Secondary Dominants and Secondary Leading Tones Microlesson

Introduction to Secondary Dominants and Secondary Leading Tones

This section will discuss secondary dominants and secondary leading tones. These are chords that provide a colorful harmony of tension and release. This easily occurs from using a chord, outside of the original key, and then resolving back to a chord within the original key.

Lesson Key Terms:

Natural Minor Scales: This scale uses the same tonic as the major scale. To create a natural minor scale, use lowered third; lowered sixth; and lowered seventh degrees from the major scale.
Harmonic Minor Scale: The harmonic minor scale has two lowered scale degrees, the 3rd degree and 6th degree. Using the major scale as a foundation, lower the 3rd and 6th degrees of the major scale. The result is the Harmonic Minor Scale.
Melodic Minor Scale: This is the most unusual minor scale because it has distinct parts for ascending and descending. When ascending, the Melodic Minor Scale only lowers the 3^rd scale degree; but when descending, the 3^rd, 6^th, and 7^th degrees are lowered, which is technically using the Natural Minor Scale.

Explore

Watch the video presentation below to learn more about this topic. Prepare to take notes and use the navigational buttons at the bottom of the video to pause, rewind, or move forward. Move forward to the challenge section to review your understanding.

CORRECTION: At 1:08 in the video, in the second sentence after the semi-colon on the slide: Should read the following: “The second, third, and sixth-degree triads are minor.”

Clarifications:

You can only tonicize a major or minor chord- you wouldn’t be able to tonicize a vii° chord because it is diminished.
You can’t tonicize an I chord.
You can’t have a V/IV in a major key because there wouldn’t be a foreign tone. It must be a V7/IV to work.

Click here to download a printable copy of the presentation video.

Challenge

Secondary Dominants and Secondary Leading Tones Challenge Review

See how well you understand the content for this lesson by participating in the self-assessment activity below.

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