{"id":1309,"date":"2025-01-15T00:38:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T00:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/?p=1309"},"modified":"2025-02-05T01:45:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T01:45:56","slug":"spice-up-your-songs-with-secondary-dominants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/spice-up-your-songs-with-secondary-dominants\/","title":{"rendered":"Spice Up Your Songs with Secondary Dominants!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hey music creators!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever feel like your chord progressions are a little too predictable? Want to add some unexpected twists that keep listeners hooked? Let me introduce you to your new best friend: <strong>secondary dominants<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Ready to spice up your music? Watch the full video below for a fun breakdown with audio examples!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spice it Up Super Easy Secondary Dominants\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uRQ63PK1isw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, we&#8217;re diving into how these spicy chords can breathe life into your music. And guess what? We&#8217;ll take a trip back to 1926 with the song <em>&#8220;Give Me a Kiss Will Ya&#8221;<\/em> to show how this timeless trick has been flavoring music for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Are Secondary Dominants?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine you&#8217;re hanging out at home (your home chord, that is), and you decide to take a quick trip to your neighbor&#8217;s house. But before you do, you send a text to let them know you&#8217;re coming\u2014that&#8217;s your secondary dominant! It&#8217;s a temporary dominant chord that points to a chord other than the tonic, creating tension and release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/posts\/major-foundation-46555927?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp;utm_source=copyLink&amp;utm_campaign=postshare_creator&amp;utm_content=join_link\">Music Theory, the basics<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example Time!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>&#8220;Give Me a Kiss Will Ya,&#8221;<\/em> the song starts in the key of C major. You&#8217;ve got your classic C major (home) and G7 (the dominant). But then\u2014surprise!\u2014it throws in an E7 before landing on A minor. That E7 isn&#8217;t in the key of C, but it leads beautifully to A minor. That&#8217;s the magic of a secondary dominant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another example: A7 leads into D minor. A7 doesn&#8217;t belong in C major, but it smoothly guides you to D minor. It&#8217;s like adding a little unexpected spice to your favorite dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How to Use Secondary Dominants in Your Own Songs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pick a Chord You Want to Target.<\/strong> Let&#8217;s say A minor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Look One Step Clockwise on the Circle of 5ths.<\/strong> That&#8217;s E.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Make It a Dominant 7th.<\/strong> E7!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Play E7 Before A Minor.<\/strong> Feel that smooth tension and release? That&#8217;s the magic!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stack &#8216;Em Up!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feeling bold? Try stacking secondary dominants! In the song, they use D7 \u2192 G7 \u2192 C major. That D7 leads to G7, which leads back home to C. It&#8217;s like setting up a domino effect of musical tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Experiment and Have Fun!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best part about secondary dominants is how flexible they are. Throw them into your progressions and see what happens. Music is all about exploring and creating vibes that feel right to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center has-vivid-purple-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7014556818ebc8dccf0ceb22862a5d0a is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>&#8220;And he said: \u2018Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.\u2019&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Explaining Secondary Dominants to a 7-Year-Old (Fun and Simple!)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hey there! Let\u2019s talk about <strong>music magic<\/strong>! \ud83c\udfb5\u2728 Imagine you\u2019re on a musical adventure, and you\u2019re walking through a forest of chords. Most of the time, you\u2019re walking on a path that feels familiar, like in the key of C major. But sometimes, you want to visit a cool new place for a moment\u2014like a secret treehouse or a hidden cave. That\u2019s where <strong>secondary dominants<\/strong> come in! They\u2019re like magical bridges that take you to a new spot before bringing you back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s a Secondary Dominant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A secondary dominant is a <strong>special chord<\/strong> that makes another chord feel like the &#8220;boss&#8221; for a little while. It\u2019s like saying, \u201cHey, let\u2019s pretend this chord is the most important one right now!\u201d Then, after a few seconds, you go back to the real boss chord (the tonic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Does It Work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Dominant Chord<\/strong>: In music, the <strong>V chord<\/strong> (like G major in C major) is like a superhero that always wants to bring you back home to the <strong>I chord<\/strong> (C major). It\u2019s super strong and makes you feel like you\u2019ve arrived.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Magic Trick<\/strong>: A secondary dominant is when you use a <strong>new superhero chord<\/strong> to point to a different chord, not the home chord. For example, if you want to make the <strong>Am chord<\/strong> feel special for a moment, you can use an <strong>E7 chord<\/strong> (the superhero for Am) to point to it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fun Examples in the Key of C Major<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s pretend we\u2019re in the key of <strong>C major<\/strong>, and the notes are like a playground. Here\u2019s how secondary dominants work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Visiting the <strong>Am Treehouse<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Normal path: <strong>C \u2192 Am<\/strong> (boring, right?).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Magical path: <strong>C \u2192 E7 \u2192 Am<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>E7<\/strong> is the superhero chord that says, \u201cHey, let\u2019s visit the Am treehouse!\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then, <strong>Am<\/strong> feels like the boss for a moment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Visiting the <strong>G Mountain<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Normal path: <strong>C \u2192 G<\/strong> (yawn).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Magical path: <strong>C \u2192 D7 \u2192 G<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>D7<\/strong> is the superhero chord that says, \u201cLet\u2019s climb the G mountain!\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then, <strong>G<\/strong> feels like the boss for a moment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Visiting the <strong>F Cave<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Normal path: <strong>C \u2192 F<\/strong> (meh).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Magical path: <strong>C \u2192 C7 \u2192 F<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>C7<\/strong> is the superhero chord that says, \u201cLet\u2019s explore the F cave!\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then, <strong>F<\/strong> feels like the boss for a moment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Are Secondary Dominants Cool?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>They Make Music Exciting<\/strong>: It\u2019s like adding a surprise twist to a story!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>They Create Drama<\/strong>: Imagine a superhero swooping in to save the day\u2014it\u2019s thrilling!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>They Help You Explore<\/strong>: You get to visit new places in the music before coming back home.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let\u2019s Play a Game!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s pretend you\u2019re a composer, and you want to make your song more fun. Here\u2019s a normal chord progression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>C \u2192 F \u2192 G \u2192 C<\/strong> (Home \u2192 Cave \u2192 Mountain \u2192 Home).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s add some <strong>secondary dominants<\/strong> to make it magical:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>C \u2192 C7 \u2192 F \u2192 D7 \u2192 G \u2192 E7 \u2192 Am \u2192 G \u2192 C<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>C7<\/strong> points to <strong>F<\/strong> (the cave).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>D7<\/strong> points to <strong>G<\/strong> (the mountain).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>E7<\/strong> points to <strong>Am<\/strong> (the treehouse).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now your song is an adventure! \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondary dominants are like <strong>musical superheroes<\/strong> that take you on fun little trips to new places in your song. They make music more exciting, surprising, and colorful. So next time you hear a song, listen for those magical bridges\u2014they might just take you on an adventure! \ud83c\udfb6\u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_2324.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hey music creators! Ever feel like your chord progressions are a little too predictable? Want to add some unexpected twists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,3,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-lessons","category-music-creation","category-music-education"],"rise-blocks_total_comments":0,"rise-blocks_categories":[{"term_id":12,"name":"Guitar Lessons","slug":"guitar-lessons","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":12,"category_count":18,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Guitar Lessons","category_nicename":"guitar-lessons","category_parent":0},{"term_id":3,"name":"Music Creation","slug":"music-creation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":22,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":22,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Music Creation","category_nicename":"music-creation","category_parent":0},{"term_id":9,"name":"Music Education","slug":"music-education","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":28,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":9,"category_count":28,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Music Education","category_nicename":"music-education","category_parent":0}],"rise-blocks_excerpt":"Hey music creators! Ever feel like your chord progressions are a little too predictable? Want to add some unexpected twists that keep listeners hooked? Let me introduce you to your new best friend: secondary dominants! Ready to spice up your music? Watch the full video below for a fun breakdown with audio examples! Today, we&#8217;re diving into how these spicy..","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42.png",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Snapshot-11-12-2024-19_42.png",1920,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jeff Yentzer","author_link":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/author\/musicgenius\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Hey music creators! Ever feel like your chord progressions are a little too predictable? Want to add some unexpected twists [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1331,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions\/1331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gjcae.org\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}