Secondary Function and Modulation
What is tested
Identify secondary dominants and leading-tone chords, recognize mode mixture, and analyze a modulation with a pivot chord. A chromatic note that is not a non-chord tone is usually the sign of a secondary function.
Common mistakes
Every chromatic note gets read as a secondary dominant. Rule out the cheaper explanations first — a chromatic non-chord tone, or a borrowed chord from the parallel mode — before assigning a secondary function.
Practice with
The tool below checks your answer against the theory engine, so you get the same verdict a marker would.