music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the

diatonic scale In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps, ...

. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the

movable do solfège Moveable may refer to: * A Moveable Feast * Moveable feast * Movable type * Moveable bridge * History of printing in East Asia Printing in East Asia originated from the Han dynasty (220 BCE – 206 CE) in China, evolving from ink rubbings made on p ...

system, the dominant note is sung as "So(l)". The triad built on the dominant note is called the dominant chord. This chord is said to have dominant

function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...

, which means that it creates an instability that requires the tonic for

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

. Dominant triads,

seventh chords A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a minor ...

, and ninth chords typically have dominant function. Leading-tone triads and leading-tone seventh chords may also have dominant function.

Dominant chords

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, the dominant triad is a

major chord In music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understan ...

, symbolized by the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...

"V" in the

major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double i ...

. In the

natural minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

, the triad is a

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...

, denoted by "v". However, in a minor

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, the seventh scale degree is often raised by a

half step A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

( to ), creating a

. These chords may also appear as

: typically as a dominant seventh chord, but occasionally in minor as a

minor seventh chord In music, a minor seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a perfect fifth, and a minor seventh (1, 3, 5, 7). For example, the minor seventh chord built on C, commonly written as C– ...

v⁷ with passing function: : As defined by the 19th century musicologist Joseph Fétis, the ''dominante'' was a seventh chord over the first note of a descending perfect fifth in the '' basse fondamentale'' or root progression, the

common practice period In European art music, the common-practice period is the era of the tonal system. Most of its features persisted from the mid-Baroque period through the Classical and Romantic periods, roughly from 1650 to 1900. There was much stylistic evoluti ...

dominant seventh he named the ''dominante tonique''. Dominant chords are important to cadential progressions. In the strongest cadence, the

authentic cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...

(example shown below), the dominant chord is followed by the tonic chord. A cadence that ends with a dominant chord is called a '' half cadence'' or an "imperfect cadence". : \new PianoStaff << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c'' \new Voice \relative c'' >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c' \new Voice \relative c' >> >>

Dominant key

The dominant key is the

whose tonic is a

perfect fifth In music theory, a perfect fifth is the Interval (music), musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitch (music), pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so. In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval fro ...

above (or a

perfect fourth A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to ...

below) the tonic of the main key of the piece. Put another way, it is the key whose tonic is the dominant scale degree in the main key. If, for example, a piece is written in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, then the tonic key is C major and the dominant key is

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

since G is the dominant note in C major. Harmonic axis in C major and minor

sonata form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...

in major keys, the second subject group is usually in the dominant key. Music which modulates (changes key) often modulates to the dominant key. Modulation to the dominant often creates a sense of increased tension; as opposed to modulation to the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

(fourth note of the scale), which creates a sense of musical relaxation.

In non-Western music

The dominant is an important concept in

Middle Eastern music The various nations of the region include the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Jewish music of Israel and the diaspora, Armenian music, Kurdish music, Azeri Music, the varied traditions of Cypriot ...

. In the Persian Dastgah,

Arabic maqam Arabic maqam ( ar, مقام, maqām, literally "rank"; ') is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melo ...

and the

Turkish makam The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam speci ...

, scales are made up of trichords, tetrachords, and pentachords (each called a ''

jins A jins ( ar, جنس, pl. ar, أجناس, ajnās, label=none) in traditional Arabic music theory, is a set of three, four, or five stepwise pitches used to build an Arabic ''maqam'', or melodic mode. They correspond to the English terms trichor ...

'' in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

) with the tonic of a maqam being the lowest note of the lower jins and the dominant being that of the upper jins. The dominant of a maqam is not always the fifth, however; for example, in

Kurdish music Kurdish music refers to music performed in the Kurdish languages and Zaza-Gorani languages. The earliest study of Kurdish music was initiated by the renowned Armenian priest and composer Komitas in 1903, when he published his work ''" Chansons ...

and

Bayati {{About, a form of Azerbaijani folk poetry, other uses, Bayat (disambiguation) Bayati ( az, Bayatı) is one of the oldest forms of Azerbaijani folk poetry. A bayati consists of four lines, each of which has seven syllables. The rhyme scheme is a ...

, the dominant is the fourth, and in maqam Saba, the dominant is the minor third. A maqam may have more than one dominant.

References

{{chords Diatonic functions 5

Dominant chords

Dominant key

In non-Western music

See also

References