I cant explain how much your videos help. Stuck with a professor with a lack of passion and this quality of work helps so much with learning on my own. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Excellent! I sometimes feel like my enthusiasm doesn't come across as much as I actually feel in these videos - probably because they aren't as interactive as when there is a back and forth with students. I think I need to imagine I'm having a conversation with my virtual audience - I'll try that next time. Thanks!
Well I don't know about other, but I surely see your energy in the videos! You're doing a great service here. Looking forward to ending this semester and going through the whole series. Just had an interesting thought. If you assigned homework in your class it would be cool to try and follow that and have practice work the viewers can do themselves to make sure they are throughly getting the concepts. Maybe a scan of the homework in one link and then an answer key or follow up video of you doing the problems (like 5 or 6 questions) in another video? Quite the opportunity to attract a bigger fanbase as well. I can see your channel exploding with viewers.
Josiah - that's a great idea! My last video for the semester was Lesson 47 and it completes second semester music theory. I've been getting some great questions and suggestions (like yours), and I'm excited to work on them over the summer! Like you said, I'd like to see my "channel exploding with viewers!" To do that I want to give people what will help the most. Thanks for the suggestion!
Omg, I had an exam on music theory and I totally freaked out because I wasn't quite ready 😆 Then I watched all your music theory videos and believe it or not, I was able to pass the exam! And that's all thanks to you 🙏
I'm so happy to hear this; I'm so glad my videos were helpful. Get ready for Augmented 6th chords...they usually come soon and can be tricky too. Best wishes, Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs Haha, yeah... We just covered them and they're definitely a little weird. Now we're on enharmonic reinterpretations, which I also watched your video on. Thank you again!
Seven years ago! lol, I just found this and you explained it so well! Thank you. I really like how you are whiteboarding and writing these out as real lessons. Thank you so much.
Dr. Brellochs! I'm so happy you have videos up here, and secondary dominants have been killing me when I have to analyze classical pieces. This definitely a different approach than the one I was taught. Thanks for the help :)
I'm happy to help! I posted a video yesterday about secondary dominants resolving deceptively - DO NOT watch this video until you are comfortable with secondary dominants resolving normally! Hahaha... Best wises, Dr. B
Dear Dr B. I discovered your videos recently and have been working my way through them. I just wanted to thank you for uploading these brilliant tutorials. I have watched many other youtubers explain music theory but no one comes close to your clear and concise explanations. You have a great gift for imparting this wisdom and it has been a real pleasure to follow these videos of your. Thank you SO much. You make music theory fun and exciting again.
Been brushing up my music theory, found the video after reading about secondary dominant analysis and such, and this is a great explanation and demo!! I appreciate it and look forward to discovering more of your videos!!
I'm glad you found my videos! You'll notice the "Lessons" are in the order they were taught and build upon each other. You can start with whichever Lesson you need to work your way forward. Best wishes, Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
Saw a lot of explantions to this topic, by this is by far the best, maybe its longer but its the only way to make it fully understandable and cover ALL the important details that other videos not point out
Sometimes long form videos are the only way to get it done correctly! It takes time to explain something clearly and with each step carefully described. Thanks for the comment! Dr. B
I'm pursuing a dual degree in jazz studies and chemical engineering, and due to conflicts between the two, I literally can not take Theory II at the proper time and have to test out of it. Thanks for the help.
You've come to the right place. There has been a good number of people who have written me to say they were successful on placement exams & testing out of classes after watching my videos. Let me know if you do it, and if there is anything on the test that I didn't cover! Good luck! Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
Thank you for this sooooo much. I was quarantined at home when my professor started to teach this and I was so lost when I came back. You helped me so much!
@@AViationMusikGroup Not usually since I have so many projects: Dean of the School of Music at SUNY Schenectady, saxophone professor at Vassar College, consulting on historic music projects, and performing! Every now and then I do online private lessons but my rates are pretty high. Email/message me directly if you want more info. Thanks, Dr. B
I realized something about the different secondary dominants as I was doing the exercise myself today: each of them introduces a different numbers of sharps or flats, hinting briefly at another key signature. They introduce between 1 flat (V7/IV in major) to 4 sharps (V/V in minor) more than there is in the current key, so it seems like they tend to push the sonority in the "sharp" direction of the circle of fifths.
I've had fun with this. I took a tutorial from somewhere else on youtube which was limited in its explanation and executed a dissonant chord on my guitar. I went hmmm. Then I found this video and went aha. Thanks Dr. B.
Great lesson Dr. B! I had to pause a moment at around 33:40 to digest the Major Minor 7th reference, which I didn't fully grasp at the outset. So I'm guessing the Major Minor 7th is enharmonically the same as dominant 7th, but the wording is chosen carefully to avoid confusion with the topic of secondary dominants. I hope that is correct.
Great question. 1) Major Minor 7th is a term to denote sonority - which means a unique combination of intervals. For example, for triads "Major" and "Minor" are two different sonorities. 2) Dominant 7th is term to denote function and sonority - which means a chord in relationship to the key. However, many people (especially in pop & jazz) use the term Dominant 7th for everything. This is understandable but technically although all Dominant 7ths are Major Minor 7ths, but not all Major Minor 7ths are Dominant 7ths. Thanks for indicating the exact time in this video; at this spot in the video "secondary dominant" is referring to sonority (which can be M or Mm7), AND with the word "secondary" it indicates it is not in the key, AND the word "dominant" indicates its function! That's a lot to unpack! Best wishes, Dr. B
Woowwww!!! You're just AMAZING👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. All of my difficulties, are now gone. My tongue is talkless. 💞💞💞🌺🌺🌺. Thanks you Thank you so much. You're such a fantastic teacher. I wish I was your student!!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌹🌹🌹👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You are welcome! I've never received so many flowers, thumbs up, claps... I hope you enjoy the rest of my videos. Best wishes, Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
Dr B - A 1st inversion secondary dominant would have to go to the tonicized chord _in root position specifically_, because the 3rd (bass) would be functioning as the leading tone in this case, right? Also, would the proper way to implement a secondary dominant triad in 6/4 inversion be to make it into a passing chord? Because the tonicized chord would function as a tonic in relationship to that chord, so would it make sense to go, say, V>V(6/4)/V>V(6), right? Edit: I'm sure you COULD do this - you COULD do anything, technically, if you can find a way to make it work - but is this something that would be stylistically correct to baroque and classical era music?
Hi Dr. B, when I was studying for my Masters at Peabody Conservatory, we actually had a heated debate over whether V/II in a minor key was a true secondary dominant because we said that a secondary dominant is by natured a chromatic chord, and since V/III or even V7/III in a minor key has NO altered pitches, it could not be considered a true secondary dominant because it is not a chromatic chord EVEN though it feels and functions like one.. I argued that it would still be considered a secondary dominant based on function alone. What do you think?
I have hit a Problem, what woulf you call the notes C E Gb, I can't name this triad and yet I use it quite often, running down from Ami, whilst playing the C&E going down A Ab G Gb reaching the chord Gb C & E, I can't seem to find any chord that has just these three notes?
Great question! It sounds like an incomplete A-6 chord (A-C-E-F#). The formula you describe is very popular where you start with an A- triad and then have a chromatic passing tone line that happens to create A-M7 to A-7 to A-6. Your ear still hears where you started so C E Gb (but let's call it F# since it is functions as a major 6 in a minor chord), still implies A-. That said, although there isn't a traditional music theory name for C E Gb it does occur! In jazz you often find a C7b5 chord so this is that without the 7th. Depending on the context it could also sound like a C major triad with a #4/#11, thereby implying a lydian mode! I hope that helps and I didn't give too much new information! Dr. B
Why have I not watched more of your content, since picking up the guitar (and music theory) one year ago? Because I'm an idiot, that's why. Absolutely fantastic content.
Christopher Brellochs By the way, should you ever feel the desire to upload a similar series on rhythm, which appears to be the neglected child of RU-vidrs- I, for one, would be most appreciative. Regards, E.
You are right! Even the textbooks barely talk about rhythm. It is very interesting that music theory books focus a lot on harmony, a little bit on melody, and barely on rhythm! You are the first one to make this suggestion, and it is a good one!
Christopher Brellochs Well, this strikes me as understandable given that rhythm doesn't lend itself to teaching via text as easily as either melody or harmony but a somewhat paradoxical state of affairs on RU-vid, given the medium... Thing is, no amount of harmonic refinement or interesting melodic lines mean squat without proper rhythmic execution. I mean, it's clear to me - a rank beginner - that you can mess up a chord change or miss notes but that will "pass" if the rhythmic execution is right on the mark but just slightly messing up the pulse will throw everything and everyone out of whack the minute it happens, whether an unaccompanied guitarist or an orchestral ensemble...I was at a school concert a few days ago and the kids were backed-up by a wonderful bite-sized orchestral ensemble and they went into an African themed tune for a change of pace - a couple of violinists hopped on some percussion instruments - ugh...it was painful, man. Me, I practiced countless hours playing along to tunes on muted strings but this remains the single most difficult aspect of playing music to me...rhythm in general but proper accenting and dynamics in particular...
Christopher Brellochs As an aside, can you recommend any audio-visual stuff that could teach me to count time properly, if only in 4/4 time, from simple to complex, with lots of études emphasizing the rhythmic sequences being studied? Sort of an equivalent to Bellson's "Modern Reading Text in 4/4"...
Hi @Christopher Brellochs, Thank you for the lessons, I do have one question : Why do in the Natural Minor Roman numerals (Minor: III iv V VI VII) you put the five chord in upper-scale ("V") when it is a minor triad chord (should be "v" instead ?)? Does it is referring to the function of something ? Again thank you for the good content.
Either it is Natural Minor : i iiº III iv v VI VII In C it gives : (Cm Dº Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb) otherwise instead it is Harmonic Minor : i iiº III+ iv V VI viiº In C it gives : (Cm Dº Eb+ Fm G Ab Bº) In the first case if you are referring to Natural Minor then the v is minor and the VII can be a candidate to secondary dominant destination because it is Major Chord. In the other case if you are referring to Harmonic Minor then the V is major, the III+ is augmented and the viiº can't be used as a destination for secondary dominant because it is diminished. Could you please precise what Minor scale you are referring to ? (it looks like a mix between those two scales) Thanks, Paul
DR B, The V7/V7 will always cause "false relations"? the leading tone note of the secondary V7 will always be a half step up from the next following V7 chord. Example The V7/V7 is D-F#-A-C goes to a G-B-C-F. The F# leading tone resolves down by step to F natural which is a "False Relations". Voice leading rules for V7 chords is the 7th chord tone resolves DOWN while the 3rd chord tone resolves UP. For Secondary Dominants voice leading the leading tone resolves DOWN while the secondary dominant 3rd chord tone resolves UP?
C: i C: iv C: v These are all examples of mode mixture! Keep watching my videos and when you get to Lesson 44 (Mode Mixture) you'll get a detailed explanation! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FoqILFusV9o.html Best wishes, Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
@@ChristopherBrellochs I Mean not like this, I was interested to find out how you put in the Key of C major the F minor as a V / ? (what?) G minor as a V / ? (what?) C minor as a V / ? (what?)
@@musicatraian Ah, I think I understand your question. Minor triads are never secondary dominants so you wouldn't call the V / anything! What does happen however is that they can be secondary supertonic chords - in other words ii / ? going to V / ?. To answer your question in this way for C major: F minor would be ii/bIII (this would be very unusual but might be better analyzed as a modulation to Eb) G minor would be ii/IV (this does occur somewhat commonly) C minor would be ii/bVII (this would be very unusual but might be better analyzed as a modulation to Bb) Did that answer your question? Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs that answer was briliant! now it makes sense every thing you said. thank you so much for bringing so much light through all your youtube Videos. I do watch your videos since 2 years. and it helped me learn better understand music composition.
Are you asking about this in the key of c minor? If so, here is the answer: 1) The root of the III chord in c minor is Eb 2) An interval of a perfect fifth above Eb is Bb 3) Bb is therefore root of V/III *Since the Bb is NOT functioning as a leading tone for a V or viio chord it is NOT raised to a B natural **V/III has the exact same pitches as VII so it is NOT a secondary dominant. A secondary dominant can NOT be a diatonic chord. Great questions!
Thanks for watching! What time in the video are you referring to? If this helps, in the key of C major, viio/ii would be a C# diminished triad (C# E G) and V/ii would be an A major triad (A C# E). Best wishes, Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs it was not too far into the video. One of the first examples. I could be wrong. I may have just gotten confused about something? I kept thinking "by now he would have caught it if it was wrong". So I may have just missed something?
Wonder job Doc! But at 37:46 you mistakenly called the chord a “five four two of four” when it really was a five four two of five - (you even have it notated as a five four two of five).
id say what you are putting out is a little more than 'useful' mate. Its like getting to go to college/uni without having to find the money for the fees! That is something that has the potential to be life changing!
Eh,,,In the key of C playing CDom7 is tonicizing the IV . "Classical" vs "Jazz "theory . I didn't look but I bet we get the ascending and descending melodic minor thing too.. At this point that ought to be taught as a technique , even the classic musicians broke that rule plenty.
Totaly lost at 30:00 ish, Can't understand how is G7/B a V 6,5... i will try to get a few lessons back edit: now i know it has to do with inversions which i'm not totally familiar
Why is B-flat considered the seventh tone in the key of C minor , 17:16 Isn’t it B natural? *Update* so obviously it is the pure minor scale and not the harmonic, I have seen the light 🙏 BTW Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People ignited my interest in theory, this is awesome stuff I will definitely follow Dr. B, thanks
You got it! Minor is tricky as you want to distinguish between viio (leading tone triad) and VII (subtonic triad). You can't have a secondary dominant go to a diminished triad, but you can have it go to VII. Best wishes, Dr. B
I don't know if this is advanced or plainly inadequate, but could we deceptively resolve a secondary dominant to a vi instead of the I? Like, in C major, instead of the progression being D->G, could it be D->E-? And as always, thank you so much for these lectures!!! I already noticed a greater ease in writing harmony lines (not so good yet, but well, let's study more)! EDIT: I read again and thought it was complicated, so I'm gonna try to explain again, because even I got confused. When we have the tonicization, we have V/V -> V, for example, and we could, theoritecally, rename V to I/V. Could we have, so, vi/V instead of I/V? I don't know how to make this explanation simpler, maybe I don't have the vocabulary for this. I hope I could make myself clear :) Thank you so so much!!
'Ophelia' by the Band is a good example in popular music. Instead of having a secondary dominant, then it's diatonic chord, it has one secondary dominant after another in a descending 5ths. So it's in the key of C, but goes C E7 A7 D7 G then back to I. I | V7/vi | V7/ii | V7/V | V7
Yes! Great example of chaining secondary dominants going through the circle of fifths. Everyone from Bach to the Band use this! Your analysis is correct for the secondary dominants but the song goes to IV before V for the fifth and sixth measures (i.e. the resolution of D7 in measure three is delayed): C | E7 | A7 | D7 | F | G7 | C A7 | D7 G7 || The Roman numeral analysis would be I | V7/vi | V7/ii | V7/V | IV | V | I V7/ii | V7/V V || Thanks for sharing! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--QFW68SUfpg.html
Hi Julian Romero, Yes, it is curious but as you can see in C minor the V/I (G or V7/I G7) is not part of the "valid" "five of" chords and the V/III (Bb or V7/III Bb7) is part of it, but if you switch to the relative major of C minor which is Eb Major then the V/vi (G or V7/vi G7) is part of it and the V/I (Bb or V7/III Bb7) is not part of it. So if you can't tell if your chord progression is in C minor or Eb major and you see a Bb7 then you know that you are in C minor otherwise if you see a G7 you are in Eb major, both "foreign" chords working as secondary dominants. Could you confirm @Christopher Brellochs ? Thanks for the good material here, keep it up :)
39.15 minuets to explain secondary dominants. I'm Dr. B Music so I most waffle on, I could explain it in four minutes but I'm a professor so I most waffle, now write a 3 thousand word easy on secondary dominants...
Hey Colin Dude, if you are criticizing Dr. B for verbosity on this topic - 39 "minuets" instead of 4 in his video essay ("easy") - you are way "off-bass". Every point he made was either a useful explanation or great example of an earlier point or a deeper dive into the initial rule that gave fresh insight and additional knowledge. I know your own compositional work must ("most") get better when you apply humility and respect to the learning process.
@@etiennelegros4123 I most say, excellent use of mocking sarcasm used to savage this ninny. Unfortunately, we appear to be dealing with a knuckle dragging moron, jealous of those who walk upright and use tools. He probably won't even notice the spelling errors even after this. Doktor B is the Gratest!
