Playing over Secondary Dominants

[nipsnertz]

I have read Pete's discussion of chord progressions with respect to secondary dominants. In that discussion, I can see how we can look at secondary dominants as either altered chords in the same key (for example VI7 chords) or we can look at them as temporary modulations to a new key. I am currently looking at a tune that has a I - VI7 - IIm7 - V7 progression in the A section. What is the best scale to use over the VI7 ??

Same question for the IIIm7 - VI7 - IIm7 - V7 . Should this be treated like two- II-V cadences?

 

[Pete Thomas]

At 10:28:06 PM 17/03/06, nipsnertz wrote:
I have read Pete's discussion of chord progressions with respect to secondary dominants. In that discussion, I can see how we can look at secondary dominants as either altered chords in the same key (for example VI7 chords) or we can look at them as temporary modulations to a new key. I am currently looking at a tune that has a I - VI7 - IIm7 - V7 progression in the A section. What is the best scale to use over the VI7 ??

I like to think of this as V7 of the IIm but as if the IIm is a tonic. So in C maj I would think of the A7 as a dominant of Dm, but temporarily imagine I'm in the key of Dminor , so a D harmonic minor can be a really nice scale here instead of the obvious A myxolidian (the F# can grate a bit)

Same question for the IIIm7 - VI7 - IIm7 - V7 . Should this be treated like two- II-V cadences?

I like to do that and would often play a b5 over the IIIm7.

PS I deleted your empty post - hope you don't mind. Testing my new found moderator's skills.

 

[rebellion117]

What is a secondary dominant, exactly?

I've asked several music teachers in my area, and none of them have been able to tell me.

Cory

 

[Pete Thomas]

At 03:15:01 AM 19/04/06, rebellion117 wrote:
What is a secondary dominant, exactly?

I've asked several music teachers in my area, and none of them have been able to tell me.

Cory

See here:

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-chord-progressions.html

Very often it is a dominant of a dominant. So D7 - G7 - C major 7, the G7 is the dominant of C, D7 is the dominant of G7. It is still really in the key of C but you can imagine a very temporary modulation to the key of G, except instead of the D7 resolving to e G major 7 which would be the case in a real modulation to G, it resolves to the G7 which resolves to the home chord of C.

 

[Pete Thomas]

The thing is to be really sure of what a dominant is before being worried about a secondary dominant.

I'm currently writing some very simple beginner's theory stuff which will be on the extra pages soon.

 

[justpiano]

<quote>I like to do that and would often play a b5 over the IIIm7.</quote>

Do you mean, a flat 5 of the III7 (i.e. a B-flat in the key of C), or a flat 5 of the tonic (a G-flat in the key of C).

I assume you mean the B-flat, which would suggest that we are playing in a C-minor key?

Andrew

 

[martin_br]