Grade 8 Music Theory, Unit 1, Lesson 1 of 5

A dominant for any chord

About 2 min to read, then 5 practice questions

Borrowed dominants

C sharp, borrowed, rises to D: V7 of II

Grade 7 used V of V, the dominant of the dominant. The same idea works for any major or minor chord of the key: build the dominant (or dominant seventh) of that chord. It borrows a raised note, the leading note of the chord it leads to, and it rises a semitone to that chord's root.

More on this

Find the chromatic note, then the note a semitone above it: that is the root of the chord the secondary dominant points to. Label it V/II, V7/IV, V/VI and so on.

Practise this: 5 questions, about 4 min

Answering from memory soon after reading is what makes it stick, so now is a good time.

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