@ralph newman It's both important and basic. I don't see the contradiction. The first lesson I learned in University was Newton's three laws of motion - they're both basic and important.
I consider myself an advanced musician (several decades of semi-professional experience), and I know these concepts, but you explain it so clearly, without overcomplicating it with extra faff. You take the magic out of being a jazz pianist, and I mean that as a giant compliment (even if it sounds rude lol).
As a guitarist, it's great to see these chord movements and then trying to play the most important notes available on the fretboard. Thanks for the upload.
I'm learning Jazz coming from Classic piano. Heard so many videos talking about secondary dominants without explaining it very clearly. This is pure gold! Thanks a lot
@@MangoldProject Exactly! 💯 This was a fantastic video! You did a great job of explaining this basic, yet often misunderstood (or simply not understood), concept in a way that made the theory side of it entirely approachable for almost anyone who has even the most basic familiarity with beginning music theory. The two-tiers of examples provided "something for everyone," and your pacing was entirely on point. You're doing seriously important work here, making music theory more accessible and understandable to all musicians, by demystifying it and clearly demonstrating the concepts as you present them. Thanks for all that you do, and for continuing to do it after all these years! 🙏🏻💚🎹🎶
Those chords surely seem richer, so many notes I couldn't believe it for a second! I actually saw a similar lesson but now it didn't show how it could be applied to such big chords. I'm amazed.
These progressions, especially on the electric piano took me back to the mid-eighties where they seemed to be used on many ballads back then. At least that is how they made me feel. Great video.
The chord progressions that you played were both pleasing and familiar to my ears with he added benefit of leading to all kinds of directions I could imagine taking which is quite inspiring. I do not believe that you are overselling this bit at all. I like it!
All these years, amazing content. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and talent! It has given me such a great understanding over the years that I have been able to apply in my own music making. you're a LEGEND!
Thank you! I'm surprised myself that I still keep posting after so many years. I've been here since 2007 - that's 15 by now. I might be one of the oldest active RU-vidrs :)
Very interesting - you can tonicize the dominant seventh chords too, and you end up with a typical ragtime progression C - E7 - A7 - D7 - G like in West Coast Blues. I didn't really understand the progression before, I just knew it sounded good.
Secondary Dominants are where I feel like my deep dive into music theory actually started. This and voicing/voice leading are probably the most fundamental concepts that I learned in music theory. They helped clear up the relationship between the tonic and dominant, and how voices interact with each other. Many later concepts build off of it and takes it even further. (Altered chords, tritone subs, borrowed chords, min7b5, backdoor progressions, ii V I etc.)
As an avid synthesizer player, I am truly grateful for this information and I have subscribed! Thanks! This advice may be the most influential set of instructions to help me with my keyboard training yet! I am an old dog and new tricks don't come easy for me. The double keyboard showing the actual keys being struck is very helpful! Also, I never knew that you could play 2 or 3 adjacent white keys simultaneously and it would sound so majestic! Cheers!
One of the best music theory lessons ive ever seen, consise and easy to understand. Ive spent a lot of my life trying to understand music theory and this is one of the only lessons that has ever clicked
The dominant chord is usually thought about as a fifth above (7 half steps), you should probably mention that as well so people that are new to music theory don’t get confused.
I had the same reaction. The idea to me is that we insert a V-I progression, a perfect cadence, to get to our target chord (I chord). Dominant to Tonic. And in 7th form, that’s V7-I (or Imaj7); the dominant 7th of the target TO the target. Of course, a chord that is a 4th below is the same as the one that is a 5th above. And with a minor chord (like the Am in the example) you’d use a minor scale, eg the natural minor scale, and use the v-i progression. In the Am case, that’s Em to Am. But if we use the harmonic minor scale instead of the natural minor, the fifth of the i chord is a major, and in the Am case, it is E (major) and in that scale, it’s 7th form is E7, the dominant 7th. We get to the same place, but in my mind, it’s easy to think of using a perfect cadence each time - 5 to 1 - and that 5 is the “secondary dominant” chord, not THE dominant chord of the key of the piece, but the dominant chord of the target chord; a temporary thing outside the key.
Music theory says that a secondary dominant is a V7/ the target chord. Therefore, really, it's a perfect 5th above the target, not a perfect 4th below, though they get to the same place. It's just a little weird thinking of a V7 chord being a 4th below, rather than a 5th (as in V) above. Nice video, though.
@@ernestebell1735 on a guitar, one usually says it is tuned in 4ths - E-A, A-D, D-G, B-E (and the odd major third from G-B). And one also says that if you go the other way, from highest string (1) to lowest (6), it’s in 5ths: E-B, G-D, D-A, A-E (forgetting the B-G). But your really not going “down” a 5th: you’re only going down 5 half steps or a 4th…to the 5th. Up 7 half steps, or down 5 half steps gets you to the same note, just an octave apart, or same chord name, root note being an octave apart. In perfect terms, using harmonics: f * 3/2 { up a perfect fifth) = ( f / (4/3) {down a perfect fourth} ) * 2 {to bring it up an octave} = f * (3/4) * 2 = f * 3/2
@@HuardSmith Interesting take on it. In pure music theory terms, however, in the key of C, a G is still considered the 5th (or dominant) in the scale, and similarly, a G7 is a V7 chord. Sure, you can say it's going down a perfect 4th, but that's really going the wrong way round, whether it's a keyboard, a violin, a clarinet, or a guitar. Also, this video was made using a keyboard, rather than a guitar, so I'm not quite sure why we're justifying the use of 4ths as you would, apparently, on a guitar. It's a small point, though. The concept of the video is still sound. I just question using perfect 4ths to describe getting to a V7 chord.
Yea this sounds more convoluted to people who are new to the concept. I’m a guitarist so the easiest way it was taught to me was to play what would be the 5th note of whatever the next chord is and that’s your secondary dominant. I get it’s the identical concept but finding the 5th always feels a little easier for me especially on guitar
Thank you for years of support. Music theory is really not a scary thing. It even reveals itself as you go Simple example section makes me think this is happening in Georgia on My Mind. 🇮🇪. 2.5 years guitar and keys practice, learning from RU-vid teachers like Mangold
It becomes more and more complex as you go along, but as it becomes more complex it also becomes less and less useful. The most important bits of music theory are definitely not scary.
Yes, Georgia On My Mind, in the Key of G, has a B7 which is the secondary dominant to the E minor that follows it. What you are hearing is that secondary dominant transitioning the tune to its relative minor. But then the E minor is followed by a walkdown to D minor to C, then to a C# diminished. I am not quite sure what the function of the D minor is; maybe it is nothing more than a passing chord which features an F natural in it which helps establish the bluesiness of the tune and helping resolve to the E note in the C chord. But I digress....
Another guitar player checking in here. Your video on intervals was the first one that actually made me understand it completely. This one was equally helpful. Thank you very much!
I thought this would be far beyond my skill level, but you did a great job breaking it down and explaining it simply. I followed the first half at least and can't wait to experiment with the theory! Thanks!
Excellent job. I shared this to a group called jazz guitar chat on Facebook because there's a lot of beginners in that group and any beginning student of jazz should know this basic theoretical concept that this individual has explained perfectly clearly and easy to grasp. No wonder so many people have left comments and hit the like button because I never seen such a clear and precise explanation of tonicization
Fascinating, thank you. Also a guitar player, and uneducated when it comes to music theory. I have been looking to spice things up when it comes to chord progressions, and this tip is just perfect. Very well made video and explanations. Cannot wait to try it.
Secondary dominants' most characteristic note is usually the 3 because it's a chromatic leading tone, and being out of key can create a lot of pull back to diatonic.
What an extraordinary concept! This is like a hidden gem being uncovered from right under our noses. Thank you for this eye-opening tutorial. Mind. Blown.
Very good explanation of secondary dominants! I was always taught that "tonicize" was with an S sound: "tah-nih-size", so hearing it like how you say it was very interesting!
I already knew this concept from classical harmony (though with a slightly different language, but the same idea), but it was still interesting to see a rather different realization of that concept.
the first ever channel i subsribed in my life. the best of all. no words! just wonderful (i am not going to details being a guitarist it is just amazing to me so i am keeping it short)
I just found that I noticed this "Goosebump"-Progression decades ago as a child, when I heard the song "We wish you a merry christmas" for the first time. It includes the progression E7 to A minor. I heard it over and over again on my cassette recorder, but later that night I could not get that chord shift out of my brain and was not able to sleep. Now, almost 40 years later, I often use it when improvising on the piano. But I did not know until now there is a theory behind. Many thanks for this video!!! But as I know it already I would be interested if there are "other" theories. For example I would like to understand the theory behind the incredible chord shifts used in "Memory" from Andrew Llyod Webber and how they are used in combination with the melody.
This was known information to me, but those voicing in the advanced example are so tasty I can now feel my thighs rubbing together and I've got heartburn. Excellent video!
So basically just make a 7th chord preceding the main chords 5th. Genius. Absolutely genius. Thank you so much for breaking this down and helping us to understand "that sound". Phenomenal.
Thank you so much! It helped me a lot. Now I understand why some progressions seemed to include chords outside the tonality, but sounded good to the ear. Thank you again
very great resource. Ill have to teach some extensions before showing this, but a great first step for spicing up a progression. especially when you want some variation
Ah, so they are called ‘secondary dominants’. I just find myself discovering those intermediate chords when I play at home, and especially those added notes, like the 9ths and flatted 9ths, that I find useful when I am playing keyboard with the jazz band. I love the tutorial. Well presented.
Thanks freaking GOD for this, i'm not a musician but sometimes i play a guitar. I didn't know what is the term. I love when a musician insert bridge chord (i called this because i didn't know the term yet) or what you called "tonicization", because it makes the song more beautiful.
The first “simple” example reminds me of Gavin Degraw, the advanced one reminds me of a family sitcom like family matters or the Brady bunch lol. Great video! Definitely saving for later
As a music teacher, I learned nothing watching this video... except it's super well explained, absolutely written, and advices like "Don't overuse it" should be spread by and to every musician ! Thanks for this great video, it's a must watch
Well obviously a 4th below IS a 5th above so if you want to take it a step further, all of these new intermediate chords simply represent inserting a ii-V-i progression into the chord you are landing on - which is the single most common thing jazz players do all the time, but in this case you are leaving out the ii. So fiddle around with adding back in the 2 chords. So instead of C E7 Am make it C - Bm7-E7-Am etc etc. The key to understanding 251 is not thinking about the chord you are ON but the chord you are GOING TO
beautiful! perfect examples to understand. I had one question though. if the progression is moving from 1 TO 4 Chord. example G to C or D, You will play G G7 then C? Am I correct?
Super helpful! A great little bit of pepper for chord seasoning. Thanks for this video! Just a suggestion. The synthesizer Rhodes sound makes anything sound more boring/cheesy to many people… a classic more real Rhodes sound will bring the chords across in a more pure way with less aesthetic judgment. Just an opinion, but i think a lot of people feel this way. Thanks again for the great music theory! Very helpful! Subscribed.
I use secondary dominant chord very well but I dropped it because have over use it but these voicings are really magical its makes me see it as a new concept.
A different way to think about this is using chords and scales. If your looking for the dominant it’s the fifth of the scale, the third note of the chord you’re aiming for. A tip: memorize every triad, if you remove the sharps and flats it’s 7. If you memorize just the note names this process will be like cake, no counting necessary.
I want to give this video more than a like. This is amazing, sublime, absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much, im kind of in a euphoria right now thanks to you 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
The algorithm just fed me this video, and I found it very helpful. But I'm evem more amazed at the keyboard and chord visualization software you are using for your videos. It lloks super helpful. Surely you are not doing all this analysis and video graphics by hand, as it appears to instantly transcribe whatever notes you play into one or more possible chord notations. What is the software you use for this?
What I often do to get to the V7 is to look at the 3rd note of the chord. For CEG that would be G. Of course, going down a perfect fourth works as well.
Exactly that is why they are based 5, 7 of like if your in a C major headed to anA minor playing a dominant chord substitute If is called dominant because it is the 5 of the chord your headed to so a minor dominant chord substitute is called a 5 7 of A minor ie E G sharp B D
