Hookthoery II - 2.4 Other Secondary Chords

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• Other Secondary Chords

• vii° of

• vii° chords act as a good substitute for V7 because they have a similar, albeit weaker pull to the I chord.

• A good trick to remember is that vii°/X chords always have a bass note that is a half-step below the target.

• vii°/vi is just like a V7/vi chord, which we learned has scale degrees 3, #5, 7, and 2 but with the bass removed. vii°/vi thus contains scale degrees #5, 7, and 2, with the #5 in the bass sliding up nicely to the target vi chord.

• The sound of the vii°/X chord can be very off-putting if not prepared and resolved correctly

• IV/IV

• one of the features that distinguishes popular music from classical music is the more prominent use of IV as a cadence chord.

• Because of this, unlike in classical music, the IV chord can also act as a secondary chord to establish a temporary home base.

• Secondary chords that function as the “four of” almost exclusively use IV as the target (i.e., they are acting as the “four of four”). In the key of C major, F is the IV chord. The IV chord in F major is a B♭, so IV/IV in C major is B♭. As with all the other secondary chords we’ve learned, IV/IV typically resolves to its target, the IV in this case.

• IV/IV in the key of C major is a B♭ that in some contexts might be called a ♭VII chord.

• It turns out that ♭VII (or IV/IV) has a strong relationship with what is known as the mixolydian mode.