EPISODE 49 SECONDARY DOMINANTS PT. 2 V / II, V / VI, V / II
HOST- Jeremy Burns, Matthew Scott Phillips
GENRE- Theory
DURATION- 86:34
BUMPER MUSIC- "Waltzing With Purpose" (Area 47)
ANNOUNCER- Mike Cunliffe
LISTEN
DESCRIPTION
Join us, as we continue to venture toward the coming mountain of chromaticism.
We will approach the foothills as we resume our discussion of secondary dominants.
We will talk about how these chords can be used in the tonicization of chords other than the tonic,
with their dominant function. In this episode, we will focus on the V of ii
(V/ii), V of vi (V/vi) and the V of iii (V/iii)
KEYWORDS
DIATONIC- When a triad, chord or melody consists of notes solely from the given
key, it is considered to be DIATONIC.
CHROMATIC- When a triad, chord or melody consists of notes from outside the
given key, it is considered to be CHROMATIC.
TONICIZATION- When a chord, other than the tonic of the given key, is temporarily
given a tonic function.
SECONDARY DOMINANT- When a chord, other than the V chord of the given key,
is temporarily given a DOMINANT function.
TONIC ( I )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale degree 1 of the given key.
SUPERTONIC ( ii )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale
degree 2 of the given key.
MEDIANT ( iii )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale
degree 3 of the given key.
SUBDOMINANT ( IV )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on
scale degree 4 of the given key.
DOMINANT ( V )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale
degree 5 of the given key.
SUBMEDIANT ( vi )- A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale
degree 6 of the given key.
SUBTONIC ( VII ) - A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on scale
degree b7 of the given key.
LEADING TONE ( vii° ) - A note in a melody or a chord in a progression based on
scale degree 7 of the major key or #7 of a minor key.
SEVENTH ( 7 )- This would be the 4th chord tone added to a TRIAD. It will be a 7th
above the root of the given chord. It can be major, minor, augmented or diminished.
*It should be noted that all the above Roman numeral examples given were shown as uppercase (major) or lowercase (minor) as they relate to the MAJOR SCALE, as seen below:
I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-viiº
*In the MINOR SCALE, the diatonic chords will be built as seen below:
i-iiº-III-iv-v-VI-VII-i
EXAMPLES
READING VS SIGHT READING
A part of being a musician is learning to read music and translate it to your instrument,
be it through playing or singing. When this skill is sharpened it can contribute to one's ability to sight read.
A truly accomplished sight reader can transpose the music they read, to any key, on the fly!
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ONE'S SIGHT READING ABILITIES
An article in Bulletproofmusician.com, by Noa Kageyama, PhD, points out a study that
examines different factors that can influence sight reading expertise.
This meta analysis, by Jennifer Mishra, has grouped 154 of these factors down to 17 main categories:
1-Music aptitude
2-Music study
3-Music knowledge
4-Academic achievement (SAT scores, GPA)
5-Ear-training ability
6-IQ
7-Perception
8-Psychomotor (reaction time)
9-Sight-reading experience
10-Personality
11-General practice
12-Technical ability
13-Age
14-Attitude (level of interest in music)
15-Early exposure
16-Memorization ability
17-Improvisation skills
The findings suggest that one’s musicality, or music experience, is more strongly related to one’s sight reading skill level. The strongest factors were found to be:
-Improvisation skills
-Ear training ability
-Technical ability
-Music knowledge
Before you even play (or sing) the first note, try to give the entire piece of music a quick scan.
Keep the following things in mind while you do so:
1. Analyze the tune in it's entirety. Notice the scale, the key signature and the
meter.
2. Orient to the key. Sing, or play, up and down the scale, along with arpeggios. Try
to imagine the line, or space that the tonic is on as "bigger" than all the others.
Sing up and down the scale, using numbers or solfége.
3. Try to identify phrases, contour and recurring motives. Find the end of phrases
and try to make and educated guess on what the cadences might be.
4. Sing the notes, in your head, to yourself.
5. Go for it! Try it and the mentally go over your performance and note things that
could be better.
-For more great tips on sight reading, check out the following blog, by Brian Jenkins, on yourmusiclessons.com:
"How To Become A Phenomenal Sight Reader"
-You can find (and contribute) random melodies, of all levels, for sight reading practice at thesightreadingproject.com