Unit 7: Harmony and Voice Leading IV: Secondary Function

Tonicization through Secondary Dominant Chords

Secondary key - Key that is not the primary key of a piece of music but is used temporarily to create a sense of tension or contrast.
Temporary tonic - The note that becomes the new tonal center when a secondary key is used.

Closely related keys - Keys that share many of the same notes as the primary key.
The most closely related keys are the ones that differ by only one accidental.
They are usually adjacent to the original key on the circle of fifths.
Closely related keys to a major key
- Its relative minor
- The keys a fifth above and a fifth below
- The parallel minor
Closely related keys to a minor key
- Its relative major
- The keys a fifth above and a fifth below
- The parallel major

Secondary dominant - Dominant chord that is not in the primary key but is used to tonicize a chord in a secondary key.
It’s usually a major chord that is a fifth above the chord being tonicized.

Suffixes and prefixes are added to chord symbols to indicate their function in a progression.
The most common suffixes are "7" and "maj7", which indicate a dominant seventh chord and a major seventh chord, respectively.
The most common prefixes are "I" and "V", which indicate the tonic and dominant chords, respectively.

Secondary dominant - A chord that functions as the dominant of a chord other than the tonic. It is usually a major chord built on the fifth degree of the target chord.
[[Most common secondary dominants[[
- V/V (the dominant of the dominant)
- V/ii (the dominant of the supertonic)
- V/IV (the dominant of the subdominant)

When part writing secondary dominants, it is important to follow the rules of voice leading to ensure smooth and effective harmonic progressions.
The leading tone of the secondary dominant should resolve to the tonic of the chord it is leading to.
The seventh of the secondary dominant should resolve down by step to the third of the chord it is leading to.
The root of the secondary dominant should move up by step to the third of the chord it is leading to, unless it creates parallel fifths or octaves.
In four-part writing, the fifth of the secondary dominant can be omitted if necessary to avoid voice leading errors.

Regular resolution - A type of resolution in which the leading tone of a chord resolves upwards to the tonic.
This resolution creates a sense of stability and finality in the music.

Irregular resolution - A type of resolution in which the leading tone of a chord resolves downwards to a note other than the tonic.
This type of resolution creates a sense of tension and instability in the music.

Deceptive resolution - A type of resolution in which the leading tone of a chord resolves to a chord other than the expected tonic.
This type of resolution creates a sense of surprise and unpredictability in the music.

Secondary leading tone chords are notated with a slash followed by the chord name of the key being borrowed from.
- For example, C7/F indicates a C7 chord with an F in the bass, which is borrowed from the key of F major.

The leading tone of the secondary key should resolve to the tonic of the original key.
The other notes of the secondary leading tone chord should resolve to notes in the target chord.
The bass note of the secondary leading tone chord should move by a step to the root of the target chord.
Avoid parallel fifths and octaves between the secondary leading tone chord and the target chord.

Deceptive motion - A harmonic motion that leads the listener to expect a certain chord, but instead, a different chord is played.
Tonicizing deceptive motion - A technique where a deceptive cadence is used to establish a new key.
- The new key is usually the relative major or minor of the original key.
By tonicizing the A minor chord, the composer can establish the key of A minor within the composition.

Note