Secondary dominant (also applied dominant or artificial dominant) is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device, prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period. It refers to a dominant seventh chord set to resolve to a degree that is not the tonic, with V7/V, the dominant of the dominant, "being the most frequently encountered". The chord to which a secondary dominant progresses can be thought of as a briefly tonicized chord or pitch (tonicizations longer than a phrase are modulations). The secondary dominant terminology is still usually applied even if the chord resolution is nonfunctional (for example if V/ii is not followed by ii).
Read more about Secondary Dominant: Definition and Notation, Normal Sequencing or Cadence, History, Mozart Example, Use in Jazz, Popular Music, Extended Dominant
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