[Smt-talk] Seeking deceptively resolving applied dominants.

[Brad Osborn webpine]

The I-III#-IV progression that you point out in the Elvis and Elton songs is
ubiquitous in rock music.  Whether or not that major III chord (with or
without a dominant seventh) is actually a V(7) of vi is another question
altogether.  I tend to think of this as an idiomatic coloration of the III
chord, rather than a secondary dominant, though I guess the presence of a
dominant 7th might make me lean more in the direction of the latter.

Radiohead's "Creep" is probably the consummate example: G, B, C, Cm.

Armor for Sleep's "The Truth About Heaven" includes the 7th: D, F#7, G, Gm.


In both cases, I like how the #5 gets reinterpreted as b6 on the way down.

Brad

Brad Osborn
Ph.D. Candidate, Music Theory
University of Washington School of Music
Brad06 at uw.edu

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On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 8:39 AM, John Cuciurean <jcuciure at uwo.ca> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I reaching out to the collective wisdom to find instances (from tonal
> harmony in any genre or style) of deceptive resolutions of applied dominant
> chords. Specifically, instances of an applied chord such as V(7)/x (or
> viio7/x) resolving to vi/x (or VI/x where x suggests a minor key area) such
> that vi/x is also a diatonic chord in the home key. In order to illustrate
> what I'm describing I offer the following brief set of examples:
>
> Schubert, Symphony No 5, II, m. 3:  V7 - (4/2) - V6/5/IV - ii6/5 -
> V6/4-7/5/3 - I
> Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op 53, I, m.38-41:   I - V7 - vi - V7/vi - IV -
> V6/4-7/5/3 - I
> Elton John, Goodbye Yellowbrick Road, chorus begins with:  I - V7/vi  - IV
> -I (1 chord per meas)
> Elvis Presley, Kentucky Rain, repeated tag following chorus:  I - V7/vi -
> IV - V (1 chord per meas)
>
> A slightly more problematic instance (from the viewpoint of the chordal
> quality of vi/x) might include:
>
> Beethoven, Piano Sonata, Op 90, I, mm21-22:  i6 - V6/iv - ii/o6/5 - V6/5/V
> - V7 - i
>
> I am not seeking chains of successive applied dominants at this point,
> although I readily acknowledge that the topics are closely related.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
> John Cuciurean
> Assistant Professor of Music Theory
> Don Wright Faculty of Music
> University of Western Ontario
> London, Ontario, Canada
> 519-661-2111, ext. 85198
> jcuciure at uwo.ca
>
>
>
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