ABSTRACT
Secondary function has a long history in vernacular styles. Lavish use of secondary dominant seventh chords was a hallmark of so-called barbershop quartets. The intensely chromatic tenor line is typical of the style. It reflects the presence in that voice of either the secondary leading tone or the seventh of the many secondary dominant seventh chords, followed by their half step resolutions. In harmonizing a melodic line, a secondary dominant-tonic relationship can be established between any two chords whose roots descend by perfect fifth, so long as the second chord is a major or minor triad. Over countless New Year’s Eve celebrations, this tune has been dressed up many ways. In theory, these tonicizations could be expanded to include additional chords. However, the longer a tonicization, the more likely it is to be heard as a modulation instead.
