Applied chords are a category of chromatic harmony, in which a diatonic chord x is embellished with chords from the key of x. For example, in C major, a V chord (G) might be embellished with chords from the key of G major. But unlike modulationthere is no cadence in a new key: only a short progression of chords is borrowed from another key.

Function

The most common applied chords are dominant-function chords: V⁽⁷⁾ and viiº⁽⁷⁾. The unique quality of these chords (dominant and diminished, respectively) allows them to sound like dominant-function chords even in strange contexts. Example 1 demonstrates this concept: a V⁷–I progression in one key can be reproduced within a different key. The old I chord, then, is analyzed differently in the new key: for example, as ii, in the bottom staff of Example 1. The old V⁷ chord is then V⁷ of ii, written with a slash: V⁷/ii. The same principle holds with V[latex]\begin{smallmatrix}6\\5\\\end{smallmatrix}[/latex] and other inverted V chords, as shown in the second row of Example 1.

Example 1. Applied chords are dominant-to-tonic progressions that are inserted into a new key.

Spelling and writing applied chords

If you are asked to write an applied chord, follow this process. We will consider a hypothetical applied chord V⁷/x. x is a substitute for a Roman numeral—it could be V, vi, ii, or any other major or minor Roman numeral—the process is the same regardless of what x is.

Here is the above process applied to a concrete example: V⁷/vi in D major.

V⁷ is not the only possible applied chord—viiº is another common type of applied chord. To spell an applied viiº⁷, follow a slightly different, but related, process.

As a concrete example, Example 3 demonstrates the spelling of viiº⁷/vi in B minor.

Resolving applied chords

The leading tone of the applied chord is referred to as the secondary leading tone; the seventh as the secondary seventh. These dissonances resolve just as they normally would in their own key.

One exception is that when the tonicized chord is itself a seventh chord—as in the progression D⁷–G⁷–C—the secondary leading tone may resolve down by semitone into the seventh of the following chord. In the example progression, this would create a nice chromatic line: F♯—F♮—E (Example 4).

Recognizing and identifying applied chords

Applied chords are most easily recognized by their accidentals, especially accidentals that raise the pitch—oftentimes, those raised pitches are secondary leading tones, applied to the tonicized chord. When analyzing the harmonies of a score, you may come to a chord contains raised notes—for example, a chord that looks like ii but is major instead of minor—and suspect that it may be an applied chord. To confirm, skip the chromatic chord and analyze the following chord; then, return to the chromatic chord and see if it is, in fact, an applied chord.

Applied V and V⁷ as altered diatonic chords

Another way of thinking about applied chords is to imagine them as altered versions of the diatonic chord with which it shares a root.

The most straightforward example is when a ii chord is chromatically altered by changing [latex]\hat{4}[/latex] to [latex]\sharp\hat{4}[/latex], and then progresses, like usual, to the dominant chord. This alteration of [latex]\hat{4}[/latex] to [latex]\sharp\hat{4}[/latex] turns a regular subdominant chord into a chord that has a dominant function in the key of the dominant.

Take the chord progression Dmi⁷–G–C in C major. We would label this progression as ii⁷–V–I with Roman numerals. If we change [latex]\hat{4}[/latex] (F) to [latex]\sharp\hat{4}[/latex] (F♯) in the Dm chord, we get D⁷–G–C. In the key of C, we might analyze this progression as II♯⁷–V–I, noting the change in root and quality. However, we can also note that D major is native to G major; it is a dominant-functioning chord (V) in the key of G—the key in which the following chord is tonic. In other words, we are borrowing the dominant chord from the key of G and applying it to the G-major triad. Thus, we can re-interpret the progression as V⁷/V–V–I.

Example 5 summarizes applied chords as they relate to diatonic chords with the same root.

• Applied chords worksheet A (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to identify and write applied V, V⁷, viiº, viiº⁷, and vii^∅7 chords.
• Applied chords worksheet B without ∅7s (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to identify and write applied V, V⁷, viiº, and viiº⁷ chords. Better suited for repertoires that don’t often use applied ∅7s (e.g., jazz and pop).