Diatonic function
Encyclopedia
In tonal
music theory
, a diatonic function (also chord area) is the specific, recognized role
of each of the 7 note
s and their chord
s in relation to the diatonic key
. In this context, role means the degree of tension produced by moving toward a note, chord or scale other than the tonic, and how this musical tension would be eased (resolved) towards the stability of returning to the tonic chord, note, or scale (namely, function).
Three general and inseparable essential features of harmonic function in tonal music are:
A fourth feature is the ambiguity that arises from the use of the same terms to describe functions across all temporal spans of a hierarchical structure from the surface to the deepest level, and that the longer term or deeper functions act as a center for shorter higher level ones and that the functions of each tend to counteract each other. "Harmonic function essentially results from the judgment that certain chords and tonal combinations sound and behave alike, even though these individuals might not be analyzed into equivalent harmonic classes," for example V and VII. "Harmonic function is more about...similarity than equivalence".
Pandiatonic
music is diatonic music without the use of diatonic functions.
and his textbooks on harmony in the late 19th century, with roots back to Jean-Philippe Rameau
's theoretical works amongst others. His main idea was to create a comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding the principles of harmonic relationships typical for the Baroque
, Classical and Romantic
periods. His work had huge impact, especially where German influence was strong. A good example in this regard are the textbooks by Hermann Grabner.
Riemann's basic theories have since been adopted, refined and elaborated upon by many authors of textbooks in harmony, arranging and composition. Functional harmony is being taught as a basic discipline in music theory all over the western world, though different labels are used. Other terms used in the English and American tradition include Common Practice Harmony (stemming from Walter Piston
), Tonal harmony (as used by Allen Forte
), and Traditional harmony (as used by Gordon Delamont. Vincent Persichetti
describes the 19th century harmonic repertoire as "chords evolving around the tonic pillars" (tonic
, subdominant
, dominant
).
Nonfunctional harmony, the opposite of functional harmony
, is harmony whose progression
is not guided by function.
of a diatonic scale, as well as each of many chromatically-altered notes, has a different diatonic function as does each chord
built upon those notes. A pitch
or pitch class
and its enharmonic
equivalents have different meanings. For example, a C♯ cannot substitute for a Db, even though in equal temperament
they are identical pitches, because the Db can serve as the minor third
of a Bb minor chord
while a C♯ cannot, and the C♯ can serve as the fifth
degree
of an F♯ major scale
, while a Db cannot.
In music theory, as it is commonly taught in the US, there are seven different functions. In Germany, from the theories of Hugo Riemann
, there are only three, and functions other than the tonic, subdominant and dominant are called their "parallels" (US: "relatives"). See Functional harmony. For instance, in the key of C major, an A minor (chord, scale, or, sometimes, the note A itself) is the Tonic parallel, or Tp. (German musicians use only uppercase note letters and Roman numeral abbreviations, while in the US, upper- and lowercase are usually used to designate major or augmented, and minor or diminished, respectively.) In the US, it would be referred to as the "relative minor."
As d'Indy summarizes:
In the United States, Germany, and other places the diatonic functions are:
Note that the ii, iii, vi, and vii are lowercase; this is because in relation to the key, they are minor chords. Without accidental
s, the vii is a diminished vii°.
of a major chord in root position is its bass note
, but, symmetrically, the 'root' of a minor chord in root position is the fifth
(for example CEG and ACE). The plus
and degree symbol
s, + and °, are used to denote that the lower tone of the fifth is the root, as in major, +d, or the higher, as in minor, °d. Thus, if the major tonic parallel is the tonic, with the fifth raised a whole tone, then the minor tonic parallel is the tonic with the US root/German fifth lowered a whole tone.
If chords may be formed by raising (major) or lowering (minor) the fifth a whole step, they may also be formed by lowering (major) or raising (minor) the root a half-step to wechsel, the leading tone or leitton. These chords are Leittonwechselklänge (literally: "leading-tone changing sounds"), sometimes called gegenklang or "contrast chord".
(in which, therefore, scale degree II is closer to the dominant than scale degree IV)." According to Goldman's Harmony in Western Music, "the IV chord is actually, in the simplest mechanisms of diatonic relationships, at the greatest distance from I. In terms of the circle of fifths, it leads away from I, rather than toward it." Thus the progression I-ii-V-I would comply more with tonal logic. However, Goldman, as well as Jean-Jacques Nattiez
, points out that "the chord on the fourth degree appears long before the chord on II, and the subsequent final I, in the progression I-IV-viio-iii-vi-ii-V-I." Goldman also points out that, "historically the use of the IV chord in harmonic design, and especially in cadences, exhibits some curious features. By and large, one can say that the use of IV in final cadences becomes more common in the nineteenth century than it was in the eighteenth, but that it may also be understood as a substitute for the ii chord when it precedes V. It may also be quite logically construed as an incomplete ii7 chord (lacking root)." However, Nattiez calls this, "a narrow escape: only the theory of a ii chord without a root allows Goldman to maintain that the circle of fifths is completely valid from Bach to Wagner."
, and especially tonicization
s, are often notated in relation to the function--in the original key--of the chord being tonicized. For example, in C major, a D major chord is notated as II, but during a tonicization of a G major chord, it would be notated as it is functioning in G major but with the G also notated as it functions as the dominant of C major. The standard notation for this is: V/V (five of five). For example, the twelve bar blues
turnaround
, I-V-IV-I, considered tonally inadmissible, may be interpreted as a doubled plagal cadence, IV/V-V-IV-I (IV/V-I/V, IV/I-I/I).
Other functions serve to support the Tonic and Dominant functions listed above:
The dominant, dominant preparation and the tonic substitution all involve more than one scale degree with only the tonic and subdominant containing only one scale degree. Several scale degrees exercise more than one function.
The tonic includes four separate activities or roles as the:
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
, a diatonic function (also chord area) is the specific, recognized role
Role
A role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behaviour and may have a given individual social status or social position...
of each of the 7 note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
s and their chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
s in relation to the diatonic key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
. In this context, role means the degree of tension produced by moving toward a note, chord or scale other than the tonic, and how this musical tension would be eased (resolved) towards the stability of returning to the tonic chord, note, or scale (namely, function).
Three general and inseparable essential features of harmonic function in tonal music are:
- Position within a gamut (the available collection) of notes determines a note's function
- Each note within the gamut is a generator and collector of other notes in the gamut, in other words both the rootRoot (chord)In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
and its chord exercise function, and - Exercise and identification of function depends on musical behaviour or structureMusical formThe term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
.
A fourth feature is the ambiguity that arises from the use of the same terms to describe functions across all temporal spans of a hierarchical structure from the surface to the deepest level, and that the longer term or deeper functions act as a center for shorter higher level ones and that the functions of each tend to counteract each other. "Harmonic function essentially results from the judgment that certain chords and tonal combinations sound and behave alike, even though these individuals might not be analyzed into equivalent harmonic classes," for example V and VII. "Harmonic function is more about...similarity than equivalence".
Pandiatonic
Pandiatonic
In music, pandiatonicism refers to the technique of using the diatonic scale without the limitations of functional tonality. Pandiatonic music typically uses the notes of the diatonic scale freely in dissonant combinations without conventional resolutions and/or without standard chord...
music is diatonic music without the use of diatonic functions.
Functional harmony
The term functional harmony derives from Hugo RiemannHugo Riemann
Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann was a German music theorist.-Biography:Riemann was born at Grossmehlra, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He was educated in theory by Frankenberger, studied the piano with Barthel and Ratzenberger, studied law, and finally philosophy and history at Berlin and Tübingen...
and his textbooks on harmony in the late 19th century, with roots back to Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
's theoretical works amongst others. His main idea was to create a comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding the principles of harmonic relationships typical for the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, Classical and Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
periods. His work had huge impact, especially where German influence was strong. A good example in this regard are the textbooks by Hermann Grabner.
Riemann's basic theories have since been adopted, refined and elaborated upon by many authors of textbooks in harmony, arranging and composition. Functional harmony is being taught as a basic discipline in music theory all over the western world, though different labels are used. Other terms used in the English and American tradition include Common Practice Harmony (stemming from Walter Piston
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
), Tonal harmony (as used by Allen Forte
Allen Forte
Allen Forte is a music theorist and musicologist. He was born in Portland, Oregon and fought in the Navy at the close of World War II before moving to the East Coast. He is now Battell Professor of Music, Emeritus at Yale University...
), and Traditional harmony (as used by Gordon Delamont. Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
describes the 19th century harmonic repertoire as "chords evolving around the tonic pillars" (tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
, subdominant
Subdominant
In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...
, dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
).
Nonfunctional harmony, the opposite of functional harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, is harmony whose progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
is not guided by function.
Diatonic functions of notes and chords
Each degreeDegree (music)
In music theory, a scale degree or scale step is the name of a particular note of a scale in relation to the tonic...
of a diatonic scale, as well as each of many chromatically-altered notes, has a different diatonic function as does each chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
built upon those notes. A pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
or pitch class
Pitch class
In music, a pitch class is a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart, e.g., the pitch class C consists of the Cs in all octaves...
and its enharmonic
Enharmonic
In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
equivalents have different meanings. For example, a C♯ cannot substitute for a Db, even though in equal temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
they are identical pitches, because the Db can serve as the minor third
Minor third
In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the minor third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor third spans three semitones, the major...
of a Bb minor chord
Minor chord
In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
while a C♯ cannot, and the C♯ can serve as the fifth
Fifth
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.Fifth may refer to:* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "Pleading the Fifth"* Fifth column - a political term...
degree
Degree (music)
In music theory, a scale degree or scale step is the name of a particular note of a scale in relation to the tonic...
of an F♯ major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
, while a Db cannot.
In music theory, as it is commonly taught in the US, there are seven different functions. In Germany, from the theories of Hugo Riemann
Hugo Riemann
Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann was a German music theorist.-Biography:Riemann was born at Grossmehlra, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He was educated in theory by Frankenberger, studied the piano with Barthel and Ratzenberger, studied law, and finally philosophy and history at Berlin and Tübingen...
, there are only three, and functions other than the tonic, subdominant and dominant are called their "parallels" (US: "relatives"). See Functional harmony. For instance, in the key of C major, an A minor (chord, scale, or, sometimes, the note A itself) is the Tonic parallel, or Tp. (German musicians use only uppercase note letters and Roman numeral abbreviations, while in the US, upper- and lowercase are usually used to designate major or augmented, and minor or diminished, respectively.) In the US, it would be referred to as the "relative minor."
As d'Indy summarizes:
In the United States, Germany, and other places the diatonic functions are:
| Function | Roman Numeral | English | German | German abbreviation |
| Tonic Tonic (music) In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord... |
I | Tonic | Tonika | T |
| Supertonic Supertonic In music or music theory, the supertonic is the second degree or note of a diatonic scale, one step above the tonic. In music theory, the supertonic chord is symbolized by the Roman numeral ii in a major scale, indicating that the chord is a minor chord , or ii in a natural minor scale, indicating... |
ii | Subdominant parallel Subdominant parallel In music theory, the subdominant parallel is the relative to the subdominant and is thus considered to have or fulfill the function of the subdominant. The term is derived from German theory and the writings of Hugo Riemann.... |
Subdominanten-Parallele | Sp |
| Mediant Mediant In music, the mediant is the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, being the note halfway between the tonic and the dominant. Similarly, the submediant is halfway between the tonic and subdominant... |
iii | Dominant parallel Dominant parallel In music theory, the dominant parallel is terminology used in German theory derived mainly from Hugo Riemann. The dominant parallel is abbreviated Dp, in major, and dP, in minor, where a capital letter denotes a major chord and a lowercase letter denotes a minor chord... /Tonic counter parallel Counter parallel In music theory, the counter parallel is terminology used in German theory derived mainly from Hugo Riemann to refer to relative diatonic functions and is abbreviated Tcp in major and tCp in minor... |
Dominanten-Parallele | Dp/Tkp |
| Subdominant Subdominant In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately... |
IV | Subdominant Subdominant In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately... |
Subdominante | S |
| Dominant Dominant (music) In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale... |
V | Dominant | Dominante | D |
| Submediant Submediant In music, the submediant is the sixth scale degree of the diatonic scale, the 'lower mediant' halfway between the tonic and the subdominant or 'lower dominant'... |
vi | Tonic parallel Tonic parallel In music theory, the tonic parallel is a diatonic function and chord, relative to the tonic, and thus considered to have or fulfill the function of the tonic. The term is used in German theory and derives from the work of Hugo Riemann. It is abbreviated "Tp" in major and "tP" in minor.In C major:*... |
Tonika-Parallele | Tp |
| Leading/Subtonic Subtonic In music, the subtonic or flattened seventh is the lowered or minor seventh degree of the scale, a whole step below the tonic, as opposed to the leading tone... |
vii | incomplete Dominant seventh | verkürzter Dominant-Sept-Akkord | diagonally slashed D7 (D̸7) |
Note that the ii, iii, vi, and vii are lowercase; this is because in relation to the key, they are minor chords. Without accidental
Accidental (music)
In music, an accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the symbols used to mark such notes, sharps , flats , and naturals , may also be called accidentals...
s, the vii is a diminished vii°.
- The degrees listed according to function, in hierarchical order according to importance or centeredness (related to the tonic): I, V, IV, vi, iii, ii, vii°. The first three chords are major, the next three are minor, and the last one is diminished.
- The tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords, in root position, each followed by its parallel. The parallel is formed by raising the fifth a whole tone; the root position of the parallel chords is indicated by the small noteheads.
Functions in the minor mode
In the US the minor mode or scale is considered a variant of the major, while in German theory it is often considered, per Riemann, the inversion of the major. In the late eighteenth-early nineteenth centuries a large number of symmetrical chords and relations were known as "dualistic" harmony. The rootRoot (chord)
In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
of a major chord in root position is its bass note
Bass note
In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice. While the bass note is often the root or fundamental of the chord, it does not have to be, and sometimes one of the other...
, but, symmetrically, the 'root' of a minor chord in root position is the fifth
Fifth (chord)
In music, the fifth factor of a chord is the note or pitch five scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the fifth is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in second inversion ....
(for example CEG and ACE). The plus
Plus and minus signs
The plus and minus signs are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative as well as the operations of addition and subtraction. Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous...
and degree symbol
Degree symbol
The degree symbol is a typographical symbol that is used, among other things, to represent degrees of arc or degrees of temperature...
s, + and °, are used to denote that the lower tone of the fifth is the root, as in major, +d, or the higher, as in minor, °d. Thus, if the major tonic parallel is the tonic, with the fifth raised a whole tone, then the minor tonic parallel is the tonic with the US root/German fifth lowered a whole tone.
| Major | Minor | ||||
| Parallel | Note letter in C | US name | Parallel | Note letter in C | US name |
| Tp | A minor | Submediant | tP | Eb major | Mediant |
| Sp | D minor | Supertonic | sP | Ab major | Submediant |
| Dp | E minor | Mediant | dP | Bb major | Subtonic |
- The minor tonic, subdominant, dominant, and their parallels, created by lowering the fifth (German)/root (US) a whole tone.
If chords may be formed by raising (major) or lowering (minor) the fifth a whole step, they may also be formed by lowering (major) or raising (minor) the root a half-step to wechsel, the leading tone or leitton. These chords are Leittonwechselklänge (literally: "leading-tone changing sounds"), sometimes called gegenklang or "contrast chord".
| Mode | Key | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Major | E minor | Tl |
| A minor | Sl | |
| B minor | Dl | |
| Minor | Ab major | tL |
| Db major | sL | |
| Eb major | dL |
- Major Leittonwechselklänge, formed by lowering the root a half step.
- Minor Leittonwechselklänge, formed by raising the root (US)/fifth (German) a half step.
Quotes
- Three categories can appear in any one of three chordal guises in either of two modes, eighteen positions in all: T, Tp, Tl, t, tP, tL, S, Sp, Sl, s, sP, sL, D, Dp, Dl, d, dP, dL. Why all this complexity? Perhaps the central reason is that this ingenious, occasionally convoluted system enabled Riemann to achieve a grand and masterful synthesis of both the old and the new in late 19-century music. Ostensibly remote triads could be interpreted through the traditional terms of the I-IV-V-I, or now T-S-D-T, cadential schema. A sequence of Ab-major, Bb-major, and C-major chords, for example, could be neatly interpreted as a subdominant (sP) to dominant (dP) to tonic (T) progression in C-major, a reading of these chords not without support in certain late-Romantic cadences. And a chord that often perplexes harmony students, the Neapolitan chord Db major in a C-major context, could be shown to be nothing more than a minor-mode subdominant Leittonwechselklang (sL).
- Some may at first be put off by the overt theorizing apparent in German harmony, wishing perhaps that a choice be made once and for all between Riemann's Funktionstheorie and the older Stufentheorie, or possibly believing that so-called linear theories have settled all earlier disputes. Yet this ongoing conflict between antithetical theories, with its attendant uncertainties and complexities, has special merits. In particular, whereas an English-speaking student may falsely believe that he or she is learning harmony "as it really is," the German student encounters what are obviously theoretical constructs and must deal with them accordingly.
Circle of fifths
Another theory regarding harmonic functionality is that "functional succession is explained by the circle of fifthsCircle of fifths
In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys...
(in which, therefore, scale degree II is closer to the dominant than scale degree IV)." According to Goldman's Harmony in Western Music, "the IV chord is actually, in the simplest mechanisms of diatonic relationships, at the greatest distance from I. In terms of the circle of fifths, it leads away from I, rather than toward it." Thus the progression I-ii-V-I would comply more with tonal logic. However, Goldman, as well as Jean-Jacques Nattiez
Jean-Jacques Nattiez
Jean-Jacques Nattiez, CM, CQ, FRSC is a musical semiologist or semiotician and professor of Musicology at the Université de Montréal...
, points out that "the chord on the fourth degree appears long before the chord on II, and the subsequent final I, in the progression I-IV-viio-iii-vi-ii-V-I." Goldman also points out that, "historically the use of the IV chord in harmonic design, and especially in cadences, exhibits some curious features. By and large, one can say that the use of IV in final cadences becomes more common in the nineteenth century than it was in the eighteenth, but that it may also be understood as a substitute for the ii chord when it precedes V. It may also be quite logically construed as an incomplete ii7 chord (lacking root)." However, Nattiez calls this, "a narrow escape: only the theory of a ii chord without a root allows Goldman to maintain that the circle of fifths is completely valid from Bach to Wagner."
Tonicization and modulation
Functions during or after modulationsModulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
, and especially tonicization
Tonicization
In music, tonicization is the treatment of a pitch other than the overall tonic as a temporary tonic in a composition. Tonicization is achieved through the use of the scale and harmonies of the tonicized key. The most common method of tonicization uses leading tones, dominant-tonic chord...
s, are often notated in relation to the function--in the original key--of the chord being tonicized. For example, in C major, a D major chord is notated as II, but during a tonicization of a G major chord, it would be notated as it is functioning in G major but with the G also notated as it functions as the dominant of C major. The standard notation for this is: V/V (five of five). For example, the twelve bar blues
Twelve bar blues
The 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration...
turnaround
Turnaround (music)
In jazz, a turnaround is a passage at the end of a section which leads to the next section. This next section is most often the repetition of the previous section or the entire piece or song...
, I-V-IV-I, considered tonally inadmissible, may be interpreted as a doubled plagal cadence, IV/V-V-IV-I (IV/V-I/V, IV/I-I/I).
Functional behaviours
From the viewpoint of musical behaviour or structure there are three essential functions:| Chord | Inversion |
|---|---|
| Tonic Tonic (music) In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord... |
I |
| Dominant Dominant (music) In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale... |
V |
| vii | |
| Predominant Predominant In music theory, a predominant chord is any chord which normally resolves to a dominant chord. Examples of predominant chords are the subdominant , supertonic , Neapolitan sixth and German sixth. Other examples are the submediant , secondary dominant , iv and ii°... |
IV |
| ii |
Other functions serve to support the Tonic and Dominant functions listed above:
- Dominant preparation
- Tonic substitution or extension
The dominant, dominant preparation and the tonic substitution all involve more than one scale degree with only the tonic and subdominant containing only one scale degree. Several scale degrees exercise more than one function.
The tonic includes four separate activities or roles as the:
- Principal goal tone or event
- Initiating event
- Generator of other tones, and the
- Stable center neutralizing the tension between dominant and subdominant, while the dominant has only the role of creating instability that requires the tonic or goal-tone for release.
- The subdominant also acts as a dominant preparation. A tonic extension is an elaboration of an initiating event while substitution is an alteration of a cadential point or goal tone. Many of these functions may still be found in post-tonal music.
See also
- Common practice periodCommon practice periodThe common practice period, in the history of Western art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from c. 1600 to c. 1900.-General characteristics:...
- Constant structureConstant structureIn jazz, a constant structure is a chord progression consisting of three or more chords of the same type or quality. Popularized by pianists Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, the combination of functional and non-functional chords provides cohesiveness while producing a free and shifting tonal...
- Diatonic and chromaticDiatonic and chromaticDiatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony...
- Nondominant seventh chordNondominant seventh chordIn music theory, a nondominant seventh chord is a chord which is a diatonic chord that is a seventh chord but that does not possess dominant function and thus is not a dominant seventh chord....
- Secondary dominantSecondary dominantSecondary dominant is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device, prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period...
- Subsidiary chordSubsidiary chordIn music and musical analysis, a subsidiary chord is an elaboration of a principal harmonic chord in a chord progression.If the principal chord is partially replaced by the subsidiary , there are three possible positions - beginning, middle, and end - for the subsidiary:For example, a subsidiary...
Further reading
- Innig, Renate (1970). System der Funktionsbezeichnung in den Harmonielehren seit Hugo Riemann. Düsseldorf: Gesellschaft zur Förderung der systematischen Musikwissenschaft. [German]
- Rehding, Alexander: Hugo Riemann and the Birth of Modern Musical Thought (New Perspectives in Music History and Criticism). Cambridge University Press (2003). ISBN 0521820731.
- Riemann, Hugo: Vereinfachte Harmonielehre, oder die Lehre von den tonalen Funktionen der Akkorde (1893). ASIN: B0017UOATO.
- Schoenberg, Arnold: Structural Functions of Harmony. W.W.Norton & Co. (1954, 1969) ISBN 0393004783, 0393020894.
External links
- Example of Music theory course description from Juilliard: "Principles of harmony".