Understanding Progressions That Deliberately Don't Resolve
This time, using what we've learned about secondary dominants, let's look at a new usage that comes up when analyzing chord progressions.
We'll use "Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves)," a familiar song in this course.
The melody is shown above.
The sample was in Key = G major, or Em.
The chords are as shown above.
Let's listen to them together.
* Depending on the score, other chords may be written.
Unlike in No. 55, let's listen to the second half.
We'll check it with a simple version of the chords and melody.
First, let's listen to the melody.
Next, let's listen to it with the chords.
Analyzing the Chord Progression
Let's analyze the chord progression.
Listen again, paying attention to the parts enclosed in green boxes.
Recalling what we've covered so far, let's write in the degree names.
We're analyzing in Key = G major now, but if it's difficult, you might try changing it to Key = C major.
We changed it to Key = C major.
Let's listen to this too.
Next, let's identify the non-diatonic chords among the chords in the green boxes above.
E7, the III7 (the V7 of the minor key), and C7, the I7, enclosed in yellow boxes, are the non-diatonic chords.
E7 resolves just as we've seen before.
V7/VI
If you treat Am as Im, its V7 (V) is E7 (E).
E7→Am7
E→Am
E7→Am
But what about C7?
Following what we've learned so far about secondary dominants, you might think, "A non-diatonic chord = a V→I relationship, right?" But...
Here, let's recall the score of "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)."
- With simple chords only
Let's review what we've learned so far.
V7/IV
C7→Fmaj7
C→F
C7→F
It always progressed to IV before, but in this score it progresses to VIIm7b5 instead of IV.
Even so, it doesn't sound particularly odd.
Keeping in mind that "a secondary dominant doesn't always resolve to its I," next time we'll look at usages different from before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Do secondary dominants always have to resolve?
No. As this article shows, there are patterns in real songs where a secondary dominant (e.g., V7/IV) doesn't resolve to the expected chord (IV in this case) and moves to a different chord instead. This kind of "deliberately not resolving" usage is also a valid musical expression.
Q2. What's the difference between V7/VI and V7/IV?
V7/VI is the dominant seventh of VI; in the example, it's the E7→Am progression. V7/IV is the dominant seventh of IV; in the example, it's the C7→F progression. Both are secondary dominants but have different resolutions, and this article covers an applied example where C7 moves to VIIm7b5 instead of F.
Q3. Why change to Key = C major?
It's suggested as a way to adjust the difficulty, since it's easier to understand than Key = G major. If degree name analysis is difficult, analyzing the same progression in a more basic key makes the relative interval relationships easier to grasp.
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