Behind the Score: Exploring Secondary Dominants (Episode 30)
Added 2022-10-29 15:56:12 +0000 UTCIn this episode of Behind the Score, I'm releasing the first lecture of our current online course called Exploring Chromaticism. In this zoom lecture, I introduce the concept of Secondary Dominants (also called Applied Dominants) as one of the major ways to include chromaticism in tonal music.
Musical examples include tunes by The Beatles, The Eagles, Elton John, and more.
Come along for the ride...class is in session!
Comments
So if I'm understanding correctly: in, say, "Yesterday," the second chord is a secondary dominant to iii, right? (F to E7 to Am)
Jeff Norman
2022-11-03 04:00:33 +0000 UTCRe the example of "Forget [sic] You": you say that the II7 chord is not a secondary dominant, because the following chord is not the dominant of the tonic (i.e., not V7). Okay but...isn't the F (IV) that follows arguably a variation OF that dom7? Consider: take that F chord, add a D as the root...and now it's a ii7 chord. Change the bass to a G—you've got what's commonly called a "slash chord" (see Laura Nyro, Todd Rundgren, etc., who use such chords all the time), Dm7/G. Get rid of that d note...and you've got what some theorists call "the soul dominant," a slash chord built on the fourth scale degree with the bass on the fifth. (Lots of examples...but I think Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" has this very progression (C-D7-F/G), or something close to it.) Of course, this is a slippery slope...once composers start doing substitute harmonies, you can find ways to make nearly ANY chord fit smoothly, so long as the voicing of the chord and melodic line make sense...
Jeff Norman
2022-11-03 03:10:59 +0000 UTC
