Raise the dominant's 5th and it becomes a leading tone aimed at the tonic chord's 3rd — now TWO voices in the 5 chord are leaning upward by half step. Vintage doo-wop and gospel use 5⁺ as the last-second shove; it makes an ordinary cadence feel like it exhales.
hear it in doo-wop last-line pushes · “Oh! Darling” energy
Lead-in — how players set it upFrom 4, the classic pre-cadence station before the lean.Or from 2-⁷ — the ii–V with a raised eyebrow.Or let the line climb into it: 5, 5⁺, then release.Follow — where it usually goes1 lands with both raised voices resolved — tag with 6-⁷.Resolve to 1 sixth-flavored — the doo-wop landing.Or deceive: 5⁺ leans, 6- catches.
The ♯5 wants the 6 — wait: over 5⁺ resolving to 1, the ♯5 rises to the 1 chord's 3rd. One semitone of light.Target tones (in C)C — lean on E (3)G+ — lean on B (3)C — lean on E (3)Half-step wiresC ↘ B · E ↘ D# · B → C · D# → E