9.6: The Subtonic VII Chord in Popular Music
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Although we will discuss mode mixture and the Mixolydian mode later, the ubiquity of the subtonic chord (♭VIIVII) in rock and popular music makes it important to discuss here.
The ♭VIIVII chord can precede tonic, dominant, and pre-dominant chords, which means it can substitute for any function except tonic.
Notice also that movement from IVIV–II (from the plagal cadence) is common in the following examples from popular music.
Here are examples ending with ♭VIIVII–IVIV–II, where IVIV progresses to II (a plagal cadence) and is preceded by ♭VIIVII.
Consider the following questions: When a phrase ends on the IVIV chord, does it have dominant function (i.e, is it a half cadence)? Does IVIV have dominant function in popular music when it progresses to II? If so, does ♭VIIVII have pre-dominant function in the above progression?
Notice that ♭VIIVII begins the phrase in the following example, and proceeds to a IVIV–II conclusion.
The following example has ♭VIIVII preceding and following the IVIV chord. Does the ♭VIIVII chord have tonic prolongation as labeled, or is it “pre pre-dominant” in function?
Here is an example with ♭VIIVII cadencing to the II chord in the first four bars then progressing to the vivi chord in a deceptive cadence in the second four bars.
