In
music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
, the subdominant is the fourth tonal
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathemati ...
() 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 subdominant. It also happens to be the
note one
step below the dominant. In the
movable do solfège system, the subdominant note is sung as ''fa''.
The
triad
Triad or triade may refer to:
* a group of three
Businesses and organisations
* Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America
* Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...
built on the subdominant note is called the subdominant chord. In
Roman numeral analysis
In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of musical analysis in which chords are represented by Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, …). In some cases, Roman numerals denote scale degrees themselves. More commonly, however, they represent t ...
, the subdominant chord is typically symbolized by the Roman numeral "IV" in a major
key, indicating that the chord is a
major triad. In a minor key, it is symbolized by "iv", indicating that the chord is a
minor triad.
These chords may also appear as
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 ...
: in major, as IV
M7, or in minor as iv
7 or sometimes IV
7:
A
cadential
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 (19 ...
subdominant chord followed by a tonic chord produces the so-called plagal cadence.
As with other chords which often precede the dominant, subdominant chords typically have
predominant function. In
Riemannian theory, it is considered to balance the dominant around the tonic (being as far below the tonic as the dominant is above).
The term ''subdominant'' may also refer to a relationship of musical keys. For example, relative to the key of C major, the key of F major is the subdominant. Music which
modulates (changes key) often modulates to the subdominant when the
leading tone is lowered by
half step to the
subtonic (B to B in the key of C). Modulation to the subdominant key often creates a sense of musical relaxation, as opposed to modulation to the dominant (fifth note of the scale), which increases tension.
References
External links
*
{{chords
Diatonic functions
4