I first learned the word "dominant" to apply with the 5th of a scale. Hence I learned to call the V in any pattern the dominant, expecting its resolution to the tonic. They are usually 7's. Fine. I assumed that makes the "dominant 7 chords". Then I noticed that 7 chords at any point in the scale are also called "dominant 7's" and now I'm confused. So, for example, in the key of C, a F or IV played with a major minor 7 is being called a dominant 7.
I understand the literal difference between one being the name of the scale integer and the other being a type of chord - I'm confused about the nomenclature. Worse, I've noticed that some people just say "dominant chord" (without saying "7") when then refer to any 7 chord. That is exactly the name used for the V chord. How does one know which they mean?
So what is the key to understanding which is meant? Is one capitalized and the other not? Is it purely context?
Submitted August 21, 2021 at 09:30AM by TheRealJDubb https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/p8qm26/dominant_confusion/?utm_source=ifttt
Javier Rodriguez
Saturday, August 21, 2021