• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Art of Composing

Let's learn to compose together.

  • Start Here
  • Courses
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • About
    • Contact
    • Listen to My Music
  • Composing Resources
    • Recommended Books
    • Orchestration Resources
    • Forum
    • Archives
You are here: Home / Questions / Pivot c

Pivot c

November 20, 2016 By

Forum › Pivot c
0 Vote Up Vote Down
Lucas S asked 5 years ago

I noticed that the definition for pivot chord modulation includes an applied dominant, but it seems to me like the example in Harmony 2-3 (CM-em) does not include an applied dominant.  Am I missing this chord somewhere or misunderstanding the definition? 

Question Tags: Harmony Part 2-3: Simple Modulation
Lucas S replied 5 years ago

also, the website won’t let me edit this question for some reason (that’s why the title is messed up)

1 Answers
0 Vote Up Vote Down
Jon Brantingham Staff answered 5 years ago

Lucas,

In the example from Harmony 2-3, the progression goes:

I – IV – ii – V7 – I – vi / iv (in Em) – V7 – I.

The vi / iv is the pivot chord. Following that is the V7 which is a B7. This is the applied dominant. Because we modulated I wrote it as a V7, but in the key of C major, it would be considered an applied dominant.

Remember, the applied dominant is required to confirm the new key, not to create the pivot chord. The pivot, by it’s nature of being in both the original key and the new key, does not need an applied dominant before it.

Primary Sidebar

Most Important Topics

  • How to Compose Music
  • My Free Composition Course
  • Full Beginner’s Course on Composition
  • Orchestration Resources
  • Unlocking the Mysteries of Diatonic Harmony
  • Functional Harmony
  • Books on Music Composition: A Composer’s Reading List
  • The Art of Modulation, Part 2: Common Chord Modulation
  • Why V65, V43, V42?

What Do You Want to Learn?

  • Creativity (12)
  • Film Scoring (3)
  • Form (8)
  • Fundamentals (7)
  • Getting Started (3)
  • Harmony (18)
  • Melody (8)
  • Musical Inspiration (13)
  • My Compositions (13)
  • My Journey (7)
  • Orchestration (2)
  • Podcast (13)
  • Process (31)
  • Read (60)
  • Science (6)
  • Songwriting (2)
  • Theory (12)
  • Video (16)
  • Work (5)

Recent Posts

  • The Two Critical Habits of Songwriting
  • How to Become a Songwriter if You’re a Composer
  • Why Art of Composing Exists: To Make Better Composers
  • The Science of Becoming a Better Composer
  • Build Your Craft: Learn the Melody and Chord Progression in Mozart’s Lacrimosa
  • What Are Inversions
  • Composing Without An Instrument
  • Music and Time: Theme Types
  • Music and Time: The Basic Idea
  • Music and Time: What Are Formal Functions?
  • How I Setup My Scoring Template
  • More on Sketching
  • Five Tips for Better Sketching
  • Composing a Chord Progression
  • Hearing Loss and Composers
  • Five Minute Speed Composing Session
  • Dealing with Writer’s Block
  • Feeling Stuck Composing? You’re Probably Not Defining Creative Problems.
  • Defining Creative Problems
  • Do I need to play piano to compose?

Footer CTA

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • FAQs
  • Login
  • Merch
  • Courses

Copyright © 2022 · Art of Composing