Jump to content

Dominant (music): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
the linked page has it as "sol" (and that's how the note is named in French too), so I assume that's just a typo
Lambda (talk | contribs)
m Increase width of "Chords with a dominant function" image frame; the last chord had previously been cut off
 
(41 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Tonal degree of the diatonic scale}}
{{for|the term "dominant function" on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator|Myers-Briggs Type Indicator#Dominant function}}
{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
\clef treble
\time 7/4 c4 d e f \once \override NoteHead.color = #red g a b \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
\time 4/4 <g b d>1 \bar "||"
} }
</score>|width=310|caption=C major scale and dominant triad}}
In [[music]], the '''dominant''' is the fifth [[degree (music)|scale degree]] ({{music|scale|5}}) of the [[diatonic scale]]. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the [[tonic (music)|tonic]].<ref>Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p. 33. Seventh Edition. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}. "So called because its function is next in importance to the tonic."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Forte|first=Allen|author-link=Allen Forte|year=1979|title=Tonal Harmony|page=118|edition=3rd|publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson|isbn=0-03-020756-8|quote=V serves to establish the tonic triad...particularly evident at the cadence.}}</ref> In the [[Solfège#Movable do solf%C3%A8ge|movable do solfège]] system, the dominant note is sung as "So(l)".
{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
{
#(set-global-staff-size 16)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
\clef treble
\time 4/4
<g b d>1_\markup{ \concat{ "V" \hspace #6 "V" \raise #1 "7" \hspace #5.5 "vii" \raise #1 "o" \hspace #4.5 "vii" \raise #1 "ø7" \hspace #3 "vii" \raise #1 "o7" \hspace #4 "V" \raise #1 "9" \hspace #4 "V" \raise #1 "7♭9" } }
<g b d f>
<b d f>
<b d f a>
<b d f aes>
<g b d f a>
<g b d f aes>
} }
</score>|width=442|caption=Chords with a dominant function: dominant chords ([[seventh chord|seventh]], [[ninth chord|ninth]], and [[dominant ninth chord|dominant ninth]]) and [[leading-tone]] chords ([[diminished triad|diminished]], [[half-diminished seventh chord|half-diminished seventh]], and [[diminished seventh chord|diminished seventh]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Berry|first=Wallace|author-link=Wallace Berry|orig-year=1976|year=1987|title=Structural Functions in Music|page=54|isbn=0-486-25384-8}}</ref>}}
The [[Triad (music)|triad]] built on the dominant note is called the '''dominant chord'''. This chord is said to have dominant [[Function (music)|function]], which means that it creates an instability that requires the [[tonic (music)|tonic]] for [[resolution (music)|resolution]]. Dominant triads, [[Seventh chord|seventh chords]], and [[Ninth chord|ninth chords]] typically have dominant function. [[Leading-tone triad|Leading-tone triads]] and [[Leading-tone seventh chord|leading-tone seventh chords]] may also have dominant function.
{{quote|In very much conventionally [[tonality|tonal music]], harmonic analysis will reveal a broad prevalence of the [[primary triad|primary]] (often triadic) harmonies: tonic, dominant, and [[subdominant]] (i.e., I and its chief auxiliaries a 5th removed), and especially the first two of these.|[[Wallace Berry]] (1976)<ref name="Berry">{{harvnb|Berry|1987|p=62}}</ref>|source=}}


{{quote|The scheme I-x-V-I symbolizes, though naturally in a very summarizing way, the harmonic course of any composition of the [[Classical period (music)|Classical period]]. This ''x'', usually appearing as a [[chord progression|progression of chords]], as a whole series, constitutes, as it were, the actual "music" within the scheme, which through the annexed formula V-I, is made into a unit, a group, or even a whole piece.|[[Rudolph Reti]]|(1962)<ref>[[Rudolph Reti|Reti, Rudolph]] (1962). ''Tonality in Modern Music'', p. 28, quoted in [[Stefan Kostka|Kostka]] & Payne (1995). ''Tonal Harmony'', p. 458. {{ISBN|0-07-035874-5}}.</ref>}}
[[Image:Dominant and tonic in C.png|thumb|Tonic and dominant in C {{audio|Dominant and tonic in C.mid|Play}}. C major and G major chords.]]
[[File:Progresión quintas.png|thumb|300px|The second to last chord in this example is built on the dominant (V) and found here in the [[circle progression]] on C: I-IV-vii<sup>o</sup>-iii-vi-ii-V-I {{audio|Progression majeure en cercle.ogg|Play}}]]


== Dominant chords ==
In [[music]], the '''dominant''' is the [[perfect fifth|fifth]] [[degree (music)|scale degree]] of the [[diatonic scale]], called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the [[tonic (music)|tonic]],<ref>
{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.33. Seventh Edition. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}. "So called because its function is next in importance to the tonic."</ref><ref>[[Allen Forte|Forte, Allen]] (1979). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.118. 3rd edition. Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. {{ISBN|0-03-020756-8}}. "V serves to establish the tonic triad...particularly evident at the cadence."</ref> and a '''dominant chord''' is any chord built upon that [[pitch (music)|pitch]], using the notes of the same diatonic scale. The dominant is sung as '''sol''' in [[solfege]]. The '''dominant function''' ([[diatonic function]]) has the role of creating instability that requires the [[tonic (music)|tonic]] for [[resolution (music)|resolution]].
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
\clef treble
\time 7/4 c4 d es f \once \override NoteHead.color = #red g aes bes \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
\time 4/4 <g bes d>1 <g b! d> \bar "||"
} }
</score>|width=365|caption=C minor scale and dominant triad, first with a [[subtonic]] ({{music|flat}}{{music|scale|7|}}) and then with a [[leading tone]] ({{music|natural}}{{music|scale|7|}})}}


In [[music theory]], the dominant [[triad (music)|triad]] is a [[major chord]], symbolized by the [[Roman numeral analysis|Roman numeral]] "V" in the [[major scale]]. In the [[natural minor scale]], the triad is a [[minor chord]], denoted by "v". However, in a minor [[Key (music)|key]], the seventh scale degree is often raised by a [[half step]] ({{music|flat}}{{music|scale|7}} to {{music|natural}}{{music|scale|7}}), creating a [[major chord]].
{{quote|In very much conventionally [[tonality|tonal music]], harmonic [[musical analysis|analysis]] will reveal a broad prevalence of the [[primary triad|primary]] (often [[triad (music)|triadic]]) [[harmony|harmonies]]: tonic, dominant, and [[subdominant]] (i.e., I and its chief auxiliaries a 5th removed), and especially the first two of these.|Berry (1976)<ref name="Berry">Berry, Wallace (1976/1987). ''Structural Functions in Music'', p.62. {{ISBN|0-486-25384-8}}.</ref>}}


These chords may also appear as [[Seventh chord|seventh chords]]: typically as a [[dominant seventh chord]], but occasionally in minor as a [[minor seventh chord]] v<sup>7</sup> with [[Passing chord|passing function]]:<ref name="K&P 2463">{{Cite book|title=Tonal Harmony|url=https://archive.org/details/workbookfortonal00kost_245|url-access=limited|last1=Kostka|first1=Stefan|author1-link=Stefan Kostka|last2=Payne|first2=Dorothy|date=2004|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0072852607|edition=5th|location=Boston|pages=[https://archive.org/details/workbookfortonal00kost_245/page/n185 197]|oclc=51613969}}</ref>
{{quote|The scheme I-x-V-I symbolizes, though naturally in a very summarizing way, the harmonic course of any composition of the Classical period. This ''x'', usually appearing as a progression of chords, as a whole series, constitutes, as it were, the actual "music" within the scheme, which through the annexed formula V-I, is made into a unit, a group, or even a whole piece.|[[Rudolph Reti]]|(1962)<ref>Reti, Rudolph (1962). ''Tonality in Modern Music'', p.28.</ref> quoted in<ref>Kostka & Payne (1995). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.458. {{ISBN|0-07-035874-5}}.</ref>}}


:<score lang="lilypond">
For example, in the C [[major scale]] (white keys on a piano, starting with C), the dominant is the note G; and the dominant [[triad (music)|triad]] consists of the notes G, B, and D.
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
\clef treble
\time 4/4
\key c \major
<g b d f>1_\markup { \concat { "V" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"


\clef treble
== Dominant chords ==
\time 4/4
[[Image:Dominant form chords.png|thumb|375px|Chords with a dominant function: dominant (seventh, ninth, and flat ninth) and leading-tone (diminished, half-diminished seventh, and diminished seventh).<ref>Berry, Wallace (1976/1987). ''Structural Functions in Music'', p.54. {{ISBN|0-486-25384-8}}.</ref> {{audio|Dominant form chords.mid|Play}}]]
\key c \minor
<g b d f>1_\markup { \concat { "V" \raise #1 \small "7" } }
<g bes! d f>^\markup { "rare" }_\markup { \concat { "v" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"
} }
</score>


As defined by the 19th century musicologist [[François-Joseph Fétis|Joseph Fétis]], the ''dominante'' was a seventh chord over the first note of a descending perfect fifth in the ''[[basse fondamentale]]'' or root progression, the [[common practice period]] dominant seventh he named the ''dominante tonique''.<ref>Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). ''Studies in the Origin of Harmonic Tonality'', p. 143. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-09135-8}}.</ref>
===Triads===
In [[music theory]], the dominant [[triad (music)|triad]] (3-note chord) is a major triad, symbolized by the [[Roman numeral analysis|Roman numeral]] V, if it is within the major diatonic scale (for example G-B-D in C major). It is, however, a minor triad, denoted v, if it is within the minor diatonic scale (for example G-B{{music|flat}}-D in C minor). In the minor scale, the dominant triad is often substituted with a major triad, by sharpening the second note, which is a minor third from the dominant note, into a major third, since the major third from the dominant is the [[leading tone]] for the minor scale. For instance, in G-B{{music|flat}}-D, the B{{music|flat}} is sharpened to B [[natural sign|natural]] (B{{music|natural}}), since B{{music|natural}} is the leading tone for the C minor scale. See: [[harmonic minor scale]].


Dominant chords are important to [[Cadence|cadential]] [[Chord progression|progressions]]. In the strongest cadence, the [[authentic cadence]] (example shown below), the dominant chord is followed by the tonic chord. A cadence that ends with a dominant chord is called a ''[[half cadence]]'' or an "imperfect cadence".
===Seventh chord===
A [[dominant seventh chord]] is a chord built upon the dominant of a major diatonic scale. It contains a major triad and a minor seventh of the root of the triad. An example is G<sup>7</sup> in C major: G-B-D-F, with G being both the dominant of C major and the root of the major triad G-B-D, and F being the minor seventh of the root. In a general context, the dominant seventh is denoted V<sup>7</sup>.


:<score sound="1">
As defined by the 19th century musicologist [[François-Joseph Fétis|Joseph Fétis]] the ''dominante'' was a seventh chord over the first note of a descending perfect fifth in the ''[[basse fondamentale]]'' or root progression, the common practice period dominant seventh he named the ''dominante tonique''.<ref>Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). ''Studies in the Origin of Harmonic Tonality'', p.143. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-09135-8}}.</ref>
\new PianoStaff <<

\new Staff <<
[[File:Ii-V-I turnaround in C.png|thumb|Dominant chord (V) in the [[ii-V-I turnaround|ii-V-I]] cadence on C {{audio|ii-V-I turnaround in C.mid|Play}}]]
\new Voice \relative c'' {

\stemUp \clef treble \key c \major \time 4/4
===Dominant chord in authentic cadence===
b1 c
A [[cadence (music)|cadential]] dominant chord followed by a [[Tonic (music)|tonic]] chord (the chord of the key of the piece) is denominated as [[authentic cadence]]. If the [[root (chord)|roots]] are in the [[bass note|bass]] and the tonic is in the highest voice, it is called a [[perfect authentic cadence]].
}
\new Voice \relative c'' {
\stemDown
g1 g
}
>>
\new Staff <<
\new Voice \relative c' {
\stemUp \clef bass \key c \major \time 4/4
d1 e
}
\new Voice \relative c' {
\stemDown
g1_\markup { \concat { \translate #'(-4 . 0) { "C: V" \hspace #7 "I" } } }
c, \bar "||"
}
>>
>>
</score>


==Dominant key==
==Dominant key==
[[File:Circle of fifths deluxe 4.svg|thumb|The key immediately clockwise is the dominant key of the key immediately counterclockwise, and features either one more sharp or one less flat.]]
[[File:Circle of fifths deluxe 4.svg|thumb|The key immediately clockwise is the dominant key of the key immediately counterclockwise, and features either one more sharp or one less flat.]]


The '''dominant key''' in a given musical composition is the [[key (music)|key]] whose tonic is a [[perfect fifth]] above (or a [[perfect fourth]] below) the [[tonic (music)|tonic]] of the main key of the piece. Put another way, it is the key whose tonic is the dominant scale degree in the main key.<ref>{{cite web |url= |title=Dominant |date= |website=Grove Music Online |publisher= |accessdate=}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2013}}</ref>
The '''dominant key''' is the [[key (music)|key]] whose tonic is a [[perfect fifth]] above (or a [[perfect fourth]] below) the [[tonic (music)|tonic]] of the main key of the piece. Put another way, it is the key whose tonic is the dominant scale degree in the main key.<ref>"Dominant", ''[[Grove Music Online]]''{{full citation needed|date=May 2013|reason=There are 2 articles, both by Janna Saslaw; which one?}}</ref> If, for example, a piece is written in the key of [[C major]], then the tonic key is C major and the dominant key is [[G major]] since G is the dominant note in C major.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030871/dominant#94697.hook |title=Dominant |last1=DeVoto |first1=Mark |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref>


[[File:Harmonic axis in C major and minor.png|300px|thumb|"Essentially, there are two harmonic directions: toward I and toward V. These primary diatonic triads form the harmonic axis of tonal music."{{sfn|Forte|1979|p=103}}]]
If, for example, a piece is written in the key of [[C major]], then the key of C is the tonic key. The key of G major is the dominant key since it is based on the dominant note for the key of C major.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030871/dominant#94697.hook |title=Dominant |last1=DeVoto |first1=Mark |date= |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher= |accessdate=22 May 2013}}</ref> With a key signature of one sharp, G major features one more sharp than C major.


In [[sonata form]] in major keys, the second subject group is usually in the dominant key.{{quote|The movement to the dominant was part of musical grammar, not an element of form. Almost all music in the eighteenth century went to the dominant: before 1750 it was not something to be emphasized; afterward, it was something that the composer could take advantage of. This means that every eighteenth-century listener expected the movement to the dominant in the sense that [one] would have been puzzled if [one] did not get it; it was a necessary condition of intelligibility.|[[Charles Rosen]] (1972)<ref>[[Charles Rosen|Rosen, Charles]] (1972). ''[[The Classical Style]]''. W. W. Norton. Cited in White, John D. (1976). ''The Analysis of Music'', p. 56. {{ISBN|0-13-033233-X}}.</ref>}}
In [[sonata form]] in major keys, the second subject group is usually in the dominant key.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/sonata-form?cat=entertainment |title=Sonata form |date= |website=Answers.com |publisher= |accessdate=22 May 2013}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2017}}


Music which [[Modulation (music)|modulates]] (changes key) often modulates to the dominant key. Modulation to the dominant often creates a sense of increased tension; as opposed to modulation to the [[subdominant]] (fourth note of the scale), which creates a sense of musical relaxation.
=== In tonal modulation ===
{{quote|The movement to the dominant was part of musical grammar, not an element of form. Almost all music in the eighteenth century went to the dominant: before 1750 it was not something to be emphasized; afterward, it was something that the composer could take advantage of. This means that every eighteenth-century listener expected the movement to the dominant in the sense that [one] would have been puzzled if [one] did not get it; it was a necessary condition of intelligibility.|[[Charles Rosen]] (1972)<ref>Rosen, Charles (1972). ''[[The Classical Style]]''. W.W. Norton & Company Inc. Cited in White, John D. (1976). ''The Analysis of Music'', p.56. {{ISBN|0-13-033233-X}}.</ref>}}


{{quote|The vast majority of harmonies designated as "essential" in the basic frame of structure must be I and V–the latter, ''when tonal music is viewed in broadest terms'', an auxiliary support and embellishment of the former, for which it is the principal medium of [[tonicization]].|Berry (1976)<ref name="Berry"/>}}
[[File:Harmonic axis in C major and minor.png|300px|thumb|"Essentially, there are two harmonic directions: toward I and toward V. These primary diatonic triads form the harmonic axis of tonal music."<ref>Forte (1979), p.103.</ref>]]


{{Clear}}
"Dominant" also refers to a relationship of musical keys. For example, relative to the key of C major, the key of G major is the dominant key. Music which modulates (changes key) often modulates into the dominant. [[Modulation (music)|Modulation]] into the dominant key often creates a sense of increased tension; as opposed to modulation into subdominant (fourth note of the scale), which creates a sense of musical relaxation.

{{quote|The vast majority of harmonies designated as "essential" in the basic frame of structure must be I and V–the latter, ''when tonal music is viewed in broadest terms'', an auxiliary support and embellishment of the former, for which it is the principal medium of [[tonicization]].|Berry (1976)<ref name="Berry"/>}}


The dominant chord itself is composed of the dominant (sol), the [[leading-tone]] (ti), and the [[supertonic]] (re) scale degrees. According to the rules of [[resolution (music)|tonal resolution]], both the leading-tone and the supertonic primarily resolve to the [[tonic (music)|tonic]]. These two tones resolving to the tonic are strengthened by the dominant scale degree, which is a [[common tone (chord)|common tone]] between the tonic and dominant chords. The dominant may also be considered the result of a transformational operation applied to the tonic that most closely resembles the tonic by some clear-cut criteria such as common tones.<ref>Perle, George (1955). "Symmetrical Formations in the String Quartets of Béla Bartók", ''Music Review'' 16: 300-312. Cited in Wilson, Paul (1992). ''The Music of Béla Bartók'', p.37-38. {{ISBN|0-300-05111-5}}.</ref>


== In non-Western music ==
== In non-Western music ==


The dominant is an important concept in Middle Eastern music. In the [[Dastgah|Persian Dastgah]], [[Arabic maqam]] and the [[makam|Turkish makam]], scales are made up of trichords, tetrachords and pentachords (each called a ''jins'' in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]), with the tonic of a maqam being the lowest note of the lower jins and the dominant being that of the upper jins. The dominant of a maqam is not always the fifth, however; for example, in [[Kurdish music]] and [[Bayati]], the dominant is the fourth, and in [[Arabian maqam#Maqam families|maqam Saba]], the dominant is the minor third. A maqam may have more than one dominant.
The dominant is an important concept in [[Middle Eastern music]]. In the [[Dastgah|Persian Dastgah]], [[Arabic maqam]] and the [[Turkish makam music|Turkish makam]], scales are made up of [[Trichord|trichords]], [[Tetrachord|tetrachords]], and [[Pentachord|pentachords]] (each called a ''[[jins]]'' in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]) with the tonic of a maqam being the lowest note of the lower jins and the dominant being that of the upper jins. The dominant of a maqam is not always the fifth, however; for example, in [[Kurdish music]] and [[Bayati]], the dominant is the fourth, and in [[Arabian maqam#Maqam families|maqam Saba]], the dominant is the minor third. A maqam may have more than one dominant.


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 60: Line 120:
* [[Nondominant seventh chord]]
* [[Nondominant seventh chord]]


== Sources ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}



Latest revision as of 17:49, 25 February 2024


{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' { 
  \clef treble 
  \time 7/4 c4 d e f \once \override NoteHead.color = #red g a b \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
  \time 4/4 <g b d>1 \bar "||"
} }
C major scale and dominant triad

In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree (scale degree 5) of the diatonic scale. It is called the dominant because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic.[1][2] In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So(l)".


{
#(set-global-staff-size 16)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' { 
  \clef treble 
  \time 4/4 
  <g b d>1_\markup{ \concat{ "V" \hspace #6 "V" \raise #1 "7" \hspace #5.5 "vii" \raise #1 "o" \hspace #4.5 "vii" \raise #1 "ø7" \hspace #3 "vii" \raise #1 "o7" \hspace #4 "V" \raise #1 "9" \hspace #4 "V" \raise #1 "7♭9" } }
  <g b d f>
  <b d f>
  <b d f a>
  <b d f aes>
  <g b d f a>
  <g b d f aes>
} }
Chords with a dominant function: dominant chords (seventh, ninth, and dominant ninth) and leading-tone chords (diminished, half-diminished seventh, and diminished seventh).[3]

The triad built on the dominant note is called the dominant chord. This chord is said to have dominant function, which means that it creates an instability that requires the tonic for resolution. Dominant triads, seventh chords, and ninth chords typically have dominant function. Leading-tone triads and leading-tone seventh chords may also have dominant function.

In very much conventionally tonal music, harmonic analysis will reveal a broad prevalence of the primary (often triadic) harmonies: tonic, dominant, and subdominant (i.e., I and its chief auxiliaries a 5th removed), and especially the first two of these.

— Wallace Berry (1976)[4]

The scheme I-x-V-I symbolizes, though naturally in a very summarizing way, the harmonic course of any composition of the Classical period. This x, usually appearing as a progression of chords, as a whole series, constitutes, as it were, the actual "music" within the scheme, which through the annexed formula V-I, is made into a unit, a group, or even a whole piece.

— Rudolph Reti, (1962)[5]

Dominant chords

[edit]

{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' { 
  \clef treble 
  \time 7/4 c4 d es f \once \override NoteHead.color = #red g aes bes \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
  \time 4/4 <g bes d>1 <g b! d> \bar "||"
} }
C minor scale and dominant triad, first with a subtonic (scale degree 7) and then with a leading tone (scale degree 7)

In music theory, the dominant triad is a major chord, symbolized by the Roman numeral "V" in the major scale. In the natural minor scale, the triad is a minor chord, denoted by "v". However, in a minor key, the seventh scale degree is often raised by a half step (scale degree 7 to scale degree 7), creating a major chord.

These chords may also appear as seventh chords: typically as a dominant seventh chord, but occasionally in minor as a minor seventh chord v7 with passing function:[6]


{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
   \clef treble 
   \time 4/4
   \key c \major
   <g b d f>1_\markup { \concat { "V" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"

   \clef treble 
   \time 4/4
   \key c \minor
   <g b d f>1_\markup { \concat { "V" \raise #1 \small "7" } }
   <g bes! d f>^\markup { "rare" }_\markup { \concat { "v" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"
} }

As defined by the 19th century musicologist Joseph Fétis, the dominante was a seventh chord over the first note of a descending perfect fifth in the basse fondamentale or root progression, the common practice period dominant seventh he named the dominante tonique.[7]

Dominant chords are important to cadential progressions. In the strongest cadence, the authentic cadence (example shown below), the dominant chord is followed by the tonic chord. A cadence that ends with a dominant chord is called a half cadence or an "imperfect cadence".


   \new PianoStaff <<
      \new Staff <<
         \new Voice \relative c'' {
             \stemUp \clef treble \key c \major \time 4/4
             b1 c 
             }
         \new Voice \relative c'' {
             \stemDown
              g1 g
              }
            >>
     \new Staff <<
         \new Voice \relative c' {
             \stemUp \clef bass \key c \major \time 4/4
             d1 e
             }
         \new Voice \relative c' {
             \stemDown
             g1_\markup { \concat { \translate #'(-4 . 0) { "C:   V" \hspace #7 "I" } } }
             c, \bar "||"
             }
         >>
    >>

Dominant key

[edit]
The key immediately clockwise is the dominant key of the key immediately counterclockwise, and features either one more sharp or one less flat.

The dominant key is the key whose tonic is a perfect fifth above (or a perfect fourth below) the tonic of the main key of the piece. Put another way, it is the key whose tonic is the dominant scale degree in the main key.[8] If, for example, a piece is written in the key of C major, then the tonic key is C major and the dominant key is G major since G is the dominant note in C major.[9]

"Essentially, there are two harmonic directions: toward I and toward V. These primary diatonic triads form the harmonic axis of tonal music."[10]

In sonata form in major keys, the second subject group is usually in the dominant key.

The movement to the dominant was part of musical grammar, not an element of form. Almost all music in the eighteenth century went to the dominant: before 1750 it was not something to be emphasized; afterward, it was something that the composer could take advantage of. This means that every eighteenth-century listener expected the movement to the dominant in the sense that [one] would have been puzzled if [one] did not get it; it was a necessary condition of intelligibility.

— Charles Rosen (1972)[11]

Music which modulates (changes key) often modulates to the dominant key. Modulation to the dominant often creates a sense of increased tension; as opposed to modulation to the subdominant (fourth note of the scale), which creates a sense of musical relaxation.

The vast majority of harmonies designated as "essential" in the basic frame of structure must be I and V–the latter, when tonal music is viewed in broadest terms, an auxiliary support and embellishment of the former, for which it is the principal medium of tonicization.

— Berry (1976)[4]


In non-Western music

[edit]

The dominant is an important concept in Middle Eastern music. In the Persian Dastgah, Arabic maqam and the Turkish makam, scales are made up of trichords, tetrachords, and pentachords (each called a jins in Arabic) with the tonic of a maqam being the lowest note of the lower jins and the dominant being that of the upper jins. The dominant of a maqam is not always the fifth, however; for example, in Kurdish music and Bayati, the dominant is the fourth, and in maqam Saba, the dominant is the minor third. A maqam may have more than one dominant.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 33. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0. "So called because its function is next in importance to the tonic."
  2. ^ Forte, Allen (1979). Tonal Harmony (3rd ed.). Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. p. 118. ISBN 0-03-020756-8. V serves to establish the tonic triad...particularly evident at the cadence.
  3. ^ Berry, Wallace (1987) [1976]. Structural Functions in Music. p. 54. ISBN 0-486-25384-8.
  4. ^ a b Berry 1987, p. 62
  5. ^ Reti, Rudolph (1962). Tonality in Modern Music, p. 28, quoted in Kostka & Payne (1995). Tonal Harmony, p. 458. ISBN 0-07-035874-5.
  6. ^ Kostka, Stefan; Payne, Dorothy (2004). Tonal Harmony (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. pp. 197. ISBN 0072852607. OCLC 51613969.
  7. ^ Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). Studies in the Origin of Harmonic Tonality, p. 143. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09135-8.
  8. ^ "Dominant", Grove Music Online[full citation needed]
  9. ^ DeVoto, Mark. "Dominant". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  10. ^ Forte 1979, p. 103.
  11. ^ Rosen, Charles (1972). The Classical Style. W. W. Norton. Cited in White, John D. (1976). The Analysis of Music, p. 56. ISBN 0-13-033233-X.