Module 12 mini-test

1. What is a secondary dominant?

2. In C major, what is V7/vi?

3. What does E7 resolve to in that context?

4. What is V7/ii in C?

5. What is V7/V in C?

6. Why does D7 work in C major even though F♯ is outside the key?

7. What chromatic line appears in C → E7 → Am?

8. What chromatic line appears in Am → A7 → Dm?

9. What is the difference between tonicization and modulation?

10. If you want to approach F more strongly, what are three increasingly strong options?

Answers

1. A dominant chord that temporarily points to a chord other than the main tonic.
2. E7
3. Am / vi
4. A7
5. D7
6. F♯ acts as the leading tone to G, making D7 the dominant of G.
7. G → G♯ → A
8. C → C♯ → D
9. Tonicization briefly emphasizes another chord as a local destination; modulation establishes a new tonal center more substantially.
10. C → F, C7 → F, Gm7 → C7 → F

The core idea of Module 12 is:

Any important chord can temporarily be treated like a miniature tonic, and its own dominant can be used to pull us toward it.

Once this becomes intuitive, the “wrong” sharps and flats you see in chord charts stop looking accidental. They become direction signs.

Next is Module 13 — Extensions: 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. That is where we learn why something like G13 does not mean “play seven notes at once,” how jazz pianists choose which notes to keep or omit, and how to turn Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 into richer voicings without making the piano sound cluttered.