dissecting music

In the last article we took a look on how different chords that have been derived from the same scale, interact with each other, when played together. We’ll bring this topic to a conclusion now and then we’ll try to define a set of broadly applicable rules of harmony. Then we’ll talk about breaking them. Let’s go.

We ended the discussion on a cliffhanger concerning the funtion of the III and VI chords. Lets end it undramatically: they have Tonic funtion as well. They both can be played after a chord with Dominant function and will give a sense of resolution, however not the same kind of complete resolution you get if you target the I chord. This means, you will likely not end a piece on these, but they work perfectly fine as tonic function chords in the beginning or middle of a chord progression. So this:

III II V I

or this:

VI II V I

You may also build a much longer chain like so:

IV VII III VI II V I

The very attentive might notice that the last progression doesnt adhere to the principles we talked about so far. There is a III chord, which has tonic function and then there is another chord, the VI, also with tonic function right after that one. “What the hell Paul”, you may ask, “why do you torment us with your inconsistent analogies?”, and rightly so. But a closer look will reveal why this works so well.

Both share two out of three notes with the I chord. The function of a chord is made up of the tendencies of it’s individual notes. If enough notes are identical, the chords become interchangeable. This also means that chords of the same function can be played successively. There is even a reason why I chose this particular order of chords, which we’ll take a look on as well.

Just like with Tonic function chords, the same can be done with Dominant and Sub-Dominant chords. The reason is the same: They always have enough notes in common.

Now, let’s take our harmony even further. So far we have only dealt with triads. If we densen up our harmony just a tiny little bit, it makes even more sense. To do so, we just have to apply the method of building harmony we already know from the first article in this series and go one step ahead. We’ve built our triads by stacking thirds on top of the individual notes of a scale. Which thirds we stacked was determined by the scale we used. What would we get if we put another third on top of each pile?

We’d get tetrads – 4-note-chords! They work just the same way as the triads but the extra note in the chord, which is called the seventh, also adds an extra tendency to move into a certain direction. This is particularly important for Dominant function chords, as it strengthens their pull towards home base even further.

This game of stacking thirds can be extended all the way up to 13th chords, by the way. There are good reasons for a denser harmony just like there are good reasons against it – it all depends on the context. For now let’s focus on the matters at hand.

As you can see, there is an even bigger similarity between chords of tonic function, if we think of them as tetrads. The same applies for Sub-Dominant and Dominant Chords:

Rules of Functional Harmony

Whenever we speak about rules in music, a set of guidelines is ment that is applicable within a certain paradigm or scope. Functional Harmony is a very powerful paradigm. For most of contemporary music, it’s rules apply most of the time. A good way of thinking about these rules is to not see them as absolute truths but as methods to predict a listeners expectations. The rules of functional harmony represent the “standard way” of a human ear to hear. A music creator should understand those rules and be able to use them to either fulfill the listeners expectations or defy them. So my advice for anybody making music is: First learn the rules and then learn how to break them creatively. In the following I will try to formulate a set of rules that are ment to be broadly applicable.

• Sets of chords that can be derived from the same diatonic scale will stand in a functional relation with each other.
  • therefore, our brain not only relates the notes of a chord to each other, but also back to the root of the scale we are in.

• A chord can have one of three functions (Tonic, Sub-Dominant and Dominant) and as extensions of this rule:
  • chords of the same function are interchangeable.
  • chords of the same function can be played successively.

• Chords are played in a specific order, relating back to their functions, namely: Tonic, Sub-Dominant, Dominant, Tonic.
  • a progression can begin anywhere in this order.

• A denser harmony doesnt influence the function of a chord as long as it stems from the same key. It may strengthen the pull to the next chord though, or make the chord more dissonant.

• Our ears/brains hear chord progressions preferably in the Circle of 4ths and will try to interpret them as such if possible.

• These rules are the most effective if used together with appropriate Chord Durations & Harmonic Rythm.

So. This was a lot. Lets go over them briefly.

The first rule simply states that functional harmony exists and is bound to play a role if chords are derived from a scale. The second rule describes how to alternate between the functions effectively. Rule number 3 is a reminder that beefing up a chord doesnt change it’s nature. It is rule number 4 and 5 where it gets confusing. These need further explanation.

The Circle of 4ths is a device we can use to navigate through harmony. As stated, our brain uses it by default. In the article Systematical practice in the circle of 4, I will thoroughly explain it, before showing it’s uses for practice.

Harmonic Rythm is the rate at which the chords change. With Chord Durations I mean how long the individual chords are played for. I wan’t readers to be able to apply this stuff after all this reading, this is why I’ll write an article that will display how these rules can be used to build solid progressions under consideration of the Chord Duration & Harmonic Rythm.

I hope this introduction to harmony was helpful and will prove even more helpful in the future. I’d advise any reader to keep the rules of functional harmony in mind. Often things get clearer as the concept is seen in action or further concepts are learned. At this point, I would advise you to derive the chords of some scales other than C-Major like you learned in the last article and then to get creative with them and write a few chord progressions using the rules learned from this article. In order to do this correctly, also refer to my Guide on keys, sharps and flats.

Once a good grasp of functional harmony has been achieved, the logical next would be to dive into melody. For these purposes I have written An Introduction To Melody. The next step in the realms of harmony would be what I think of as functional harmony’s evolution, Modal Interchange. It makes the wonderfully colourful world of harmony even more colourful, so I hope you’ll be looking forward to Chord Progressions & Modal Interchange.