View post (Using V of V ?)

View thread

ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,323
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,323
11/19/2015 3:04 pm
You're welcome for the links!
Originally Posted by: jarkko.eklundSo, an idea of the secondary dominant is to resolve it with its tonic.

Yes, inherent in the concept of dominant is that it belongs to some tonic chord. To say a chord is a V (five) chord implies there is a I (one) chord & a home key to which they belong. It also applies to any dominant chord, standard or secondary.

The concept of dominant chord means to have at least two essential components:

1. The root note of a dominant chord is the 5th degree of a scale.

2. The major 3rd of a dominant chord is the leading tone (the major 7th) of the scale.

Once you add in the minor 7th, that is the 4th scale degree you get traditional voice leading! This is why dominant chords are 7th chords with their specific formula.

1st - major 3rd - 5th - minor 7th

Let's put this in context so it's easier to see. We'll use the key of C major.

We're in the key of C, so the root note is C & the tonic chord is a C major chord. The dominant chord is G7. Dominant resolves to tonic.

G7 (v) > C (I)

If we label the notes as scale degrees in the key of C major, we see the voices move like this.

G7 (V) > C (I)
G (5) > C (1) or G (5)
B (7) > C (1)
D (2) > C (1) or E (3)
F (4) > E (3)

So some of the notes have options. But the primary thing to notice is that the B goes to C & F goes to E. This is how & why the G7 resolves to C.

To add another layer of depth to the music we can delay the arrival of the V to I by adding a V of V so we get a longer, more involved progression.

D7 (V of V) > G7 (V) > C (I)

But when we play the D7 we're actually using the key of G major temporarily instead of C major. This is called modulation. To change key momentarily, or for a short time. So we get even more voice leading!

D7 (V/V) > G7 (V)
D (5) > G (1) or D (5)
F# (7) > G (1)
A (2) > G (1) or B (3)
C (4) > B (3)

In classical pieces & jazz tunes they often use the circle of fifths to create a whole chain of secondary dominants!

E7 (V of VI) > A7 (V/II) > D7 (V of V) > G7 (V) > C (I)

I cover this in depth & more importantly with musical examples in the tutorials I linked.

Hope this helps! :)
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory