AP Music Theory

Unit 7: Harmony and Voice Leading IV: Secondary Function

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Unit Outline

Secondary Dominant Chords

Alright music theorists, get ready to add some serious spice to your harmony! Secondary dominant chords are like little mini-V7 chords that temporarily point to a diatonic chord other than the tonic. Think of them as 'borrowing' a dominant function from another key, giving us a momentary pull towards a new tonal center without fully modulating. They create excitement and drive, making the music feel like it's taking a quick detour before returning home (or moving on!).

Skill 3: Harmonic Dictation (identifying and transcribing secondary dominants)Skill 5: Free-Response Analysis (analyzing and labeling secondary dominants in a score)Skill 6: Multiple-Choice (identifying, resolving, and understanding the function of secondary dominants)

Common Misconceptions

Confusing secondary dominants with actual modulations – remember, it's just a temporary 'tonicization'!
Incorrectly resolving the leading tone or the seventh of the chord, leading to voice-leading errors.
Misidentifying the target chord (e.g., calling V/vi 'V/VI' or 'V/ii').
Forgetting the accidental that creates the temporary leading tone (e.g., F# in C major for V/ii).

Secondary Leading-Tone Chords

If secondary dominants are the cool older sibling, secondary leading-tone chords are their equally cool, but perhaps a bit more mysterious, younger sibling! These are diminished triads (vii°/X) or half-diminished seventh chords (viiø7/X) that function as leading-tone chords to a diatonic chord other than the tonic. They create a similar pulling effect as secondary dominants but with that characteristic diminished sound, adding tension and chromaticism that resolves beautifully to their temporary tonic.

Skill 3: Harmonic Dictation (identifying and transcribing secondary leading-tone chords)Skill 5: Free-Response Analysis (analyzing and labeling secondary leading-tone chords in a score)Skill 6: Multiple-Choice (identifying, resolving, and understanding the function of secondary leading-tone chords)

Common Misconceptions

Confusing diminished triads with half-diminished or fully-diminished seventh chords, especially in dictation.
Incorrectly resolving the leading tone or the diminished fifth/seventh, leading to parallel octaves or fifths.
Not recognizing the diatonic chord that the secondary leading-tone chord is 'pointing' to.
Forgetting the multiple accidentals often required for these chords.

Tonicization

Okay, let's zoom out a bit! Tonicization is the *process* of temporarily making a non-tonic chord sound like a tonic. It's the big idea behind both secondary dominants and secondary leading-tone chords. Imagine you're driving on a highway, and you take a quick exit to grab a coffee, but then you immediately get back on the same highway. You briefly visited a new place, but you didn't change your destination. That's tonicization – a fleeting visit to a new tonal center, often marked by the presence of an applied chord followed by its temporary tonic.

Skill 5: Free-Response Analysis (identifying and explaining instances of tonicization in a musical excerpt)Skill 6: Multiple-Choice (distinguishing tonicization from modulation, identifying the temporary tonic)

Common Misconceptions

Calling tonicization 'modulation' – these are distinct concepts! Tonicization is temporary, modulation is more permanent.
Not recognizing that the 'temporary tonic' is still diatonic to the original key.
Missing the brief nature of the tonicization, expecting a full key change.

Modulations to Closely Related Keys

Alright, now we're actually changing highways! Modulation is a more permanent shift from one key to another. But we're not just jumping anywhere; we're talking about 'closely related keys.' These are keys that share a lot of common chords and have key signatures that differ by only one sharp or flat. Think of it as moving from your house to a friend's house in the same neighborhood – still familiar, but a definite change of address. The most common way to do this is with a 'pivot chord,' a chord that belongs to *both* the old key and the new key, acting as a harmonic bridge!

Skill 4: Free-Response Composition/Arrangement (composing a phrase that modulates to a closely related key)Skill 5: Free-Response Analysis (identifying modulations and pivot chords in a score, explaining the process)Skill 6: Multiple-Choice (identifying closely related keys, recognizing pivot chords, determining the new key)

Common Misconceptions

Confusing tonicization with modulation – again, one is temporary, the other is more permanent.
Misidentifying closely related keys (e.g., thinking parallel major/minor are closely related, which they are not in this context).
Struggling to find an appropriate pivot chord that truly functions in both keys.
Not recognizing the change in key signature or tonal center after the modulation.

Key Terms

Secondary dominantV/Vapplied dominanttonicizationaltered chordSecondary leading-tone chordvii°/Vviiø7/viapplied diminisheddiminished seventh chordTonicizationtemporary tonicapplied chordbrief modulationharmonic destinationModulationclosely related keyspivot chordcommon chord modulationtonic key

Key Concepts

Secondary dominants are major triads or dominant seventh chords built on a root that is a perfect fifth above their temporary tonic.
They create a strong leading-tone effect to their target chord, temporarily making that chord feel like a tonic.
Correct voice leading involves resolving the tendency tones (leading tone up, 7th down) to the target chord.
Secondary leading-tone chords are built on the leading tone of their temporary tonic.
They provide a strong tendency to resolve to their target chord, often creating a sense of heightened drama.
Proper voice leading is crucial, especially with the two tritones present in a diminished seventh chord – resolve them carefully!
Tonicization is a temporary shift of tonal emphasis, not a permanent change of key.
It is achieved through the use of secondary (applied) dominant or leading-tone chords.
The effect of tonicization is to add color, variety, and harmonic interest to a passage without disrupting the overall key.
Closely related keys are keys whose tonic triads are diatonic to the original key, or whose key signatures differ by no more than one accidental.
Pivot chord modulation uses a chord that functions diatonically in both the original key and the new key, smoothing the transition.
Modulation creates larger-scale harmonic movement and is often used to delineate musical forms.

Cross-Unit Connections

Unit 1: Fundamentals of Music Theory (Key signatures, intervals, triads, and seventh chords are the building blocks for all secondary functions and modulations).
Unit 3: Harmony and Voice Leading I (Understanding diatonic harmony, root movement, and basic voice leading is essential before introducing chromatic alterations).
Unit 5: Harmony and Voice Leading III (Knowledge of dominant seventh chords and leading-tone seventh chords is crucial for understanding their secondary applications).
Unit 8: Harmony and Voice Leading V (This unit lays the foundation for more advanced chromatic harmony, including modulations to remote keys and more complex applied chords).
Unit 9: Form and Analysis (Modulation is a fundamental tool for creating musical form, especially in larger structures like sonata form, where movements between closely related keys are common).

Unit 6: Harmony and Voice Leading III: Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices Unit 8: Modes and Form