Har mony That Matters

Dominant and Tonic in First Position

Daniel Nistico

Preface

Tonic and DominantTonic and dominant (I and V) form one of the most important relationships in western tonal music. We get this progression by taking the 1st and 5th notes of a scale and building chords on them using triads.

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With Triads (just add 3rds!)

Tension and Resolution As their names suggest, the Dominant tries to dominate and the tonic is restful (being the first and central note of the key/scale).

Dominant = tension (louder, more intense, vibrato)Tonic = resolution (soft, light, pure)

Add Another 3rd - Dominant 7thThe Dominant chord is also often called a dominant 7th. This is created by adding another third to the Dominant triad, which produces the interval of a 7th from the bass note to top note. You’ve probably played a dominant 7th quite a lot, as you find it in Giuliani’s 120 Right Hand Studies (see below).

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G (V): Tension C (I): Resolution44&

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Stack another 3rd to the dominant triad and you get a dominant 7th

The two chords you play in Giuliani’s 120 Right Hand Studies

F makes a 7th above G

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Inversions of seventh chordsBecause seventh chords contain four notes, there are four possible positions (remember figured bass describe the intervals above the bass note):

1: Root position (7) - root in the bass2: First Inversion (6/5) - 3rd in the bass3: Second Inversion (4/3) - 5th in the bass4: Third Inversion (4/2) - 7th in the bass

Pieces from just Tonic and Dominant?More often than not, over 50% of a piece of music will be comprised of tonic and dominant chords. Some pieces (albeit simple ones) are comprised of ONLY tonic and dominant. Remember that Dominant represents tension and Tonic represents stability - this will influence your interpretation.

A great way to identify the two chords is to look at the bass line.

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