Using V of V ?

I know the relation between a scale and a chord harmony.
E.g major scale is I ii(m) iii(m) IV V vi(m) vii(dim). I also know chord formulas and harmonies for minor (natural, harmonic and melodic) scales.

I think I understand the usage of V of V. It is a borrowed chord from other scale, and since it is a dominant chord of 5th of a scale it will fit in, right?

But I'd like to understand the theory better here, and where does it come from (classical, jazz, blues...). To be able to apply V of V to music.

Originally Posted by: jarkko.eklund
I think I understand the usage of V of V. It is a borrowed chord from other scale, and since it is a dominant chord of 5th of a scale it will fit in, right?
[/quote]
That's the general idea! To get very precise, it's a technique in voice leading that adds another layer of depth or level of drama to a melody or chord progression by delaying the eventual resolution to the tonic.

I cover the basic concept of secondary dominants, or applied dominants as they are also called, in my intro to music theory tutorial, lesson 7.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=11530&s_id=495
[QUOTE=jarkko.eklund]
But I'd like to understand the theory better here, and where does it come from (classical, jazz, blues...). To be able to apply V of V to music.

I get more in depth, explain where it comes from & show some practical applications in multiple genres of music in this tutorial on the circle of fifths.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=835

I show how the idea can be applied in a practical situation when learning to improvise in this tutorial.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=876

And I use it quite a bit in these advanced soloing tutorials.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=973
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=980

Fun topic! :D Please ask more if necessary. Best of success with V of V!

Thank you, Christopher.

Excellent links and lessons. I knew the information is in here GuitarTricks, I just wasn't able to find it. So, an idea of the secondary dominant is to resolve it with its tonic.

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! :)

This raises my voice leading and overall harmony thery knowledge to a new level. Thanks!

Gets my vote for question of the week! :)

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel
And I use it quite a bit in these advanced soloing tutorials.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=973

A minor detail, but there seems to be an error on notation "Pedal Point Minor All Together" lesson
https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=14675&s_id=973

For B7 chord the notation and tablature shows scale sequence, not the pedal point exercise. Em and F#7 are showing pedal point sequences.

Originally Posted by: jarkko.eklundA minor detail, but there seems to be an error on notation "Pedal Point Minor All Together" lesson

Thanks for the heads up! This should be fixed now. :)

This thread was very helpful, thank you!

Secondary dominants are quite crazy to understand at first. But they definitely add so much more variety to songs. There's nothing like listening to D major, then hearing a B7/D# leading into that E minor to A7 back into a D major 7!

Even crazier than that would be D - B7/D# - E min - Eb7 - Dmaj7! The Eb is a tritone substitution of A if anybody is wondering why I put that there. Really cool technique I'd be down to explain on another thread, although I'm sure Christopher is the man with theory who could probably explain it much better!

Really awesome thread. Thanks for posting this!