A V7 chord may resolve to ANY chord:

More deceptive cadences

Through a combination of the principles we have discussed, a dominant chord can move to practically any
other chord. It can be fascinating to hear a V7 resolve unexpectedly in a tune, leaving the listener
convinced that the progression sounds right, but at the same time lacking an immediate explanation as to
"why?"
Obviously, in analysis it is a simple task to assign Roman numerals to any progression, but that does little
to explain why an unusual progression is effective and convincing. For the purpose of applying what you
have learned it is far better to have an understanding of both the "how" and the "why." Many musicians
learn HOW progressions work, but fail to reach the deeper level of understanding that comes with
comprehending why chords move as they do.
"Why" requires an abstract understanding of the source of a given chord progression. An understanding of
why chords move as they do will facilitate remembering how they move.
First Tier
V7 tonic family and their relationships
Harmonic progression
Intervallic root movement
Key of C (and relatives)
G7 C7
G7 E-7 (secondary rel. min.)
G7 A-7 (primary rel. min.)

up a 4th (down a 5th)

down a minor 3rd
up a whole step

Key of Cminor (and relatives)

G7 C-7 (parallel min.)
G7 Eb7 (primary rel. min.)
G7 Ab7 (secondary rel. min.)

up a 4th (down a 5th)

down a major 3rd
up a 1/2 step

Using the logic from above and keeping only to Major7 quality resolutions list two other dominant chords that
could resolve to Cmaj7

G7
____
____

C 7
____
____

Second Tier
From the fact that dominant 7th chords a b5th apart are related to each other because they share the tritone we get
the second set of subsitutions:
SubV7/
Db7 C7
Db7 E-7 (secondary rel. min.)
Db7 A-7 (primary rel. min.)

down a 1/2 step

up a minor 3rd
down a major 3rd

Db7 C-7 (parallel min.)

Db7 Eb7 (primary rel. min.)
Db7 Ab7 (secondary rel. min)

down a 1/2 step

up a whole step
down a 4th (up a 5th) Plagal cadence

Using the logic from above list the three other dominant chords that could resolve to Cmaj7. While there are two
example from above it has already been demonstrated as a possibility from the previous example

Db7
____
____

C 7
____
____

Based on the models from above (using the relativity of major/min) and only looking at Maj7th chords as
resolutions there are a total of SIX PRIMARY WAYS that a dominant 7th chord can move to a resolving
C7.
Third tier
Because of the original theory of V7 going to either I or i one may generalize that if resolving chords
are minor 7th in quality we can shift to their parallel major counterparts. Thus, two more dominant 7th
chord substitutions can be applied.
____
____

C 7
____

These substitutes are often explained through whole-tone substitution. Because a dom7#5 chord can be
found to be wholly constructed with the whole-tone scale dominant 7th chords can move in whole steps.
Fourth tier
Basic music theory teaches us that chord tones may be approached through either upper or lower leading
tones (or in combination). Combining such tones creates other options for resolutions. Many of the
examples above are, at least, subconsciously logical because of this or can be made more aurally
acceptable by using extensions or alterations that exploit this.
For example the tri-tone within the G7 chord [F&B the 4th and 7th of the parent scale of Cmajor]
resolves in contrary motion to E and C [3rd & Root] of the C chord.
In a C triad the fifth and third may also be arrived at through contrary motion:
Ab G (upper leading tone)
D# E (lower leading tone) enharmonically spelled as Eb
If we keep a common tone of C in between the Ab and Eb we have a bIV major chord. And, since a Gb
(F# enharmonically spelled) is, at once, the lower leading tone of G and the b7 of the Ab we may use an
Ab7 chord to resolve to C
We also get a common popular music substitution through this concept minor subdominant [iv] to I
Because Ab major and f minor are relatives.
So, a V7 chord may resolve up a major 3rd
The SubV7/ of this gives us a Dom7th chord that resolves down a whole step

Fifth tier
We have covered 10 pitch classes of possible root movement of a 7th chord.
The last substitute possible is moving a 7th chord the interval of a tri-tone to a resolving chord. While this
is only occasionally used in jazz, there is no agreement among theorists as to why it works. It simply
sounds convincing, or as Debussy might say, follows the rule of hearing.* (see below)

One final mind blowing point: A dominant 7th chord may substitute for any maj7 or min7 chord on the
same root providing even more possibilities when comping and improvising.
Because (at least theoretically) it can go anywhere, right? J

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*When questioned about his harmonic chemistry Debussy said that he wrote for his pleasure and
followed only the rule of hearing. Like Domenico Scarlatti almost 150 years earlier, he felt that since
his music did not offend the only sense for which it was intended hearing breaking the formal rules
was perfectly acceptable.
To Debussy, who at the time was exploring alternatives to the goal-driven European classical tradition,
this Javanese music came as a revelation. In an 1895 letter to his friend Pierre Lous, Debussy wrote
But my poor friend! Do you remember the Javanese music, able to express every shade of meaning, even
unmentionable shades . . . which make our tonic and dominant seem like ghosts, for use by naughty little
children? (Correspondence de Claude Debussy et Pierre Lous (1893-1904), ed. Henri Borgeaud
[Paris: Librairie Jose Corti, 1945], p. 41, quoted in Tamagawa, p. 21)
Again in a 1913 Revue S.I.M. article, Debussy writes:
There used to be--indeed, despite the troubles that civilization has brought, there still are--some wonderful
peoples who learn music as easily as one learns to breathe. Their school consists of the eternal rhythm of
the sea, the wind in the leaves, and a thousand other tiny noises, which they listen to with great care,
without ever having consulted any of those dubious treatises! Their traditions are preserved only in
ancient songs, sometimes involving dance, to which each individual adds his own contribution century by
century. Thus Javanese music obeys laws of counterpoint which make Palestrina seem like childs play.
And if one listens to it without being prejudiced by ones European ears, one will find a percussive charm
that forces one to admit that our own music is not much more than a barbarous kind of noise more fit for a
traveling circus. (Debussy on Music, trans. Richard Langham Smith, [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977],
quoted in Tamagawa, p. 22)