Third-level Dominants—and beyond
George Pratt · 1996
Abstract The driving force of dominants reaches beyond V (7)( → I) and ii(7)/II(7)(→ V). The submediant, vi/VI, similarly has a dominant thrust towards the chord a perfect fifth below or fourth above, namely the supertonic. As V is the dominant, and ii/I is the dominant’s dominant, so vi/VI is the dominant of the dominant’s dominant—the third-level dominant. Once again, the addition of a seventh increases the thrust still more. Again, too, the major version of the chord has more forward drive than the minor because the third becomes a temporary leading note; it has a powerful gravitational pull towards the supertonic.