subdominant
theorysub-DOM-ih-nunt
The fourth degree of a scale and the chord built on it, creating a sense of departure from the tonic.
The subdominant (IV chord) is one of the three primary chords in tonal harmony, alongside the tonic (I) and dominant (V). It creates a feeling of moving away from home without the urgency of the dominant. The plagal cadence (IV-I) uses the subdominant for its gentle, hymnlike resolution. In blues, the move from I to IV is one of the most important harmonic events. The subdominant is called sub-dominant not because it is below the dominant but because it is a fifth below the tonic.
The Amen cadence (IV-I) is so called because it is the harmonic progression sung to the word Amen at the end of virtually every Christian hymn.