The tonic as “a resting place” and the dominant as “tension” are the basic sensations in harmony. In this first meeting of Keys we are going to work on a simple song Mi limón mi limonero, by Venezuelan composer Henry Stephen, in which uses only the following two chords: tonic (I = 1st degree) and dominant (V = 5th degree):
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The structure of the song is the following one:
The above video works thru the song in three different keys: C Major, D Major (2#) and G Major (1#). For the last one (minute 1:02), I made a simple arrangement:
In this arrangement, I’ve used the following resources:
- Chord development:
Sequence G Gmaj G6 keeping the basic G chord, then descending from the 8th note to 7th followed by the 6th, descending through the diatonic scale.
2. Secondary dominants:
G sharp diminished G#º as the II degree of the dominant.
3. Enriched dominants:
- D with a seventh and a ninth D9, E with a seventh and a ninth E9
- E with a seventh and a minor ninth E(b9)
- D with an appoggiatura of the 4th D7sus4
- D altered dominant (elevating the 5th) D7alt
Dominant chord and possible resolutions:
And now ask and propose:
What other songs do you know that only use the tonic and dominant?
