Secondary Dominants and Upper Structure Chords Inside the FDA

Office HourSecondary Dominant
Written By June
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What was the question?

Dennis McCarthy had watched a J Guitar Practice Routine video and wanted to know the chord names for the upper structure chords over the secondary dominants. His question was framed as: are the roots of those upper structure chords related to the raising or opening structure of the FDA? The question comes in at (32:32).

The core idea (in plain English)

Before the upper structure chord names make sense, you need to understand the rule that defines a secondary dominant: it must move by circle-of-fifths motion, and its landing point must be a diatonic chord in the key. That is the constraint. F7 in C major, for example, is not a secondary dominant because the motion from C to F is a whole step, not a fifth. Going from B minor 7 to E7 to A minor, however, follows the circle — each chord resolves down a fifth to a diatonic target. (34:21)

Within that circle-of-fifths motion, each dominant chord has an upper structure chord sitting on top of it. What the FDA reveals is that those upper structure chords are not random — they alternate between West Line and Django Line structures, each one a half step above the resolution point. As the progression moves around the circle, the upper structure chords move by half step down toward each resolution, creating a chain of West Line and Django Line alternations. (39:47 — 41:16)

In other words: once you understand this, you do not need to memorize each upper structure chord name individually. You can see the whole secondary dominant chain as a pattern of half-step movements between the two diagonal lines you already know. (42:54)

Fretboard breakdown (what to play)

  • Start with the diatonic circle of fifths in C major: C major 7, B minor 7, E minor 7, A minor 7, D minor 7, G7, C major 7. (32:32)

  • On each chord, identify the upper structure triad or four-note chord using the West Line or Django Line structure.

  • When you add a secondary dominant — for example, inserting E7 before A minor — the upper structure of that E7 is a half step above the upper structure of A minor 7. (36:02)

  • That half-step approach into each resolution point is what voice leading looks like at the upper structure level. Each dominant to tonic move produces one half-step drop in the upper structure chord.

  • As you move around the circle through multiple secondary dominants, the upper structure chords alternate: West Line, Django Line, West Line, Django Line — each one half a step closer to the next resolution. (41:16 — 42:54)

  • The full chord names for each upper structure chord over each secondary dominant are worked out in detail in the Bridge Theory Shell Plus 3-2 lecture, which covers this material at depth including the theory behind which intervals are and are not available on each chord type. (37:49 — 39:47)

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Common mistake to avoid

Trying to memorize the upper structure chord names chord-by-chord over secondary dominants will not make you a better player. The chord names are a byproduct of the voice leading system, not the entry point to it. If you understand that each secondary dominant resolves down a fifth to a diatonic chord, and that the upper structure sits a half step above the resolution point and alternates between West Line and Django Line, you have the structural logic. The names follow from that logic. (44:16)

A 10-minute practice assignment

In C major, take just two secondary dominants: E7 resolving to A minor 7, and D7 resolving to G7 (or G minor). For each one, play the shell voicing of the diatonic target chord (A minor 7, G7) without the root. Then play the dominant chord (E7, D7) before it and find its upper structure — the chord that sits a half step above the resolution chord's upper structure. Name whether the upper structure is West Line or Django Line. Do this slowly, listening for the half-step resolution between the dominant's upper structure and the tonic's upper structure. (34:21 — 36:02)

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June
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