The following explanation of the analysis of secondary dominants is for the purpose of roman numeral analysis. If jazz/pop symbols are used for analysis, the chords are indicated no different than the other chords – just indicate root, quality, and what note is in the bass (if different from the root). However, it is good to know that these chords are not diatonic and how they function.
Steps for Analysis
To determine if there is a secondary dominant when you are analyzing a piece:
- Analyze any of the chords you can in the progression, first with jazz/pop symbols and then with roman numerals.
- For any chord that you do not know, determine the quality of the chords to see if it could be a secondary dominant. Is it a major or major-minor seventh (so could be a V/ or a V7/ of the next chord)? Is it a diminished, half-diminished or fully diminished seventh chord and so could be a viio/, viio7/, or viiø7/ chord (a secondary leading tone chord)?
- If the chord is a quality that could be a secondary dominant, determine the chord that it should resolve to.
If the possible secondary dominant chord is a major triad or a major-minor seventh chord (e.g, it could be a V/ or a V7/ of the next chord), think of the root of the chord as the 5th scale degree and resolve it down a 5th to scale degree 1.
If the possible secondary dominant chord is a diminished, half-diminished or fully-diminished seventh (i.e., so it could be a viio/, viioø7/, or viio7/), think of the root of the chord as scale degree 7 and resolve up a half step to scale degree 1. - Determine if the chord after the possible secondary dominant is the chord it should resolve to. Is the root of the next chord the scale degree a 5th below the V chord or a half-step above the vii chord? If so, then analyze the chord as a secondary dominant of the next chord.
Let’s try an example.
Example
Let’s try an example.
Below is the progression to be analyzed. Listen to the example to determine the key it is in and any chords you can.
Analyze all the chords you can first with jazz/pop symbols.
Determine the key. Analyze all chords that you can with roman numerals.
In this example, there is one chord – the Bb7 (Bb major-minor 7) – that is not diatonic in the key of Bb.
Since the Bb7 is a major minor seventh chord, it can sound and (possibly) act like a V7 chord. Since Bb7 is not the V7 in the key of Bb, it is not the V7 in the key of Bb. But it could be a secondary dominant – a V7/y.
A Bb7 would be a V7 in the key of Eb (Bb = scale degree 5 in Eb major). It would normally resolve to a Eb chord.
In our example, the Bb7 does resolve to a Eb chord – although that Eb chord acts as a IV in the original key of Bb.
Therefore, the Bb7 chord, which sounds like a dominant 7 and resolves like a V7 chord, should be analyzed as a secondary dominant. It is a V7/IV – a V7 of/in the key of Eb which is IV in the key of Bb.
Therefore, the fourth chord – the Bb7 is a secondary dominant and is analyzed as such.
Easter Parade
If we look back at our example of Easter Parade, the Bb7 in the first line is the same as the above example.
The Bb7 chord, a major-minor 7th chord, will sound like a V7 chord. As a V7 chord, the root Bb should resolve down a 5th to Eb – which it does – the IV in the key of Bb.
Therefore, The Bb7 chord in the first line is analyzed correctly as a V7/IV:
This website and its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.