Daniel Caesar – A Cappella

Learn how to play A Cappella by Daniel Caesar on this week's piano tutorial.

BeginnerR&BSoul
3 Comments
  1. A is a secondary dominant used instead of Em, right?

    • Yes! Instead of Am, though. It’s a dominant of the IV (Dm). The dominant of IV always has the same root as the I. If we are in C major, for example, the root chord is C, and the dominant of the IV (F) is also C. In this case, we are in A minor, the IV is Dm, and V of IV is A. It’s major because all dominants are major chords (which can also have 7 or 9 or 11 or 13) 🙂

  2. Great stuff! Thank you, Manuel, helps a lot. So, basically, with the device of taking the secondary dominant of the fourth I always end up with the root chords. But if I’m in a minor key and my root note is minor (Am) I’ll end up with a major version of my root chord! Makes sense!

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