Secondary Dominants
Secondary Dominants
1. What Secondary Dominants Are and Why They Matter
Think about the last time you heard a song that surprised you with a chord that seemed to brighten the whole sound momentarily, pulling you in a new direction before returning home. That moment of tension and release, that fleeting sense of movement to somewhere unexpected-that's often a secondary dominant at work.
You already know that in any key, the V chord (the dominant) has a special job: it creates tension that desperately wants to resolve back to the I chord (the tonic). In C major, for example, G7 (the V7 chord) pulls strongly toward C major. This is the most fundamental harmonic motion in Western music.
But here's the brilliant idea: what if we could make any chord in our key feel like a temporary destination by approaching it with its own dominant chord? That's exactly what a secondary dominant does.
A secondary dominant is a chord that temporarily acts as the dominant (V or V7) of a chord other than the tonic, creating a brief sense of tonicization-treating another chord as if it were momentarily the tonic.
Let's make this concrete. In the key of C major, imagine you want to emphasize the ii chord (D minor). Instead of just playing D minor, you could approach it with A7-which is the V7 of D. Even though A7 doesn't naturally belong in the key of C major (it contains C♯, not C), it creates a powerful pull toward D minor. The progression becomes: A7 → Dm, and suddenly D minor feels like a little tonic of its own.
Listen to the Beatles' Something. In the key of C major, George Harrison uses an A7 chord to resolve to D minor-a perfect example of a secondary dominant adding color and forward motion. The A7 doesn't sound "wrong"-it sounds intentional, expressive, and emotionally rich.
2. How to Build Secondary Dominants
Let's learn to construct these chords systematically. The process is logical once you break it down step by step.
2.1. Identifying the Target Chord
First, decide which chord you want to emphasize-this is your target chord. You can tonicize almost any chord except the naturally occurring diminished chord (vii°) because it's not stable enough to act as a temporary tonic.
In C major, your potential target chords are:
- ii (D minor)
- iii (E minor)
- IV (F major)
- V (G major)
- vi (A minor)
2.2. Building the Dominant of Your Target
Now, pretend for a moment that your target chord is the tonic of its own key. What would be the V7 chord in that key?
Let's work through an example with D minor as our target:
- If D were the tonic, we'd temporarily think of D as "i" (treating it as D minor)
- The dominant of D would be built on the note a perfect fifth above D, which is A
- Build a major triad on A: A-C♯-E
- Add the minor seventh above A: A-C♯-E-G
- This gives us A7, which is the V7 of D minor
Critical point: Notice that A7 contains C♯, which is not in the key of C major. This altered note is what gives the secondary dominant its characteristic sound and pulling power.
2.3. Notation and Analysis Symbols
We use a special notation to show that a chord is functioning as a secondary dominant. The format is:
V7/target or V/target
Read this as "five-seven of" or "dominant of." So our A7 resolving to D minor would be analyzed as V7/ii in the key of C major-literally "the dominant seventh of the ii chord."
Here are the most common secondary dominants in C major:
2.4. Try This Exercise
If you have a keyboard or guitar nearby, try playing this progression in C major:
C → A7 → Dm → G7 → C
Listen carefully to the A7 chord. Even though it contains a note outside the key (C♯), it doesn't sound wrong-it sounds like it's leading somewhere. When D minor arrives, there's a sense of arrival and satisfaction. Then the G7 brings you back home to C. That's the magic of secondary dominants: they create mini-journeys within the larger journey of the key.
3. Voice Leading and Resolution
Secondary dominants aren't just about the notes-they're about how those notes move. The power of a dominant chord comes from its internal tension, and that tension is released through careful voice leading.
3.1. The Leading Tone's Job
Every dominant seventh chord contains two critical intervals that create tension:
- The leading tone (the major third of the chord), which wants to resolve up by half step
- The seventh of the chord, which wants to resolve down by half step
Let's examine A7 → Dm in C major:
- The C♯ in A7 is the leading tone to D-it pulls upward to D
- The G in A7 is the seventh-it pulls downward to F
- These two tendency tones create a powerful magnetic pull toward D minor
When you voice your secondary dominant properly, maintaining smooth voice leading, these resolutions happen naturally and the progression feels inevitable rather than jarring.
3.2. Common Voice Leading Patterns
Here's a typical four-voice realization showing the resolution of V7/ii to ii in C major:
A7 chord:
Soprano: C♯ → D
Alto: E → F
Tenor: G → F
Bass: A → D
Notice how the C♯ moves up to D (leading tone resolution) and the G moves down to F (seventh resolution). The E simply moves by step to F. This creates smooth, connected voice leading.
3.3. What Happens When You Don't Resolve
Sometimes composers deliberately avoid the expected resolution, a technique called deceptive motion. For instance, you might hear V7/ii moving somewhere other than ii. This creates surprise and extends the harmonic journey. But to break the rules effectively, you first need to understand what the expected resolution is.
4. Secondary Dominants in Real Music
Let's look at how composers and songwriters across different styles have used secondary dominants to add color, emotion, and movement to their music.
4.1. Classical Examples
Mozart loved secondary dominants. In his Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major (K. 545), the very opening uses a D7 chord (V7/V) to tonicize the G major chord. The progression moves: C → D7 → G7 → C. That D7 adds a bright, forward-leaning energy that makes the music feel like it's going somewhere even in these opening measures.
Beethoven's Für Elise, though in A minor, uses an E7 chord extensively as V7/i, but also employs secondary dominants to tonicize other scale degrees, creating the piece's characteristic harmonic restlessness and emotional complexity.
4.2. Jazz and Popular Music
Jazz musicians use secondary dominants constantly, often in chains. The famous "circle of fifths" progression is built entirely on this principle.
Consider the bridge of I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin (used in countless jazz standards). The harmonic progression moves through a series of secondary dominants: D7 → G7 → C7 → F. Each chord acts as the dominant of the next, creating a cascading effect that drives the harmony forward.
In Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder, listen to the chorus. The progression uses E7 (V7/vi) to emphasize the vi chord, adding warmth and soul to the harmonic movement.
4.3. Rock and Pop
The Beatles were masters of secondary dominants, often using them in surprising ways. In Something (as mentioned earlier), the A7 → Dm progression in the key of C creates a bittersweet, yearning quality perfectly suited to the song's emotional content.
Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are features multiple secondary dominants, including C7 (V7/IV) moving to F major, creating the smooth, sophisticated harmonic palette that defines the song.
5. Extended Secondary Function: Secondary Leading-Tone Chords
Once you understand secondary dominants, you can expand this principle to other types of chords. The most important extension is the secondary leading-tone chord.
5.1. The Concept
Just as we can approach a chord with its own dominant, we can also approach it with its own leading-tone chord-the diminished seventh chord built on the note a half step below the target.
In the key of C major, if we want to tonicize D minor (ii), we could use either:
- A7 (V7/ii), or
- C♯°7 (vii°7/ii)
The C♯ diminished seventh chord contains: C♯-E-G-B♭. Every note in this chord wants to resolve: C♯ → D, E → F, G → F, B♭ → A. This creates even more tension than a dominant seventh in some contexts.
5.2. Notation
We analyze these chords as vii°7/target, meaning "the fully diminished seventh chord built on the leading tone of the target chord."
5.3. Listening Example
In Chopin's waltzes and nocturnes, you'll frequently hear diminished seventh chords used as secondary functions, creating chromatic voice leading and heightened emotional expression. The Waltz in C♯ minor, Op. 64 No. 2, contains numerous examples of diminished seventh chords tonicizing various scale degrees.
6. Chains of Secondary Dominants
One of the most exciting applications of secondary dominants is creating chains or sequences where each chord acts as the dominant of the next.
6.1. The Circle of Fifths Progression
The most common chain follows the circle of fifths backward (or the circle of fourths forward). In C major, a typical chain might be:
E7 → A7 → D7 → G7 → C
Let's analyze this:
- E7 = V7/vi (resolves to Am, but here moves deceptively to...)
- A7 = V7/ii (resolves to Dm, but here moves deceptively to...)
- D7 = V7/V (resolves to G7)
- G7 = V7 (resolves to C)
Each dominant seventh chord contains the leading tone of the next chord, creating smooth chromatic voice leading and unstoppable forward momentum.
6.2. Musical Applications
This progression appears in countless jazz standards. The entire A-section of Tune Up by Miles Davis is built on this principle. The song modulates through different key centers using chains of secondary dominants.
In the bridge of All the Things You Are by Jerome Kern, the harmony moves through a sophisticated chain of secondary dominants that creates the lush, chromatic sound characteristic of advanced popular song composition.
6.3. Try This
At your instrument, play this chain slowly in C major:
C → E7 → A7 → D7 → G7 → C
Feel how each dominant seventh chord creates expectation and tension, and how each resolution (even when it's to another dominant seventh) provides temporary satisfaction before building tension again. This is how harmony creates narrative and emotional journey in music.
7. Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
As you start using secondary dominants in your own music or analysis, watch out for these common mistakes.
7.1. Forgetting the Altered Notes
The most common error is building a secondary dominant but forgetting to raise the third to create the leading tone. For example, if you want V7/ii in C major, you must use A7 (with C♯), not Am7 (with C♮). The major quality and the raised leading tone are what give the secondary dominant its characteristic pull.
7.2. Ignoring Voice Leading
Just writing the right chord symbols isn't enough. The individual voices must resolve their tendency tones properly:
- Leading tones should resolve up by half step
- Sevenths should resolve down by step
- Avoid parallel fifths and octaves between voices
Poor voice leading makes even correctly chosen chords sound awkward or academic rather than musical.
7.3. Overusing Secondary Dominants
Like any spice, secondary dominants are most effective when used with intention and restraint. If every chord in your progression is a secondary dominant, the effect becomes diluted and the music loses its sense of home key. The power of tonicization comes from contrast-moments of chromatic color against a diatonic background.
7.4. Confusing Secondary Dominants with Modulation
When you use a secondary dominant, you're creating a brief emphasis on another chord, but you're not leaving the original key. The music still feels centered in the tonic. A true modulation is different-it establishes a new tonic that persists for a significant period. Learn to distinguish between a passing chromatic color (secondary dominant) and an actual change of key center.
8. Practical Application: Composing and Improvising with Secondary Dominants
Now let's think about how you can actively use secondary dominants in your own music-making.
8.1. Adding Color to Simple Progressions
Take a basic progression like:
C → Dm → G7 → C
You can enhance this by approaching the Dm with its own dominant:
C → A7 → Dm → G7 → C
Suddenly you've added harmonic interest, forward motion, and a touch of chromaticism without changing the overall structure.
8.2. Creating Turnarounds
In jazz and blues, turnarounds are short progressions that cycle back to the beginning of a form. Secondary dominants are essential tools here. A classic turnaround in C might be:
C → A7 → D7 → G7 (then back to C)
This uses V7/ii and V7/V to create a smooth path back to the top of the form.
8.3. Improvising Over Secondary Dominants
When you're improvising over a secondary dominant, think about the target chord temporarily. If you're playing over A7 heading to Dm in the key of C, you can think briefly in D minor and use melodic ideas from that context-perhaps a D natural minor scale or D harmonic minor scale. This creates melodic-harmonic unity and makes your improvisation sound intentional and connected.
8.4. Reharmonization Technique
If you're arranging an existing melody, you can often substitute a secondary dominant for a diatonic chord to create a richer harmonic setting. Where a simple harmonization might place a diatonic chord, ask yourself: "What chord is coming next? Could I approach it with its dominant?"
For example, if your melody has a sustained A over a Dm chord that moves to G7, you might reharmonize the A using A7 (which contains the melody note) moving to Dm, creating a V7/ii → ii → V7 progression.
9. Historical Context and Stylistic Considerations
Understanding when and how secondary dominants developed helps you use them stylistically appropriately.
9.1. Baroque Period
Secondary dominants emerged in the Baroque era as composers explored chromaticism within tonal frameworks. J.S. Bach used them extensively in his chorales, fugues, and instrumental works. In the Well-Tempered Clavier, you'll find sophisticated examples of tonicization using secondary dominants to explore the tonal space within each key.
9.2. Classical and Romantic Periods
Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven used secondary dominants as standard harmonic vocabulary. By the Romantic era, composers like Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms pushed chromaticism further, using chains of secondary dominants and more ambiguous harmonic progressions to create emotional intensity and structural complexity.
9.3. Jazz and American Popular Song
The Great American Songbook composers-George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern-made secondary dominants a fundamental part of popular harmony. Jazz musicians then extended these techniques, using secondary dominants in improvisation, reharmonization, and composition.
9.4. Contemporary Practice
Today, secondary dominants appear across virtually all genres. Even in styles that rely heavily on modal harmony or avoid functional tonality, you'll find moments where a dominant-function chord tonicizes a temporary target, creating contrast and directed motion.
10. Advanced Applications and Extensions
Once you're comfortable with basic secondary dominants, you can explore more sophisticated applications.
10.1. Secondary Dominant Seventh Chord Substitutions
Any dominant seventh chord can be replaced by its tritone substitute-a dominant seventh chord built a tritone away. For A7, the tritone substitute would be E♭7. Both chords share the same tritone (C♯/D♭ and G) and can resolve to the same target, but the E♭7 creates a different bass line and voice-leading profile.
This technique is common in jazz. In the progression A7 → Dm, you could substitute E♭7 → Dm, creating chromatic bass motion (E♭ → D) instead of a descending fifth.
10.2. Extended and Altered Secondary Dominants
You can use extended chords (ninths, elevenths, thirteenths) and altered chords (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13) as secondary dominants to create more colorful harmonies. Instead of A7 moving to Dm, you might use A7♭9 or A7♯5 to create a more sophisticated jazz sound.
10.3. Modal Mixture with Secondary Dominants
You can combine secondary dominants with borrowed chords (chords from the parallel minor) to create rich chromatic palettes. For instance, in C major, you might use A7 (V7/ii) resolving to D minor, then use B♭ major (borrowed from C minor) as a colorful continuation.
10.4. Tonicization vs. Modulation
A prolonged use of secondary dominants and their target chords can create ambiguity: are we still in the original key, or have we modulated? This gray area is fertile ground for compositional exploration. Many pieces use extended tonicization-staying in a secondary area long enough that it feels like a temporary modulation-before returning to the original tonic.
Key Terms
- Secondary Dominant
- A chord that functions as the dominant (V or V7) of a chord other than the tonic, creating temporary tonicization of that chord. Notated as V/target or V7/target.
- Tonicization
- The process of temporarily treating a non-tonic chord as if it were the tonic by approaching it with its own dominant or leading-tone chord, without actually modulating away from the original key.
- Target Chord
- The chord that a secondary dominant resolves to; the chord being temporarily tonicized.
- Leading Tone
- The note a half step below the tonic (or target note), which has a strong tendency to resolve upward. In a dominant seventh chord, this is the major third of the chord.
- Tendency Tone
- A note that has a strong pull toward resolution in a particular direction. In dominant seventh chords, the leading tone and the seventh are the primary tendency tones.
- Voice Leading
- The smooth, logical movement of individual musical lines (voices) from one chord to the next, following principles of stepwise motion and proper resolution of tendency tones.
- Deceptive Motion
- When a chord that creates strong expectation (like a dominant) resolves to an unexpected chord rather than its normal target, creating surprise and extending the harmonic progression.
- Secondary Leading-Tone Chord
- A diminished or diminished seventh chord built on the leading tone of a non-tonic chord, functioning similarly to a secondary dominant. Notated as vii°/target or vii°7/target.
- Circle of Fifths Progression
- A harmonic sequence where chord roots move by descending fifths (or ascending fourths), often using secondary dominants where each chord functions as V7 of the next.
- Altered Note
- A note that is chromatically raised or lowered from its diatonic form within a key. Secondary dominants typically contain at least one altered note-the raised leading tone of the target chord.
- Chromatic Voice Leading
- Voice motion that includes half-step movement using notes outside the diatonic scale, often resulting from secondary dominants and other chromatic harmonies.
- Chain of Secondary Dominants
- A sequence of chords where each dominant-function chord resolves to the next, creating a series of tonicizations that propel the harmony forward through the circle of fifths.
- Turnaround
- A short harmonic progression, often using secondary dominants, that leads smoothly back to the beginning of a musical form or section, common in jazz and blues.
- Tritone Substitute
- A dominant seventh chord built a tritone away from another dominant seventh chord, sharing the same tritone and capable of resolving to the same target chord, commonly used in jazz.
- Reharmonization
- The process of changing the chords underlying a melody while maintaining the melody itself, often using secondary dominants to create richer or more sophisticated harmonies.
