How To Write Better Progressions On Guitar With Secondary Dominant Chords

Secondary Dominant Chords: What They Are, And How To Use Them

by Simon Candy

 

Secondary Dominant Chords Guitar Article PicIn this video, you learn all about secondary dominant chords on guitar.

Secondary dominants are a great addition to the dominant 7 chords you usually see in major keys and will help you greatly in writing better, more interesting chord progressions.

In this lesson, you learn about common secondary dominants used within a major key.

These chords contain non-diatonic tones, meaning notes that don’t belong to the key, and is why they are usually obvious to your ear when they appear in songs, as they sound more unique.

You will learn several chord progressions and songs that use secondary dominants and how to use these in your guitar playing.

Secondary dominants are one of those concepts you learn that totally change how you perceive, play, and write chord progressions on guitar.

They are a game changer!

Watch the video below to learn more:

 

 

Secondary Dominant Chords

1. The Dominant Of The vi Chord (V7/vi)

The dominant of the vi chord in C Major is E7.

Here it is in a progression:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 1

Watch the video above for a detailed breakdown of the dominant of the vi chord in C Major.

 

2. The Dominant Of The V Chord (V7/V)

The dominant of the V chord in C Major is D7.

Here it is in a progression:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 2

Watch the video above for a detailed breakdown of the dominant of the V chord in C Major.

 

3. The Dominant Of The IV Chord (V7/IV)

The dominant of the IV chord in C Major is C7.

Here it is in a progression:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 3

Watch the video above for a detailed breakdown of the dominant of the IV chord in C Major.

 

4. The Dominant Of The ii Chord (V7/ii)

The dominant of the ii chord in C Major is A7.

Here it is in a progression:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 4

Watch the video above for a detailed breakdown of the dominant of the ii chord in C Major.

 

5. Combining Secondary Dominant Chords

The following progression combines some of the secondary dominants from the examples above:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 5

 

Here is another example of a progression combining various secondary dominants for a great sound:

Secondary Dominant Chord Progression 6

 

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