ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Secondary chords

Secondary chords are special chords that we can use to make our music sound interesting and colorful. These chords are like spices that we can add to our music to give it more flavor.

To understand secondary chords, let's start with the basic chords. You probably know the primary chords, like the C chord or the G chord. These chords are like the main ingredients in a recipe. They are the basic building blocks of music.

Now, imagine you have a C chord. A secondary chord is like adding a little bit of another ingredient to make it taste even better. It's like adding sprinkles to your ice cream or cheese on your pizza. It makes the music more exciting!

One popular type of secondary chord is called the secondary dominant chord. It's like a super special ingredient that adds a lot of flavor. Imagine you have a C chord again, but then you add a special chord that wants to go to the F chord. This special chord is called the G7 chord. It's like a secret agent that wants to bring you to the F chord. It makes the music feel more exciting and suspenseful.

Another type of secondary chord is called the secondary leading-tone chord. This one is a little bit trickier to understand, but I'll try my best to explain. Imagine you have a C chord again, but this time you add a special chord that wants to go to the D chord. This special chord is called the E7 chord. It's like a magical key that opens the door to the D chord. It makes the music feel like it's floating or flying.

So, secondary chords are like special ingredients that we can add to our basic chords to make our music sound more interesting and exciting. They are like spices that add flavor and make the music come alive. They help us tell stories and create different moods in our music.