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I'm working through David Fuentes (Berklee College of Music) FOM workbook. In exercise 1.3, what does the arrow next to the V mean in the 3rd bar?, And also the T? I figure the T means 'Tendency Tone' in this context (if I'm correct on that), but what makes it a tendency tone? (This is from Bach's Violin Partita #1, Sarabande-Double in B minor). Obviously this is a C chord, with the 7th a B, but why the E#? Why a V chord (it's not, C is a iiº chord surely)? And why the arrow?

See attached screenshot. Thank you!

Exercise 1.3: Bach Violin Partita #1, Sarabande-Double

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    Can we see the cleft and key signature? Without that, we don't know what the notes are exactly.
    – Dom ♦
    Jun 4, 2022 at 15:56
  • @Dom Key signature is Bm (two sharps), in the treble clef. Trying to respect the author and not post too much of their work. Not sure the best way to do that.
    – Agent Zebra
    Jun 4, 2022 at 16:04
  • @Dom ok I posted the whole part, being that it's a Bach piece anyway.
    – Agent Zebra
    Jun 4, 2022 at 16:09

1 Answer 1

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The arrow is indicating that the chord is a secondary dominant: "five of five". In other words, the F# major chord in m. 4 is the V chord of b minor, and the preceding chord, with the arrow, is the V chord (C# major) relative to F#. Another common notation is to use a slash: V/V.

That's also why there's an E#. The iio would have an E natural (C#-E-G); the V/V chord — C# major (actually it's V7, C#7) — has an E# (C#-E#-G#).

The "T" is either indicating the "leading tone" (tendency tone), the altered pitch, or both.

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  • Got it, it's kind of like a cousin chord once removed. Thanks I youtubed secondary dominants, and understand them a little more now: youtube.com/watch?v=7omUNDQ7Xm0 So he's using the arrow to indicate a 5 of 5, a V/V. Why's it called a leading tone, wouldn't that be be a 7th scale degree? Why is it C#7? That's the final piece of the puzzle :)
    – Agent Zebra
    Jun 4, 2022 at 16:49
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    @AgentZebra The "leading tone" is the seventh scale degree (raised in minor: the leading tone is always a half-step below the tonic), so called because of its strong tendency toward the tonic (it "leads" the ear toward the tonic). The chord is C#7 because of the B (marked "7") in the example: C#-E#-G#-B. This is the dominant seventh chord (V7 chord) in the key of F# major.
    – Aaron
    Jun 4, 2022 at 17:01
  • Thank you, got it, I think. He's marked the 3rd scale degree of the C# major scale as T (tendency tone) tho?
    – Agent Zebra
    Jun 4, 2022 at 17:08
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    @AgentZebra Yes, I agree. But the reason it's a tendency tone is because it's the seventh degree of the corresponding scale. E# is the seventh degree (leading tone) in F# major; A# is the (raised) seventh degree (leading tone) in B minor.
    – Aaron
    Jun 4, 2022 at 17:22
  • Got it, and because we're in the corresponding scale of F# maj (the V chord, C#) , that's the one that matters. Wow that's quite the puzzle for my dyslexic brain. I get I now. Thank you for your help.
    – Agent Zebra
    Jun 4, 2022 at 17:25

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