Notice the tension created by the dominant chord (G7) and how that tension is released once we land on the tonic (C).
Here below a quick example to help you internalize the dominant effect (I've included the tabs so that you can try it on your guitar): For example, in the key of C, if you play a G7, you'll perceive a great tension thatĪn analogy could be the force of gravity that pulls everything to the ground. The particular and unique role of the dominant chord is that it wants desperately to return to the tonic. You simply count 5 from the tonic and you'll get its dominant chord. We already have talked abundantly about chord degrees and their function, so here's a quick recap just toĪs you can see on the table above, the dominant chord is the 5th chord in the scale. So withoutįurther ado, let's get started! What is A Dominant Chord In this tutorial, we're going to learn a useful composing trick that will make your tunes more interesting and fun: secondary dominants! If you are tired of playingīoring chord progressions, adding secondary dominants will open up a world of new options.
How To Use Secondary Dominants Turn a Boring Chord Progression into a Masterpiece
