V of V Secondary Dominant Pattern
Hi. This is Hub Guitar.
We're going to talk about the V of V secondary dominant chord. It's a chord that doesn't belong in the key of the music, but it is related. This example is in F major. The V chord in F major is C major. C major has a G major chord, but F major does not. No problem, we'll borrow the G major chord from the key of C major, and stick it in front of the C major chord to make it sound even more C-major-sh. Then we'll go back to the key of F. The whole thing will be heard as an event in the key of F major because there is only a brief moment where it uses a note that's not in the key of F.
Here's an example using F major, D minor, G minor, G and C major.
This is really useful if you want to highlight the V chord. So try to learn these patterns and apply them to your playing.
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 tonicizationA method of composition which, usually temporarily, gives rise to the feeling that the tonal center has changed. For instance, the VImin can be tonicized by preceding it with the V/VI secondary dominant chord. 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 IImin 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 IImin 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
Function | I | VImin | IImin | V/V | V |
Chord | F | Dmin | Gmin | G | C |
Chord Source | F major | F major | F major | C major | F major |
The Chords
Fmaj
F Major scale
Dmin
D Aeolian scale (From F Major)
Gmin
G Dorian Scale (From D Major)
Gmaj
G Mixolydian Scale (From C Major)
Cmaj
C Mixolydian scale (From F Major)
Key Exercises
- Learn, memorize, and apply the patterns.
- Play the chords using stop time stop time and use the provided scales to improvise.