominant

The secondary subdominant is the subdominant (IV) of the tonicized chord. For example, in C major, the subdominant chord is F major and the IV of IV chord is B♭ major.

Others

The other secondary functions are the secondary mediant, the secondary submediant, and the secondary subtonic.

Related Research Articles

In music theory, a leading-tone is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. Typically, the leading tone refers to the seventh scale degree of a major scale, a major seventh above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the leading-tone is sung as ti.

An altered chord is a chord that replaces one or more notes from the diatonic scale with a neighboring pitch from the chromatic scale. By the broadest definition, any chord with a non-diatonic chord tone is an altered chord. The simplest example of altered chords is the use of borrowed chords, chords borrowed from the parallel key, and the most common is the use of secondary dominants. As Alfred Blatter explains, "An altered chord occurs when one of the standard, functional chords is given another quality by the modification of one or more components of the chord."

In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice era of Classical music to the 21st century. Chord progressions are the foundation of popular music styles, traditional music, as well as genres such as blues and jazz. In these genres, chord progressions are the defining feature on which melody and rhythm are built.

A chord, in music, is any harmonic set of pitches consisting of multiple notes that are sounded simultaneously, or nearly so. For many practical and theoretical purposes, arpeggios and other types of broken chords may also be considered as chords in the right musical context.

In music, modulation is the change from one tonality to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest. Treatment of a chord as the tonic for less than a phrase is considered tonicization.

Modulation is the essential part of the art. Without it there is little music, for a piece derives its true beauty not from the large number of fixed modes which it embraces but rather from the subtle fabric of its modulation.

In music theory, a diminished triad is a triad consisting of two minor thirds above the root. It is a minor triad with a lowered (flattened) fifth. When using chord symbols, it may be indicated by the symbols "dim", "^o", "m^♭5", or "MI^(♭5)". However, in most popular-music chord books, the symbol "dim" and "^o" represents a diminished seventh chord, which in some modern jazz books and music theory books is represented by the "dim7" or "^o⁷" symbols.

In music, the submediant is the sixth degree of a diatonic scale. The submediant is named thus because it is halfway between the tonic and the subdominant or because its position below the tonic is symmetrical to that of the mediant above.

In music, the subtonic is the degree of a musical scale which is a whole step below the tonic note. In a major key, it is a lowered, or flattened, seventh scale degree. It appears as the seventh scale degree in the natural minor and descending melodic minor scales but not in the major scale. In major keys, the subtonic sometimes appears in borrowed chords. In the movable do solfège system, the subtonic note is sung as te.

In music, extended chords are certain chords or triads with notes extended, or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the farthest extension diatonically possible as, by that point, all seven tonal degrees are represented within the chord. In practice however, extended chords do not typically use all the chord members; when it is not altered, the fifth is often omitted, as are notes between the seventh and the highest note, unless they are altered to give a special texture.

Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses only seven different notes, rather than the twelve available on a standard piano keyboard. Music is chromatic when it uses more than just these seven notes.

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad together with a minor seventh, denoted by the letter name of the chord root and a superscript "7". An example is the dominant seventh chord built on G, written as G⁷, having pitches G–B–D–F:

In music, tonicization is the treatment of a pitch other than the overall tonic as a temporary tonic in a composition. In Western music that is tonal, the piece is heard by the listener as being in a certain key. A tonic chord has a dominant chord; in the key of C major, the tonic chord is C major and the dominant chord is G major or G dominant seventh. The dominant chord, especially if it is a dominant seventh, is heard by Western composers and listeners familiar with music as resolving to the tonic, due to the use of the leading note in the dominant chord. A tonicized chord is a chord other than the tonic chord to which a dominant or dominant seventh chord progresses. When a dominant chord or dominant seventh chord is used before a chord other than the tonic, this dominant or dominant seventh chord is called a secondary dominant. When a chord is tonicized, this makes this non-tonic chord sound temporarily like a tonic chord.

The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root:. For example, the diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as B^o⁷, has pitches B-D-F-A♭:

In music theory, chord substitution is the technique of using a chord in place of another in a progression of chords, or a chord progression. Much of the European classical repertoire and the vast majority of blues, jazz and rock music songs are based on chord progressions. "A chord substitution occurs when a chord is replaced by another that is made to function like the original. Usually substituted chords possess two pitches in common with the triad that they are replacing."

In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh. For example, the half-diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as Bm7(♭5), or B^ø⁷, has pitches B-D-F-A:

In music, the vi–ii–V–I progression is a chord progression. A vi–ii–V–I progression in C major is shown below.

In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of musical analysis in which chords are represented by Roman numerals. In some cases, Roman numerals denote scale degrees themselves. More commonly, however, they represent the chord whose root note is that scale degree. For instance, III denotes either the third scale degree or, more commonly, the chord built on it. Typically, uppercase Roman numerals are used to represent major chords, while lowercase Roman numerals are used to represent minor chords. However, some music theorists use upper-case Roman numerals for all chords, regardless of chord quality.

In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale. It is called the dominant because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So(l)".

In music theory, a nondominant seventh chord is both a diatonic chord and a seventh chord, but it does not possess dominant function, and thus it is not a dominant seventh chord.

The jazz minor scale or ascending melodic minor scale is a derivative of the melodic minor scale, except only the ascending form of the scale is used. As the name implies, it is primarily used in jazz, although it may be found in other types of music as well. It may be derived from the major scale with a minor third, making it a synthetic scale, and features a dominant seventh chord on the fifth degree (V) like the harmonic minor scale. It can also be derived from the diatonic Dorian mode with a major seventh.

References

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↑ Benward & Saker (2003), pp. 273–277.
↑ Benward and Saker (2003), p. 269.
↑ Kostka & Payne (2003), p. 250.
↑ Beach, David and McClelland, Ryan C. (2012). Analysis of 18th- and 19th-century Musical Works in the Classical Tradition, p. 32. Routledge. ISBN 9780415806657.
↑ Rawlins, Robert and Nor Eddine Bahha (2005). Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians, p.59. ISBN 0-634-08678-2.
↑ White, John D. (1976). The Analysis of Music, p.5. ISBN 0-13-033233-X.
↑ Benward & Saker (2003), pp. 201–204.
↑ Benward & Saker (2003), p. 274.
↑ Piston, Walter (1933). Principles of Harmonic Analysis (Boston: E. C. Schirmer). [ISBN unspecified].
↑ Piston, Walter (1941). Harmony (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.), p. 151. [ISBN unspecified]: "These temporary dominant chords have been referred to by theorists as attendant chords, parenthesis chords, borrowed chords, etc. We shall call them secondary dominants, in the belief that the term is slightly more descriptive of their function."
↑ Schoenberg, Arnold (1954). Structural Functions of Harmony, edited by Humphrey Searle (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.): 15–29, 197. The term "artificial", however, appears to refer to the alteration by which a chord changes into another: "By substituting for [altering] the third in minor triads, they produce 'artificial' major triads and 'artificial' dominant seventh chords. Substituting for [altering] the fifth changes minor triads to 'artificial' diminished triads, commonly used with an added seventh, and changes major triads to augmented. Artificial dominants, artificial dominant seventh chords, and artificial diminished seventh chords are normally used in progressions according to the models V–I, V—VI and V—IV. (p. 16.)
↑ Piston, Walter (1987). Harmony. Revised by Mark Devoto (5th ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-393-95480-7.
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↑ Benward & Saker (2003), p. 277.
↑ Everett, Walter (2009). The Foundations of Rock, p. 198. ISBN 978-0-19-531023-8. Everett notates major-minor sevenths X^m7.
↑ Shepherd, John (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production, Volume 11, p. 10. A&C Black. ISBN 9780826463227.
↑ Boyd, Bill (1997). Jazz Chord Progressions, p. 43. ISBN 0-7935-7038-7.
1 2 Benward & Saker (2003), p. 276.
↑ Richard Lawn, Jeffrey L. Hellmer (1996). Jazz: Theory and Practice, pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-88284-722-1.
1 2 3 Benward & Saker (2003), p. 271
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↑ Kostka & Payne (2004). p. 263
↑ Benward & Saker (2003), p. 272
↑ Benward & Saker (2003), p. 270.
↑ Russo, William (1961/2015). Composing for the Jazz Orchestra, p.80. University of Chicago. ISBN 978-0-226-73209-1.