What are secondary DOMINANTS

It is true that music is an art and that we therefore relate it to creativity and expression, however it is more than proven that music is also a science very close with mathematics, being composed of all the possibilities of relationship that exist not only in its theory but also in the physics of sound.

Chords are a special part of music, especially when we learn that according to their structure we can use them for a specific musical purpose. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about what are secondary dominants with examples so that you can evolve your knowledge of music theory and apply it later when making music or recognizing it.

Index

1. Definition of secondary dominants
2. Tonality and grades in music
3. The dominant chord
4. How to Find Secondary Dominant - Examples
5. What are secondary dominants for?

If we define the dominant secondary (or auxiliary) chords in a short way, they would be the following: those chords that fulfill the function of dominant, but what it does not belong to the tonic or fundamental.

We know that this may seem confusing at first, but don't worry because we will explain step by step. To understand the concept of secondary dominant chords we must understand the following concepts: tonality, degrees of hue, tonic Y dominant chord.

Image: Music theory

The tonality could be defined as the set of rules that dictate the harmonic context. It is the tonality that tells us which are the notes that we can use in a composition so that it is consonant (that the combination of notes sounds pleasant). The tonality is usually based on a musical scale and is usually indicated with the armor, which is that set of sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff of a work.

If we take a basic musical scale as the major scale and convert each of those notes into chords by triads, we get the degrees of tonality, that according to this scale they would be 7 degrees.By the relationship that the notes have with each other in each of these chords we can know what type chord is and also how stable or unstable it is and where it seems to resolve according to its tension harmonica.

Each of the degrees has a specific name according to its function. These are the following:

• (I) First degree: tonic (fundamental)
• (II) Second degree: supertonic
• (III) Third degree: through
• (IV) Fourth degree: subdominant
• (V) Fifth degree: dominant
• (VI) Sixth grade: superdominant (or submediate)
• (VII) Seventh grade: sensitive

Image: All Music

As we have indicated previously, we call it dominant chord to the fifth degree of the scale. In musical notation it is written with Roman numerals: V if it is a triad chord (3 notes) or V7 if it is a quadriad chord (4 notes). It is very important to mention that although the V degree triad is dominant, the Dominant chord is a quad that has its minor seventh note. So for example a C dominant or C seventh chord (C7) is made up of the following notes:

• Do - fundamental
• E - major third
• Sun - Fifth
• B flat - minor seventh

The dominant chord is a very unstable chord that, due to its structure, needs to resolve to the tonic. When this chord sequence happens, it is what we call "perfect cadence” since it goes directly from the dominant degree (V) to the tonic or fundamental (I).

As you know, music is a world of possibilities, so just because we find a dominant chord does not mean that it will always resolve to the tonic.

Now that you know the above concepts we can finally get to this point. To find a secondary dominant, we simply have to find a chord that fulfills the function of the dominant degree, but is not the V degree of the tonic.

Secondary dominants example

Let's look at this chord progression:

Am7 D7 / Gm7 C7 / Fmaj7

We know that our tonic is Fa, since it is the last chord of the progression and is the most stable as it is a major seventh chord (maj7). This being the case we know that C7 is your dominant chord, because it is the V degree of him. However we notice another dominant chord in the progression: D7.

D7 is fulfilling a dominant role because it goes to Gm7 (D is the fifth of G), in such a way we know that D7 is a secondary dominant chord, because it fulfills that function but it is not the dominant of our tonic (Fa).

Image: Harmony Notes

Secondary dominants play important roles in chord progressions, allowing you to use chords that are not necessarily of the key. This allows us to lengthen a progression to give it more dimensionality or even create modulations (changes in tonality).

An example of using the dominant chord to modulate can be seen by altering a II - V - I progression. Normally the progression in key of C would look like this:

Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7

If we add a secondary dominant to modulate:

Dm7 - G7 - C7 - Fmaj7

Fmaj7 has become our 1st degree chord, turning the tonic into F. G7 then meets the secondary dominant function, since our new fifth grade is C7 (the fifth grade of Fa, our new tonic).

Do not worry if at first glance everything is difficult to understand, remember that music is everything a world that we must strive to understand step by step, there is nothing that practice cannot achieve.

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