![Secondary Dominants- Write Better Chord Progressions! [MUSIC THEORY / SONGWRITING] @SignalsMusicStudio](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/py4HaueW50Q/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
Get the PDF at my Patreon: bit.ly/2zFwzOO
Prerequisite video on Major: youtu.be/M8eItITv8QA
Secondary Dominant chords are a great addition to the 7 chords we normally see in major keys and their modes, they are outside of the key but will take us to chords in the key. This occurs a LOT in modern music, especially the V7/vi, and learning your secondary dominants will help you write better and more interesting chord progressions.
These chords introduce non-diatonic notes (notes outside the scale) so it is usually obvious to the ear that there is something unique and interesting about these chords when they appear.
In this video, we explore all the usable secondary dominants except the V7/iii. The only reason I excluded it is was because the video was getting long and I didn't have any good examples of it, also I don't find it to be very usable but I encourage you to play with it.
These chords work in ANY MODE but you will find it's fairly difficult to use them outside of major and minor due to the other modes not being as stable. The "mini modulations" within the key cause our tonality to get shifted around and maintaining a modal tonal center can prove tricky.
Here's the link to the song I wrote for Cara Jeanne: youtu.be/FMzxAc554D0
Like this video? Thank my Patreon subscribers for sponsoring these lessons! They're the reason you don't see ads or sponsorships in the middle of my videos. You can join them here:
patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
A huge thank you the following Patreon supporters!
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
Alvaro Begue-Aguado
twitter.com/signals_music
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Dominant Chords
02:08 Secondary Dominant Chords
05:22 V7/IV
06:47 V7/V
07:49 V7/vi and Resolving Tricks
09:39 Wrapping Up
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
Get the PDF at my Patreon: bit.ly/2zFwzOO
Prerequisite video on Major: youtu.be/M8eItITv8QA
Secondary Dominant chords are a great addition to the 7 chords we normally see in major keys and their modes, they are outside of the key but will take us to chords in the key. This occurs a LOT in modern music, especially the V7/vi, and learning your secondary dominants will help you write better and more interesting chord progressions.
These chords introduce non-diatonic notes (notes outside the scale) so it is usually obvious to the ear that there is something unique and interesting about these chords when they appear.
In this video, we explore all the usable secondary dominants except the V7/iii. The only reason I excluded it is was because the video was getting long and I didn't have any good examples of it, also I don't find it to be very usable but I encourage you to play with it.
These chords work in ANY MODE but you will find it's fairly difficult to use them outside of major and minor due to the other modes not being as stable. The "mini modulations" within the key cause our tonality to get shifted around and maintaining a modal tonal center can prove tricky.
Here's the link to the song I wrote for Cara Jeanne: youtu.be/FMzxAc554D0
Like this video? Thank my Patreon subscribers for sponsoring these lessons! They're the reason you don't see ads or sponsorships in the middle of my videos. You can join them here:
patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
A huge thank you the following Patreon supporters!
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
Alvaro Begue-Aguado
twitter.com/signals_music
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Dominant Chords
02:08 Secondary Dominant Chords
05:22 V7/IV
06:47 V7/V
07:49 V7/vi and Resolving Tricks
09:39 Wrapping Up
![Secondary Dominants- Write Better Chord Progressions! [MUSIC THEORY / SONGWRITING]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/py4HaueW50Q/mqdefault.jpg "Secondary Dominants- Write Better Chord Progressions! [MUSIC THEORY / SONGWRITING]
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course https://bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! https://bit.ly/3wDacU4
Get the PDF at my Patreon: https://bit.ly/2zFwzOO
Prerequisite video on Major: https://youtu.be/M8eItITv8QA
Secondary Dominant chords are a great addition to the 7 chords we normally see in major keys and their modes, they are outside of the key but will take us to chords in the key. This occurs a LOT in modern music, especially the V7/vi, and learning your secondary dominants will help you write better and more interesting chord progressions.
These chords introduce non-diatonic notes (notes outside the scale) so it is usually obvious to the ear that there is something unique and interesting about these chords when they appear.
In this video, we explore all the usable secondary dominants except the V7/iii. The only reason I excluded it is was because the video was getting long and I didnt have any good examples of it, also I dont find it to be very usable but I encourage you to play with it.
These chords work in ANY MODE but you will find its fairly difficult to use them outside of major and minor due to the other modes not being as stable. The mini modulations within the key cause our tonality to get shifted around and maintaining a modal tonal center can prove tricky.
Heres the link to the song I wrote for Cara Jeanne: https://youtu.be/FMzxAc554D0
Like this video? Thank my Patreon subscribers for sponsoring these lessons! Theyre the reason you dont see ads or sponsorships in the middle of my videos. You can join them here:
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
A huge thank you the following Patreon supporters!
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
Alvaro Begue-Aguado
https://www.twitter.com/signals_music
https://www.signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Dominant Chords
02:08 Secondary Dominant Chords
05:22 V7/IV
06:47 V7/V
07:49 V7/vi and Resolving Tricks
09:39 Wrapping Up")
![Jake Lizzio / Kerry Devine - Whats Comin To Ya [Classic Rock / 80s Hair Metal Genre]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pyiVZG_A_GA/mqdefault.jpg "Jake Lizzio / Kerry Devine - Whats Comin To Ya [Classic Rock / 80s Hair Metal Genre]
My Complete Theory and Songwriting course is NOW OUT! https://bit.ly/38fs0sx See how I made this song: https://youtu.be/39iZqrZf66o
Get the song on spotify / itunes, etc: https://bit.ly/3coZQwk
For my fifth episode of Riffing With The Modes, I decided to write an entire 80s rock single to demonstrate the power of Mixolydian. Kerry Devine performed vocals and Jeff Schwertfeger played drums. The video was filmed at a tiny suburban concert venue during quarantine, and then I filmed some greenscreen shots later on. The effects are all stock premiere effects- lots of color adjustments, channel blur, and automated zooms. Plus fake shakey cam when needed!
Hope you enjoy this one, its the sort of song I would love to hear on the radio once a year and not much more than that, lol
THANK YOU TO MY PATREON SUBSCRIBERS FOR SUPPORTING MY VIDEOS
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio")
![The Awesome Power of the Andalusian Cadence - Making Music in 5 Styles [SONGWRITING + ARRANGEMENT]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qbeRVJMT5CY/mqdefault.jpg "The Awesome Power of the Andalusian Cadence - Making Music in 5 Styles [SONGWRITING + ARRANGEMENT]
If you like this video, youll LOVE my book on chords + progressions! https://tinyurl.com/yytbhyvh
My Theory + Songwriting Course: https://tinyurl.com/yv7uxjre
Mp3s + PDF at my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
David Bruce- Composing A Melody over a Chord Progression https://youtu.be/jA7gdz56LtY
The Andalusian Cadence is an old fashioned chord progression that can be thought of as mainly deriving from the Minor Key (aeolian mode) but also includes the dominant chord. Its a killer progression, youve heard it in songs like Runaway by Del Shannon and Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits, as well as a million other songs.
This time, were transforming into many different styles, and along the way, hopefully you pick up some composing tricks, music theory hacks, or general song writing inspiration.
These are the links I reference in this video. If you were confused something in this video, chances are it is explained in one of the following vids.
12tone- Andalusian Cadence: https://youtu.be/MSjVTZ_l9XA
David Bruce- The mystery at the Heart of Flamenco https://youtu.be/XYgTkW4WK80
David Bruce- Composing A Melody over a Chord Progression https://youtu.be/jA7gdz56LtY
Writing Progressions in Minor Keys https://youtu.be/j-j4g0ktPGw
Harmonic Minor Series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTR7Cy9Sv2845ykqmNpmeGFq_v9yKZ_3A
Suspended Chords https://youtu.be/qu49nYaBfdM
Powerchords https://youtu.be/dbhF2wnnT7M
Pedal Tones + Drones https://youtu.be/5E4Nsa6RL9I
A quick note- theres some sloppy guitar playing in here. I absolutely have the production skills to elminate those mistakes (and probably would if these songs were to be released on an album) but I think its important for you all to see/hear those mistakes!
Also the intro has many inversions and chord modifcations. I simplified the numerals. One more thing I want to point out- the Em scale over B can sound fine if you play it fast enough - pretty much anything is passable if you play it quickly. But you really cant build real harmonies off that V chord if youre using the b7 tone, and the more time your ear has to hear the dissonance, the worse it will sound!
I use Ableton Live 10 and Reason 10 (via rewire) together to produce.
A giant thank you to my Patreon supporters. Theyre the reason Im able to offer a professional rhythm course at a name-your-own-price model. You can find that here: https://signalsmusicstudio.com/courses/signal-rhythm-course/
I owe them a lot, and you might too :)
Table of Contents
00:00 Intro
00:45 Andalusian Cadence History
01:51 Music Theory
04:20 Latin Style Jam
05:46 LISTEN: Latin Jam
06:27 Epic Cinematic Film Score
09:55 LISTEN: Film Score Epicness
11:30 MegaMetal
15:52 LISTEN: MegaMetal
17:32 Psychedellic Gooves
20:08 LISTEN: Psychedellic Groove and Final Thoughts")
![43 Music Theory Concepts That EVERY Modern Composer Should Master [The Music Theory Map]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qeS8txkoUH4/mqdefault.jpg "43 Music Theory Concepts That EVERY Modern Composer Should Master [The Music Theory Map]
Get the course: https://tinyurl.com/yv7uxjre
Download the PDF: https://bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Check out NODA! http://noda.io/
This is a tour of music theory for the modern composer. I think these concepts are very important to learn, and in this order specifically! This doesnt encapsulate all of music, but it is a very solid foundation. Knowing these topics will enable a songwriter to easily approach new advanced music theory topics with ease.
Sorry its been so long since Ive posted - I was working all day shifts to finish this course. I started it last year actually but gave up since it was so much work. Fortunately I found the motivation after my last video to wrap it up - I honestly think its the greatest course available on the internet, and I think the price is great for the amount of content you get compared to actual guitar lessons.
Now that my course is done, I can start working on YT again. Expect the Locrian video soon, along with some surprises....
THANK YOU TO MY PATREON SUPPORTERS. Without them, there would be no YT channel or course!
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
Table of Contents:
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - Begin the Tour
25:33 - Composers")
![Demonstrating The Modes of Harmonic Minor [MUSIC THEORY / SCALES]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qk8uobP4uJE/mqdefault.jpg "Demonstrating The Modes of Harmonic Minor [MUSIC THEORY / SCALES]
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://signalsmusic.studio/courses/codex
My pro theory + songwriting course: https://signalsmusic.studio/courses/songwriting-course
GET THE FREE CHARTS AND MP3s: https://signalsmusic.studio/lessons/harmonic-minor-modes
The modes of harmonic minor are seldom explored and often misunderstood, but they contain an entire universe of abstract harmonies. Although the 1st and 5th modes are fairly common, I think more attention should be given to some of the others as they can create truly unique sounds.
If you want my new Harmonic Minor Poster you can click this link - there are versions in A and in C. https://signals-shop.creator-spring.com/
MOST USEFUL, RANKED (in my opinion)
Harmonic Minor (mode 1)
Phrygian Dominant (mode 5)
Dorian #4 (mode 4)
Ionain #5 (mode 3)
Lydian #2 (mode 6)
Locrian Natural 6 (mode 2)
Ultralocrian (mode 7)
Jens Larsens channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jenslarsen02
NOTE- Quist does a good job of jamming with Ultralocrian in his jam track! I wish I had listened to his solo first, it would have given me some good ideas lol. Heres his track: https://youtu.be/ufif3rob_Vo
At 8:00 I forgot to include the flat signs after the Es when talking about A Dim chords
At 10:18 I should have said A Augmented Major Seventh, not A Augmented Seventh.
If youre confused, youll want to watch my videos on Harmonic Minor here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTR7Cy9Sv2845ykqmNpmeGFq_v9yKZ_3A
Special thanks to my Patreon Supporters for sponsoring these videos. This one took a while. If you enjoy the charts, you should thank them :)
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
Table Of Contents
00:00 Intro
01:18 Harmonic Minor Chords
05:40 DEMO Harmonic Minor
06:24 The Second Mode
08:41 DEMO Locrian Natural Six
09:10 The Third Mode
10:20 DEMO Ionian Sharp Five
10:56 The Fourth Mode
12:10 DEMO Dorian Sharp Four
13:44 The Fifth Mode
15:12 DEMO Phyrgian Dominant
15:57 The Sixth Mode
17:37 DEMO Lydian Sharp Two
18:21 The Seventh Mode
19:28 DEMO ULTRA LOCRIAN DO NOT LISTEN")
![Live Quarantine Lessons - Blues Guitar Day 3 [Lead Playing]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/roVM2n2BX14/mqdefault.jpg "Live Quarantine Lessons - Blues Guitar Day 3 [Lead Playing]
Download the lesson resources for free (many pdfs, and mp3s) at my website
https://signalsmusicstudio.com/courses/5-day-blues/
This lesson was livestreamed on 3/25/2020. Every day this week Ill be live streaming the remainder of this course at 2PM CST, and then will upload the video afterwards.
Thank my Patreon supporters for making this free course possible!
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio")
![Demonstrating 7 Ways that Composers Make Music Using Modes [SONGWRITING / THEORY]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sC2qXLnVU3A/mqdefault.jpg "Demonstrating 7 Ways that Composers Make Music Using Modes [SONGWRITING / THEORY]
Master Chords + Progressions with The Chord Progression Codex: https://tinyurl.com/yytbhyvh
Or Check Out My COMPLETE Songwriting + Theory Course: https://tinyurl.com/yv7uxjre
In this video we explore 7 different ways that the musical modes of major actually get used in modern sounding music, starting with some simple tips and ending with some more advanced concepts.
Heres the video I made for my Patreon subscribers showing how I wrote the Dorian melody. I did a poor job of describing this though - its 15 minutes (not 20) and isnt primarily about melody. I do think itll still be enlightening though! https://youtu.be/YqZkNw3hI5g Ill be posting more frequently on that channel as well with less polished content that is hopefully just as helpful as Signals videos.
If youre having trouble following along with this video, Id recommend these other videos I did - they should fill in any gaps.
Modes and Tonal Center: https://youtu.be/lPDVo-7Ua28?si=aesvmtp5NwNU-r3c
Meet The Modes: https://youtu.be/bwaeBUYcO5o?si=TgX0yJxxkzCXYQNX
Modes on Guitar: https://youtu.be/96cydVB4w-A?si=Ek1iAXpmYldLp_ok
7th Chords: https://youtu.be/3JizNRwHYNY?si=zIHAOk5pP37_vZv9
Chords of Minor: https://youtu.be/j-j4g0ktPGw?si=zeiiaUaRIBcpGIhp
The chart Im using is my Ultimate Modal Poster and can be purchased here: https://shorturl.at/rET34
My patreon: https://www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Writing exclusively in a mode
03:23 Demonstrating a piece in 100% Dorian
04:10 Writing in a mode but breaking it
07:15 Demonstrating Dorian mixed with natural 7ths
07:48 Modulating between relative modes
10:10 Demonstrating Phyrgian moving to Aeolian
11:21 Modulating between parallel modes
13:36 Demonstrating Major moving to Lydian
14:18 Writing in major and borrowing chords from anywhere
15:37 Demonstrating modal mixture in major
16:27 Modal Mixture in Minor
19:27 Using Modes or Scales to Play Over Chords
21:12 Demonstrating a New Scale for Each Chord")
