Dominant Seventh Chords
asic Theory II M T 111 Prof Na cy Rogers ! ! The Domi a t Se e th hord he dominant seventh chord is e actly like the dominant triad, e cept that it contains an e tra note that is dissonant. It therefore behaves almost e actly the dominant triad. or instance, we e pect it to resolve to a tonic chord — not to a pre dominant. However, 7 s inherent dissonance makes it is much less suitable for use in a half cadence, because the dissonance undermines our sense of temporary rest. n the other hand, it is especially useful at strong authentic cadences, because resolving the dissonance contributes to our sense of forward motion. he dominant seventh chord contains two tendency tones that need to resolve: the leading tone ( 7 ), which wants to resolve up by step, and the seventh ( 4 ), which wants to resolve down by step. ( e very careful not to confuse 7 with the seventh, because they lead in opposite directions ) he e amples below illustrate a variety of good and bad resolutions of 7. a. good b. good c. good d. bad e. bad f. not good g. good h. bad
$ % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % #! ######%##%##% ##% #%##########% #% ####%# % % % % % % % % % % $ % % % % % % % % % % % #" ###% ###%####% ###%####% ###%########%# G: V I V I V I V I V I V I V vi V I a. oth tendency tones resolve, producing an incomplete tonic chord. his is uite acceptable. b. he alto employs a leading tone drop, thereby creating a complete tonic chord. his is acceptable as long as the leading tone is in an inner voice. c. When we begin with an incomplete 7 chord (fifth omitted, root doubled — okay if the chord is in root position), both tendency tones are able to resolve and the tonic will be complete. d. nresolved leading tone in the soprano is unacceptable. e. nresolved seventh in the tenor is unacceptable. f. he tendency tones resolve properly, but the third of the I chord is doubled (not often desirable). If we want to retain the same soprano line, we should use rather than 7 (the tenor would sing a for both chords). g. ood deceptive cadence. otice that using 7 rather than makes the voice leading entirely stepwise. h. b ectionable direct octave between outer voices. Although the soprano moves by step, the resolving dissonance makes the octave stand out more than it normally would. his is even problematic if the seventh appears in an inner voice. otice also that the progression 7 I6 is guaranteed to double the tonic s third. his progression should be avoided. All inversions of the dominant seventh chord are e tremely common and may be used freely, although of course only the root position 7 is appropriate at strong cadential points. he seventh is often approached by step or common tone, especially when using root position 7. pward leaps are possible when approaching the seventh of inverted 7 chords, but downward leaps are rare. Inverted 7 chords tend to appear between tonic chords they may also be approached through pre dominant chords, but this is less common. ome typical e amples appear below. otice that the tendency tones consistently resolve: 7- and 4- . i. . ot parallel fifths — 5 d5
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