Major submediant chord

1. What is the submediant of a major?
2. Why is 6 the submediant?
3. What does the submediant resolve to?
4. Where is the submediant in a scale?

What is the submediant of a major?

In a major key, the submediant key is the relative minor and has the same notes as the original major key. Modulation (change of key) to the submediant is relatively rare, compared with modulation to the dominant in a major key or modulation to the mediant in a minor key.

Why is 6 the submediant?

Likewise, the sixth note is called the submediant since it is in the middle of the upper tonic and subdominant. The second note is called the supertonic. Super is Latin for “above”. While the scale degrees for the first six notes are the same for both major and minor scales, the seventh one is special.

What does the submediant resolve to?

In order to convey a sense of forward motion, we prefer to move from weak to strong pre-dominants as we progress from the tonic to the dominant. The submediant therefore progresses well either to IV (iv) or to ii (ii°), but it does not ordinarily follow them.

Where is the submediant in a scale?

The submediant is the sixth note of the scale. The term submediant (below - median, middle) indicates the note midway between the tonic and subdominant.