Secondary Dominants: Write Better Chord Progressions!

Secondary dominant chords are a great addition to the 7 chords we normally see in major keys and their modes. They exist outside of the key but resolve to chords within the key — and this occurs a LOT in modern music, especially the V7/vi.

What You'll Learn

• What secondary dominants are and how they work
• Why these chords introduce non-diatonic notes
• All the usable secondary dominants in major keys
• How to use them to write more interesting progressions

Why They Sound Unique

Secondary dominants introduce non-diatonic notes (notes outside the scale), so it's usually obvious to the ear that there's something unique and interesting about these chords when they appear. They create "mini modulations" within your key.

These chords work in any mode, but you'll find it's fairly difficult to use them outside of major and minor due to other modes not being as stable.

For a deeper dive into secondary dominants, check out Chapter 11: Secondary Dominants in the Chord Progression Codex.