Secondary Dominants - Voice Leading Patterns

The V of II is the secondary dominant resolving to the key of the II in a major key.

Example

In the key of A, the II- chord is B-. The V chord of the key of B is F♯, so an F♯ chord in the key of A is likely a V of II, as the key of A has an F♯- chord, but no F♯.

Example Chord Progression

The Chords

A major

E major

F♯ minor

F♯ major

B minor

E Major

A Major

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the chord progression.
• Starting from another inversion of an A major chord, voice lead your way through the same progression as above.

The V of III can be thought of as a borrowed dominant chord from the key of the III. It does not exist in the key of the I chord, except for its momentary use to transition to the III.

Example Chord Progression

In the key of C major, C is the I chord. And the III- chord is E-. Suppose we want to "highlight" the III chord. We can precede it with the V chord from the key of III. Since III is E-, its relative V chord would be B. This is a chord that does not normally exist in the key of C. But we can "borrow" it, and put it in front of the E-.

Chord Sources

Note that in the chart above, we claim that the chord B comes from the key of E minor. That's because the key of E minor shares most of its notes with the key of C major, and this is the most likely context in which we would borrow a chord from E minor for use in C major. Also, since the chord after the B major is an E- chord, we'll tend to hear some relationship between them.

The Chords

C, Root Position

B, Root Position

E-, 2^nd Inversion

G, 1^st Inversion

C, Root Position

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the chords.
• Create another progression using closed triads. For instance, voice lead the same progression starting on the 1^st inversion of C major.

The secondary dominant for a IV chord is the dominant chord from that key built on the IV.

Example Chord Progression

In the key of G major, the I chord is G and the IV chord is C.

If we want to create a tonicization of the C chord, we can use the dominant (V) chord from its key. However, that chord is also C major. The only way we can distinguish between I to IV and V/IV to IV is if the preceding chord has a ♭7. So to "prove" that the chord is working as a V/IV, we'll add a ♭7 to the G chord, giving us G⁷. Now we know it's not the I chord of the key, but the V/IV.

This chord is often used to highlight a change to IV-, a chord borrowed from the minor key.

The V/IV sounds like it was borrowed from C major. However, given its short time in the spotlight, it can be heard as having its own special role in G major, which is how secondary dominants work. And instead of hearing the C- as coming from the key of C, it tends to sound like it's the IV^min of G. Your ear is working to put these chords into the context of the current key.

The Chords

G^maj7

G major scale

G⁷

G Mixolydian scale (from C Major)

C^maj7

C Lydian Scale (Back in G Major)

C^-7

C Dorian Scale (IV- of G minor)

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the patterns.
• Play the chords using stop time and use the provided scales to improvise.

The secondary dominant for a V chord is the dominant chord from that key built on the V.

Example Chord Progression

In the key of F major, the I chord is F and the V chord is C.

If we want to create a tonicization of the C chord, we can use the dominant (V) chord from its key. That chord would be G major. Since the G major chord cannot be found in the key of F, when we hear it followed by a C chord, we will hear this resolution as a secondary dominant if the rest of the chords are in F.

Creating the G major chord requires raising the B♭ from the II^min chord of F to B♮, creating a clear V/V chord.

This chord can optionally be played as a dominant seventh, but the "key note" that makes it a secondary dominant is the B. The seventh of the chord, F, is the same—regardless of whether the chord is a II^min or a V/V.

This chord has a bit cheerful sound due to the fact that it introduces a "Lydian" note (♯4) into the key. It can be heard in the melody of the national anthem of the USA: "and our flag was still there".

Example

The Chords

F^maj

F Major scale

D-

D Aeolian scale (From F Major)

G-

G Dorian Scale (From D Major)

G^maj

G Mixolydian Scale (From C Major)

C^maj

C Mixolydian scale (From F Major)

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the patterns.
• Play the chords using stop time and use the provided scales to improvise.

The V of VI is the dominant chord that resolves to the VI- of a major key. This is probably the most frequently-used secondary dominant, because it's very common to tonicize the relative minor, and this secondary dominant resolves to the tonic chord of the relative minor.

Example Chord Progression

In the key of C, the relative minor is A-. There is a strong relationship between the C and A- chords, because each could be considered the tonic chord of a key containing all 7 natural notes. When combined with the powerful (but not overly-dramatic) effect of switching from a major key to its relative minor, this relationship is a very popular device to use in modern music. In fact, on some radio stations, just about every song features a switch at some point between the major key and its relative minor.

It is also common to imply this switch without actually using the V/VI chord. For example, a verse that starts on the C chord, followed by a chorus that starts on the A- chord. Even without the secondary dominant V/VI chord to strengthen the A-, we'll still tend to hear a slight shifting of gravity towards the A minor universe.

The Chords

C

E-

E

A-

C Major

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply the chord patterns.
• Start again from a different C triad, either on a different string set, or another inversion, or both. Voice lead through the progression.