Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Music Theory and Harmony

Secondary dominant

Meaning in music, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In music, secondary dominant means: A chord that acts as the dominant of a chord other than the main tonic, briefly making that other chord sound like a local goal.

In Turkish: ikincil dominant, ara dominant

How it is used

Used in tonal harmony and chord analysis. Labels such as V/V show the target chord; in C major, D major can lead strongly to G.

Example sentences

  1. Use D seven as a secondary dominant before the G chord in this C major song.

    The added F sharp pulls toward G even though the overall key remains C major.

  2. The student labelled the secondary dominant as V of ii in her analysis.

    Her label identifies the chord it points to, rather than treating it as the main dominant.

Common collocations

  • secondary dominant chord
  • resolve a secondary dominant
  • identify secondary dominants
  • dominant functionThe harmonic role that creates tension and points strongly toward resolution, usually to the tonic chord.
  • chordThree or more different notes played or sung at the same time. Chords give a piece its harmony and are named after their root note and type, such as C major or A minor.
  • keyThe group of notes and chords that a piece is mainly built on, centred on one home note. A song in the key of G major keeps returning to G as its point of rest.

More terms: Music Theory and Harmony

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: