Subsidiary chord

In music and musical analysis, a subsidiary chord is an elaboration of a principal harmonic chord in a chord progression.

Tonic and tonic parallel in C major: CM and Am chords Play .

If the principal chord (X) is partially replaced by the subsidiary (Y), there are three possible positions - beginning, middle, and end - for the subsidiary:[1]

X–Ya
Y–X
X–Y–X
Modulation with subsidiary chord (in blue).[2] Play 

For example, a subsidiary chord in a modulation.

A subsidiary chord may be a chord with related function and/or sharing pitches, for example in E major, C♯m (C♯-E-G♯) as a subsidiary for E (E-G♯-B), which share two of three pitches and are related as tonic parallel (vi) and tonic (I).

See also

Further reading
  • Van der Merwe (2005), p. 428.

Sources
  1. van der Merwe, Peter (2005). Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music, p.501. ISBN 0-19-816647-8.
  2. Becker, Julius (1845). A concise treatise on harmony, p.17. Ewer & Co.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.