6 Great-Sounding Chords You Can Play Before A Dominant

In music, the words "dominant chord" indicate either:

• A chord like D7, B7 or E7

• The 5th chord in a key

In general those are one and the same, either way these are among the most common chords in music. They are often used to provide tension and move the song ahead.

As it turns out, what chord you play before a dominant chord, i.e. how you 'prepare' it, is pretty important for the emotional impact of the chord.

As it turns out, great musicians in the last 200 years have searched for interesting chords to put before a dominant chord, with fantastic results.

In the video below we will see together 6 different chords that sound great before a dominant chord. These are among the best possible options, and I bet you have heard some of them already but did not know how to create that sound.

We are not going to go in depth and be bogged by a lot of incomprehensible theory and strange names: I'm just giving you the options and then you can hear them and pick the ones you like. Deal?

And since we talk about first inversion chords, I think it useful or you to see this other video in which we see what first inversion chords are and 3 ways of using them in your songs:

Have fun!

Tommaso Zillio is a professional prog rock/metal guitarist and composer based in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Tommaso is currently working on an instrumental CD, and an instructional series on fretboard visualization and exotic scales. He is your go-to guy for any and all music theory-related questions.

Tommaso Zillio