Dominant7 and Tritone Substitution

Dominant7 and Tritone Substitution The reason why dominant7 chords create the feeling of wanting to resolve results from the inherent structure of the chord, specifically the tritone that exists between the third and the seventh of the chord. As an example, let’s look...

V-I Cadences and Extensions

V-I Cadences and Extensions Final V-I cadences in important form sections (e.g. like the end of your main theme) can start to sound quite pedestrian and boring especially when they occur very often in the piece. Of course, the quality of a V-I cadence is one of the...

Diminished Chord Function

Diminished Chord Function Diminished chords usually serve the function of a dominant seventh chord, usually targeting to a chord a with a root a semitone higher. For instance the chord C#dim (C#-E-G) wants to resolve to a D or Dm. The reason for that is that the...

Pedal Points

Pedal Points Pedal points are very common in film music, meaning usually that you change chords over a sustaining bass note. Even very dissonant chords in relation to the bass note work under such circumstances. Pedal points are great for buildups. In a busy sequence...