View source for Supertonic

{{Short description|Tonal degree of the diatonic scale}}
{{for|the 2020 Diana Ross remix album|Supertonic: Mixes}}
{{Image frame|content=<score vorbis="1" lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble
  \time 7/4 c4 \once \override NoteHead.color = #red d e \once \override NoteHead.color = #red f g \once \override NoteHead.color = #red a b \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
  \time 4/4 <d, f a>1 \bar "||"
} }
</score>

<score vorbis="1" lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble
  \time 7/4 c4 \once \override NoteHead.color = #red d es \once \override NoteHead.color = #red f g \once \override NoteHead.color = #red aes bes \time 2/4 c2 \bar "||"
  \time 4/4 <d, f aes>1 \bar "||"
} }
</score>|width=310|caption=The scale and supertonic triad in C major (top) and C minor (bottom).}}

In music, the '''supertonic''' is the second [[Degree (music)|degree]] ({{music|scale|2}}) of a [[diatonic scale]], one whole [[Steps and skips|step]] above the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]].<ref>Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p. 32. Seventh edition. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}. "One step above the tonic."</ref> In the [[Solfège#Movable do solf%C3%A8ge|movable do solfège]] system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''.

The [[Triad (music)|triad]] built on the supertonic note is called the '''supertonic chord'''. In [[Roman numeral analysis]], the supertonic chord is typically symbolized by the Roman numeral "ii" in a major [[Key (music)|key]], indicating that the chord is a [[minor chord]] (in C: D–F–A). In a minor key, it is indicated by "ii{{music|dim}}," indicating that the chord is a [[Diminished triad|diminished chord]] (in C: D–F–A{{music|b}}). Because it is a diminished chord, it usually appears in [[first inversion]] (ii<sup>o6</sup>) so that no note [[Dissonate|dissonates]] with the [[bass note]].

These chords may also appear as [[Seventh chord|seventh chords]]: in major, as ii<sup>7</sup> (in C: D–F–A–C), while in minor as ii{{music|halfdim}}<sup>7</sup> (in C: D–F–A{{music|b}}–C) or rarely ii<sup>7</sup>. They are the second-most common form of [[Nondominant seventh chord|nondominant seventh chords]].<ref name="K&P 246">{{Cite book|title=Tonal Harmony|last1=Kostka|first1=Stefan|author1-link=Stefan Kostka|last2=Payne|first2=Dorothy|date=2004|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0072852607|edition=5th|location=Boston|pages=216|oclc=51613969}}</ref>
<blockquote><score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
   \clef treble
   \time 4/4
   \key c \major
   <d f a c>1_\markup { \concat { "ii" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"

   \clef treble
   \time 4/4
   \key c \minor
   <d f aes c>1_\markup { \concat { "ii" \raise #1 \small "ø7" } }
   <d f a c>^\markup { "rare" }_\markup { \concat { "ii" \raise #1 \small "7" } } \bar "||"
} }
</score>
{|
|[[File:Minor seventh chord on d ii7 in C.mid|thumb|120px|none|ii{{sup|7}} (first and third chords)]]||[[File:Half-diminished seventh chord on supertonic in C minor.mid|thumb|120px|none|ii{{music|halfdim}}{{music|7 chord}} (second chord)]]
|}
</blockquote>

[[File:Ii-V-I turnaround in C.png|thumb|Supertonic (ii) in [[ii–V–I progression]] on C, found at the end of the [[circle progression]][[File:Ii-V-I turnaround in C.mid]]]]

The supertonic chord normally functions as a [[predominant chord]], a chord that resolves to a chord with [[dominant function]]. The supertonic chord lies a [[Perfect fifth|fifth]] above the V chord. Descending fifths are a strong basis for harmonic motion (see [[circle of fifths]]). The supertonic is one of the strongest predominants.

[[File:Acorde de sexta napolitana.png|thumb|In C major: A Neapolitan sixth chord in first inversion contains an interval of a sixth between F and D{{music|flat}}[[File:Neapolitan sixth.mid]]]]
[[File:Common-tone diminished seventh chord.png|thumb|right|Common-tone diminished seventh chord resolving to I{{music|6 chord}}[[File:Common-tone diminished seventh chord.mid]]]]

In major or minor, the major chord built on the lowered supertonic ({{music|b}}{{music|scale|2}}) is called a [[Neapolitan chord]] (in C: D{{music|b}}–F–A{{music|b}}), notated as N<sup>6</sup> or {{music|b}}II<sup>6</sup>, usually used in first inversion. The supertonic may be raised as part of the [[common-tone diminished seventh chord]], {{music|#}}ii{{music|dim}}<sup>7</sup> (in C: D{{music|#}}–F{{music|#}}–A–C). One variant of the supertonic seventh chord is the supertonic diminished seventh<ref>[[Charles Herbert Kitson|Kitson, C. H.]] (2006). ''Elementary Harmony'', p. 43. {{ISBN|1-4067-9372-8}}.</ref> with the raised supertonic, which equals the lowered third through [[enharmonic equivalence]] (in C: D{{music|#}}=E{{music|b}}).

The term ''supertonic'' may also refer to a relationship of musical keys. For example, relative to the key of C major, the key of D major (or D minor) is the supertonic.

In [[Riemannian theory]], the supertonic is considered the [[parallel and counter parallel|subdominant parallel]]: Sp/T in major though sP/T in minor (A{{music|b}}M).

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{degrees}}

[[Category:Diatonic functions]]
[[Category:Scale degrees|2]]