What Key?

[amiller]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

 

[ttosh]

Define V for me in regards to a V chord? Is this a 5th? I mostly understand your post, but I am trying to get a better grasp and take concept here and implement and need to understand a bit more based on making sure I understand the terminology you are using.

It's the chord a fifth above the tonic/root of the key I.e. In A the V chord is E.

I understand that but you used it in multiple references in your initial post so it seemed as to be multiple V Chords.

 

[ttosh]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

That is what was confusing me and why I asked, I understand what a V chord is and the other parts that has been posted, but ed used it I think in a different context which confused me in general.

 

[degenaro]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

Because chords serve a harmonic funtion, a V chord is there to resolve to a I chord, or substitution there of.
If you have any chord a very common way to approach said chord is with a borrowed chord. Borrowed because it's outside of the key you're playing in i.e. borrowed from a different key.
In the case of the secondary dominant it's simply a "V of..." obviously V of I is your V chord in the key. if you have V of ii it means you're sticking...say in the key of C a A chord in front of the Dm chord. With Dm being ii and A being the V up from D.
Makes sense?

V of V...in C the V is G, stick the secondary dominant in there which is D ...still with me?

 

[degenaro]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

think of it less of multiples of anything in one key but rather that I-ii-ii-IV-V, etc... all fulfill a function, and when we go outside of the key the most chords will still fulfill the same function, you just have to adjust how you play over them.

For example...say you have C7-B7-Bb7-A7...just rolling down the fret board in hald steps is gonna sound kinda lame. There is a thing that is called tritone sub, which in a nutshell says that a dom 7th chord can be substitued for another dom 7 a flat 5 away. i.e. for Bb7 you can think E7. Now look at the example I put up...sub F#7 for the C7 by ways of the tritone sub and what you will play over is F#7-B7-E7-A7
back cycling through V chords...typical type turn around. You have 4 V chords in a row...all functioning as a V chord...meaning it leads to the next chord....

Side note...when you play over a dominant 7 groove...lets say Funk jam in E7 for 10 minutes....that's a static V chord. As in, it doesn't need to go anywhere/resolve. Once it needs to resolve it becomes function...which is where throwing the hip choices comes in.

Now

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

That is what was confusing me and why I asked, I understand what a V chord is and the other parts that has been posted, but ed used it I think in a different context which confused me in general.

 

[amiller]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

Because chords serve a harmonic funtion, a V chord is there to resolve to a I chord, or substitution there of.
If you have any chord a very common way to approach said chord is with a borrowed chord. Borrowed because it's outside of the key you're playing in i.e. borrowed from a different key.
In the case of the secondary dominant it's simply a "V of..." obviously V of I is your V chord in the key. if you have V of ii it means you're sticking...say in the key of C a A chord in front of the Dm chord. With Dm being ii and A being the V up from D.
Makes sense?

V of V...in C the V is G, stick the secondary dominant in there which is D ...still with me?

Ahhh...the V of V but staying in the original key. OK, I gotta play with that and see how it sounds and works.

Ed, you're like...light years ahead of where I am...please be patient...I truly appreciate your knowledge and input.

Thanks!

 

[degenaro]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

Because chords serve a harmonic funtion, a V chord is there to resolve to a I chord, or substitution there of.
If you have any chord a very common way to approach said chord is with a borrowed chord. Borrowed because it's outside of the key you're playing in i.e. borrowed from a different key.
In the case of the secondary dominant it's simply a "V of..." obviously V of I is your V chord in the key. if you have V of ii it means you're sticking...say in the key of C a A chord in front of the Dm chord. With Dm being ii and A being the V up from D.
Makes sense?

V of V...in C the V is G, stick the secondary dominant in there which is D ...still with me?

Ahhh...the V of V but staying in the original key. OK, I gotta play with that and see how it sounds and works.

Ed, you're like...light years ahead of where I am...please be patient...I truly appreciate your knowledge and input.

Thanks!

Actually you're in a different key while dealing with the borrowed chord I.e if you're in A and your V is E! Then your V of V will be B, the V of E major or B mixolydian and you'll deal with it as such.

 

[amiller]

Are you actually playing full major triads, or are you playing A and G power chords and triads for the C and D?

Regardless...here are the options...

First off a major triad can always be followed by another major chord any distance from it (same applies to minor triads).

As for analyzing it...
The go to choice is G major with the A as a borrowed key/secondary dominant (as in the V of V). V of V means that you stick a V chord in front of the V chord.

The way I'd view the progression is as an A thing, since thanks to Blues we can superimpose C over A. And then the G is merely a bVII...like in a million Rock tunes. This way you can play A mixolydian (Dmajor) over the A and D and G, and just play A pentatonic over C.

I got lost. How can you "stick a V chord in front of the V chord?" It sounds like you're telling me there are two V chords in a single key.

Because chords serve a harmonic funtion, a V chord is there to resolve to a I chord, or substitution there of.
If you have any chord a very common way to approach said chord is with a borrowed chord. Borrowed because it's outside of the key you're playing in i.e. borrowed from a different key.
In the case of the secondary dominant it's simply a "V of..." obviously V of I is your V chord in the key. if you have V of ii it means you're sticking...say in the key of C a A chord in front of the Dm chord. With Dm being ii and A being the V up from D.
Makes sense?

V of V...in C the V is G, stick the secondary dominant in there which is D ...still with me?

Ahhh...the V of V but staying in the original key. OK, I gotta play with that and see how it sounds and works.

Ed, you're like...light years ahead of where I am...please be patient...I truly appreciate your knowledge and input.

Thanks!

Actually you're in a different key while dealing with the borrowed chord I.e if you're in A and your V is E! Then your V of V will be B, the V of E major or B mixolydian and you'll deal with it as such.

Got it.

This is new ground for me. I may have played over progressions like this before without knowing it and certainly not understanding it. Man, I've got lots of ground to cover...thanks again.

 

[FrankBlack]

Well this progression is primarily A mixolydian when going to the C chord (which is a bIII to A) it is acting like a flat 7th to D maj (D mixolydian or C lydian here) than back to A mixolydian from D to G which is acting as a bVII chord to A. Hopefully not to confusing.