Questions: Secondary Dominant Voice Leading and Resolution

Question 1

In C major, you write D7 (V/V) resolving to G major. Which voice leading moves are obligatory?

• A. The root D must step down to the root G to anchor the resolution
• B. All four voices should move to the nearest available chord tone
• C. F# must resolve up by half step to G, and C must resolve down by half step to B
• D. F# can move freely since it is a chromatic pitch added outside the key signature

Answer: (C)

The tritone in D7 is F#–C. F# is the local leading tone (third of D7, leading tone of G) and must resolve upward by half step to G. C is the chordal seventh and must resolve downward by half step to B (the third of G major). These two converging motions are what create the tonicization effect. If F# leaps elsewhere or C stays put, the secondary dominant function dissolves — the progression sounds unmotivated rather than purposeful.

Question 2

A student writes V/IV (C7) resolving to F major, correctly moving E up to F, but letting Bb leap down to D instead of resolving to A. What is wrong with this voice leading?

• A. E should have resolved downward to Eb, not upward to F
• B. C7 cannot function as V/IV in C major because C is already the tonic
• C. The seventh of C7 (Bb) should resolve down by step to A (the third of F major) — leaping to D breaks the tritone resolution
• D. Nothing is wrong; the seventh of a secondary dominant chord can move freely

Answer: (C)

The tritone in C7 is E–Bb. E (the local leading tone of F) correctly resolves up to F. But Bb is the chordal seventh and must resolve down by step to A — the third of F major. Leaping to D is an unresolved seventh: it abandons the voice leading obligation that makes the secondary dominant convincing. The tritone resolution is the engine of tonicization; both voices must follow through.

Question 3

In secondary dominant voice leading, the altered pitch acting as a local leading tone must resolve upward by half step to the root of the target chord.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

Yes — the third of a secondary dominant (e.g., F# in D7 = V/V in C) functions as the leading tone of the temporary tonic and follows leading-tone behavior: it rises by half step to the tonic pitch (G). This is the same rule that governs the seventh-degree in a regular dominant: Ti resolves to Do. The secondary dominant borrows this same resolution logic and applies it to a temporary tonic.

Question 4

When a secondary dominant resolves, it is the root of the secondary dominant chord that moves by step to create the sense of resolution.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

The root of a secondary dominant typically leaps — it moves down a fifth (or up a fourth) to the root of the target chord, just as V moves to I by root motion of a fifth. The voices that move by step to create the resolution are the chordal seventh (resolving down by half step) and the third/leading tone (resolving up by half step). The smooth, obligatory stepwise motion belongs to the tritone voices, not the root.

Question 5

Why does failing to resolve the tritone in a secondary dominant make the tonicization sound 'unmotivated,' even if the chord symbols are correct?

Model answer: The tonicization effect is created by the converging half-step resolutions of the tritone — the leading tone rising to the local tonic, the seventh falling to the third. These motions produce directed, purposeful voice movement that the ear hears as arrival. If the tritone voices leap or stall instead of resolving, the listener hears no arrival — just a chord change. The secondary dominant label may be technically correct, but the acoustic effect of tonicization depends on the voice leading, not the label.

This is why secondary dominant voice leading is taught as an extension of dominant seventh voice leading, not as a separate category. The same tritone mechanics that make V7–I conclusive are exactly what make V/x–x sound like a local cadence. Remove the tritone resolution, and you remove the tonicization.