CHAPTER 12 - THE DOMINANT NINTH CHORD (V⁹). LEADING-TONE SEVENTH CHORDS (VII WITH ADDED 7^TH)

The Dominant 9th and the VII degree with 7th are two chords closely related in their construction and in the resolution of their chord tones. The VII degree is very frequent in Classical Tonal music, especially as a secondary dominant.

1. THE DOMINANT 9TH CHORD. DEFINITION.

- The dominant 9th chord is created by adding a 9th to the dominant 7th chord. The 9th has a similar behaviour to the 7th, as it must also resolve downwards.

- Therefore, a dominant 9th chord has three notes with obligatory resolution: the leading tone, the 7th and the 9th.

Im. 12-1

- As you can see in the example, there are two variants of the chord: with an added major 9th and with a minor 9th, which are used as follows:

- In the major mode: both types are used, choosing one or the other simply by their colour.

- In the minor mode: only the minor 9th is used.

- The dominant 9th chord is not excessively frequent in tonal music. Within tonal music, it is in the music of the Romantic period that it appears most frequently. Regarding its location in the Basic Harmonic System, it occupies the place of the V7+ (See Chapter 5).

2. ANTICIPATED RESOLUTION IN THE DOMINANT 9TH CHORD

- There is a formula by which the 9th is resolved within the chord itself, transforming it into a V+7, as you can see in the example.

Im. 12-2

- In fact, this is the way the V9 originally appeared, based on an appoggiatura, the resolution of which was delayed up to the resolution on the tonic.

3. APPLICATION IN 4-PART WRITING.

- When the dominant 9th chord is used in 4 voices, as it consists of 5 sounds, one of the notes must be omitted, which is normally the 5th of the chord.

Im. 12-3

- Most commonly the 9th is placed in the soprano voice, and rarely in the alto voice (in this case the 7th will be in the soprano). It is never found in the lower voices.

- The dominant 9th chord is almost exclusively used in root position. There are treatises on harmony that describe its inversions, but they are very rare in the musical literature. We will therefore leave them out.

4. VII DEGREE WITH ADDED 7TH (LEADING-TONE 7TH CHORDS).

- Although historically it was not born this way, the VII degree with 7th can be understood as a by-product of the V chord with 9th from which the root note is removed.

Im. 12-4

- As you can see in the example, the resolution of the tones is identical to the V9, its function is also Dominant, and it occupies the same location as the V+7 chord in the Basic Harmonic System. It can also expand a V+7 chord.

- Like the V9, there are two variants of the VII degree with seventh: as “a half-dim. 7th chord" and as “a (fully) diminished 7th chord". Their application is also similar to that of the V9:

- In the major mode: both types are used, choosing one or the other by its colour.

- In the minor mode: only the VII with diminished 7th is used.

- The VII degree with 7th is a very frequent chord in classical tonal music, mainly as a diminished 7th chord, which will be the one we will normally use in the examples and exercises.

5. ANTICIPATED RESOLUTION IN THE VII CHORD WITH SEVENTH.

- In a similar way to the dominant 9th chord, the chords of the VII with added 7th have an early resolution formula within the chord itself, becoming thus a V+7 chord.

Im. 12-5

6. APPLICATION IN 4-PART WRITING.

- In 4-part writing, no notes are usually deleted or doubled in the case of the VII degree with added 7th. Unlike the V9 chord, the VII with 7th can be used in all its inversions, which are shown below both in the half-dim. 7th and dim. 7th versions.

Im. 12-6

- As shown in the examples, it is common to find consecutive fifths, marked with a dashed line, which are usually allowed if they do not occur in the outer voices.

 - The 3rd inversion requires an early resolution of the 7th, otherwise it would lead to a 2nd inversion of the tonic chord.

7. THE VII DEGREE AS A SECONDARY DOMINANT.

- In tonal music it is very common to use the VII degree with 7th as a secondary dominant. In fact, secondary dominants appear almost more frequently in the VII degree version than in the V degree version.

Im. 12-7a

- In the example below, the secondary dominants of C Major appear as VII with a 7th. Regarding the version that is used (half-dim. 7th or dim. 7th), the logic is the same as above. If the chord that follows is:

- major: both types can be used, although it is very common to use the diminished 7th chord.

- minor: only the diminished 7th chord is used.

- In order to find the notes of a VII-secondary dominant, one can proceed in 2 ways:

1 - By performing the same mental operation as with a V-secondary dominant, that is, by thinking of the VII of the key of the degree it precedes (See Chapter 7, point 2).

2 - It can also be deduced from the intervallic content:

Im. 12-7b

8. THE VII DEGREE WITHOUT SEVENTH.

- In the music literature it is relatively common to find the VII degree without a seventh. It usually appears when, for whatever reason, the texture is only in 3 or 2 voices, which means that some notes from the chord are omitted.

- In 4-part writing, this rarely happens. If it does happen, it is the 3rd of the chord, the only note that does not have an obligatory resolution, the one that is doubled.  As shown in the following example, the figured bass notation is also different with respect to the VII with 7th:

Im. 12-8

7. SUGGESTED EXERCISES.

- Harmonise the following 2 soprano lines, using the chords indicated.

- In exercise No. 2, add another 8 bars in which there is a tonicization of the Major Relative key (returning later to the minor mode), and in which intensive use of V9 and VII7 is made.

- Harmonise the following soprano lines, using V9 in the places marked with a 9, and VII7 in the places marked with a 7 (these may be secondary dominants).

- In the following exercise, a modulation to F Major takes place, returning later to the original key. Here, the VII7 chords indicated in quarter note values must be treated with anticipated resolution.

  6. Write a harmonic structure with the following features:

- Start in D major, modulate to A major and come back to D major.

- Make a deceptive cadence in the intermediate key (A major).

- Time signature: 3/4

- Harmonic rhythm: Quarter notes.

- Add, at least, one V9, and two VII7 with secondary dominant function.

  7.  Write a harmonic structure with the following features:

- Key: Cm. Time signature: 4/4

- Form: 3 phrases of 8 measures (24 measures in total):

- 1st phrase: it modulates to Gm at the end of the phrase, ending with a perfect cadence.

- 2nd phrase: it modulates to Eb (at the beginning of the phrase) and then to Cm, ending with a half cadence.

- 3rd phrase: it stays in Cm, closing with a half cadence..

- Harmonic rhythm: half notes, with an acceleration before the cadences. If necessary, it may also be accelerated in the 2nd phrase in order to complete the requested modulations.

- Include, at least, two V9 and three VII7 with secondary dominant function.

- Add a free melody, which is structured in a motivic way. Aim for similarity in the 1st and 3rd phrases.