Ever notice how some chord progressions just sound richer than yours, even when you’re using the same basic chords?
The difference is often one chord. A borrowed chord that doesn’t “belong” to the key, dropped in right before a familiar one. That’s a secondary chord, and it’s one of the fastest ways to make your progressions sound more expressive without learning anything exotic.
This lesson is for you if:
- You want to understand what the pros are doing when a song takes an unexpected turn
- Your progressions sound correct but lifeless
- You’ve heard terms like “5 of 5” and want them to actually make sense
Let’s get started!
What are secondary chords?
Secondary chords are chords that function as a 5 chord to resolve to any chord other than the tonic (the 1 chord). For example, in the key of D Major, the secondary chord to the 5 chord (A Major) would be an E Major chord, or the example below, an E 7 (dominant 7th chords like to naturally resolve to chords that are a fourth interval above).
See how these secondary chords occur in a song like Aura Lea below.
You can add a secondary chord before any other chord. To do this, simply think of a Major chord which is a 5th interval above the chord you’re landing to. For example, here are some secondary chords in the key of C Major:
- A Major is the 5 of the 2 chord, D minor.
- B Major is the 5 of the 3 chord, E minor,
- C Major is the 5 of the 4 chord, F Major.
- D Major is the 5 of the 5 chord, G Major.
- E Major is the 5 of the 6 chord, A minor.
- F# Major is the 5 of the 7 chord, B diminished (although the 7th is not typical point of resolution).
Most secondary chords do not belong to the diatonic chords of a scale, which is why they add tension or suspense to create a much more interesting chord progression. However, these chords make sense within a progression because they have a specific function of resolving to the next chord.
If needed, see this other post to learn the related chords in Major and minor key signatures, also known as diatonic chords.
Secondary chords in Major keys chart
| Key center | 5 of 2 chord | 5 of 3 chord | 5 of 4 chord | 5 of 5 chord | 5 of 6 chord | 5 of 7 chord |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Major | A Major | B Major | C Major | D Major | E Major | F# Major |
| D Major | B Major | C# Major | D Major | E Major | F# Major | G# Major |
| E Major | C# Major | D# Major | E Major | F# Major | G# Major | A# Major |
| F Major | D Major | E Major | F Major | G Major | A Major | B Major |
| G Major | E Major | F# Major | G Major | A Major | B Major | C# Major |
| A Major | F# Major | G# Major | A Major | B Major | C# Major | D# Major |
| B Major | G# Major | A# Major | B Major | C# Major | D# Major | F Major |
| Db Major | Bb Major | C Major | Db Major | Eb Major | F Major | G Major |
| Eb Major | C Major | D Major | Eb Major | F Major | G Major | A Major |
| Gb Major | Eb Major | F Major | Gb Major | Ab Major | Bb Major | C Major |
| Ab Major | F Major | G Major | Ab Major | Bb Major | C Major | D Major |
| Bb Major | G Major | A Major | Bb Major | C Major | D Major | E Major |
Secondary chords in minor keys chart
| Key center | 5 of 2 chord | 5 of b3 chord | 5 of 4 chord | 5 of 5 chord | 5 of b6 chord | 5 of b7 chord |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C minor | A Major | Bb Major | C Major | D Major | Eb Major | F Major |
| D minor | B Major | C Major | D Major | E Major | F Major | G Major |
| E minor | C# Major | D Major | E Major | F# Major | G Major | A Major |
| F minor | D Major | Eb Major | F Major | G Major | Ab Major | Bb Major |
| G minor | E Major | F Major | G Major | A Major | Bb Major | C Major |
| A minor | F# Major | G Major | A Major | B Major | C Major | D Major |
| B minor | G# Major | A Major | B Major | C# Major | D Major | E Major |
| Db minor | Bb Major | B Major | Db Major | Eb Major | E Major | G Major |
| Eb minor | C Major | Db Major | Eb Major | F Major | Gb Major | Ab Major |
| Gb minor | Eb Major | E Major | Gb Major | Ab Major | A Major | B Major |
| Ab minor | F Major | Gb Major | Ab Major | Bb Major | B Major | Db Major |
| Bb minor | G Major | Ab Major | Bb Major | C Major | Db Major | Eb Major |
Secondary dominant chords
Since secondary chords function as a 5 chord of any chord, this means that you can also use them as dominant chords. Dominant chords have the chord tones 1, 3, 5, and b7. This is essentially a Major chord with an added b7 tension. If needed, see this other lesson to learn more about 7th chords.
For example, here is a progression in the key of C Major using a secondary dominant chord below. The D 7 chord acts as a 5 of the 5 chord here.
You can also add chord tensions to secondary dominant chords, which we will cover in the application examples at the end.
If you want to be able to improvise over dominant chords, a good place to start is by learning how to play dominant arpeggios on guitar.
Secondary diminished chords
We can also use diminished chords as secondary chords because they have a similar function to dominant chords. For example, a B diminished 7 chord has the notes B, D, F, and Ab, which are the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and b9 of a G 7 chord. Instead of thinking G7 to C Major, we can think B diminished 7 to C Major.
This means that we can use any diminished chord a half step below any chord you’re approaching. For example, here’s the same chord progression in the previous section except we replace the D 7 chord with an F# diminished 7 chord.
Secondary chord application examples
Now, let’s look at more examples of secondary chords in different keys with chord charts for guitar. The first three examples are secondary chords in triad form, and the last three examples are secondary chords in dominant chord form.
The examples include a chord analysis above the staff to explain how each chord is functioning within the progression.
Example 1: Key of C Major
The chords for the first example are A minor, D Major, G Major, and C Major. You can click on the chords with links to learn other ways of playing that chord.
Example 2: Key of D minor
The chords in example 2 are D minor, D Major, G minor, and A Major.
Example 3: Key of G Major
The following chords are G Major, E Major, A minor, and D Major.
Example 4: Key of F Major
The following progression uses shell chords, meaning we’re only adding the root, 3rd, and 7th of each chord. The chords are A 7, D 7, G 7, C 7, and F Major 7.
Example 5: Key of A minor
The following chords are F# 7 (#9), B 7 (b13), E 7 (#9), and A minor 7. To learn more about chords with extensions, check out this lesson on jazz chords on guitar.
Example 6: Key of E minor
This final example uses a secondary diminished chord. The chords are E minor 7, A minor 7, D# diminished 7, and E minor 7.
Wrapping up
To summarize what we covered in this lesson, secondary chords function as the 5 chord that resolve to any chord within a Major or minor key. Because these chords don’t typically fit within the related chords of a key signature, it adds an element of surprise and interest within a progression.
Experiment with these chords as Major triads, dominant chords, and even diminished chords to create more depth to your compositions or improvisation.
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All the best,
JG Music Lessons