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Basic Harmony and Substitutions

Medicine, to produce health, has to examine disease; and music,

to create harmony, must investigate discord.
- Plutarch

1. Table of Basic Harmonic Functions

Name: Degree of scale: Harmonic Function: Example:

Tonic (root) I Tonic Cmaj7

Supertonic ii Subdominant Dmin7
Mediant iii (parallel to) dominant / Emin7
often used to replace tonic
Subdominant IV Subdominant Fmaj7
Dominant V Dominant G7
Submediant vi (parallel to) tonic Amin7
Leading tone vii Dominant Bdim, Bmin7b5

(Here, small Roman numerals indicate minor chords, large Roman numerals indicate major chords.)

Bdim is often shown as B0.

2. Basic Harmonic Functions

The tonic or I establishes the temporary or permanent key of a piece. The most
common movement away from the tonic is to the subdominant or IV, which may lead
back to the tonic or to the dominant (among other destinations); and the dominant or V
strives to resolve to the tonic again.

3. Common Chord Functions

Degree of scale: Harmonic Function: Example:

I Tonic Cmaj7
ii, ii7 subdominant parallel, Dmin7
dominant preparation,
secondary minor dominant of V
iii, iii7 secondary dominant of vi Emin7
IV Subdominant Fmaj7
V Dominant G7
vi, vi7 tonic parallel, Amin7
subdominant preparation,
secondary dominant of ii
0 0
vii , vii 7 dominant parallel, Bdim,
secondary minor dominant of iii Bmin7b5

Here, Roman numerals indicate major and minor chords as they occur in an Ionian major key;
the relationships of any and all roots, however, are the same in a minor key.

There are more, and also more remote harmonic functions. Secondary dominants are a start.

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 It has been said that most of Western music is “footnotes to V-I.” The resolution
from dominant to tonic is the strongest harmonic movement we have; and the IV-V-I in
classical music, and the ii-V-I in jazz by far the most common form of progression.

Passing note: Speaking in intervals, the V7-I is the strongest diatonic movement
because the dom7th chord’s third ‘wants’ to resolve a semitone up to the tonic’s root, and
the dom7th chord’s seventh wishes to resolve a semitone down to the tonic’s third
(V3 - I1, V7 - I3). See the note on guide tones in Voicings.

C D E F G A B

I ii iii IV V vi vii

Cmaj7 Fmaj7 G7
Dmin7 Emin7 Amin7 Bmin7/b5

For details on these chords and their construction, see Basic Chord Forms and Triads.

Note the common chord tones between the different harmonic functions.

4. I-V Relationships

In the key of C,

• C major and F major share the C (the root of the I, and the fifth of the IV);
• the F major and the G dominant7 share the F (the root of the IV, and the
seventh of the V7);
• the G7 and the C share the G (the root of the V, and the fifth of the I).

Their relative minor chords to these share a similar relationship.

The tonic’s relative minor is the submediant or vi; in the key of C, this is A minor.

The subdominant’s relative minor is the supertonic or ii; here, F major’s relative is D
minor.

The dominant’s relative minor is the mediant or iii; here, G major7’s relative is E minor.
The dominant, however, shares an equal number of common tones with the chord built
on the seventh or leading tone of the scale; here, G7 = GBDF, Eminor7 = EGBD,
Bminor7/b5 = BDFA.

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In the key of C,

• A minor and D minor share the A (the root of the vi, and the fifth of the ii);
• A minor and E minor share the E (the root of the iii, and the fifth of the vi);
• D minor7 and Bmin7b5 share the D (the root of the ii, and the b3 of the vii),
the F (the minor third [b3] of the ii, and the flatted fifth [b5] of the vii),
and the A (the fifth of the ii, and the seventh of the vii).

5. Tensions and Resolutions

Harmony is a dynamic sonic field of tensions and resolutions. The strong I-V
connections above are common tones and establish a preexisting relation between two
or more chords; but it’s the tensions and resolutions that bring these relationships to life.

For example, V7-I = G7-C = GBDF-CEG. Voiced differently, GBDF-GCEG.

In the movement from the G7 to the C, the G stays the same, the B resolves a semitone
up to the C, the D a wholetone up to the E or down to the C, and the F a semitone down
to E, or a wholetone up to G.

A complete ii7-V7-I7 in C: Dmin7 (DFAC) – G7 (GBDF) – Cmaj7 (CEGB).

ii7-V7: DFAC-GBDF. Both D and F stay the same, A moves up to B, C moves up to D.

V7-I7: GBDF-CEGB. G stays the same, B stays or resolves up to C, D resolves to E, F
down to E or up to G.

Altered dominant chords with their chromatic “accidentals” increase the tensions
between diatonic chords; but as the roots and fifths (and their relationships to those of
the tonic) stay the same, arguably the resolutions from ‘outside’ to ‘inside’ tones become
more eloquent.

For example, G7#5/b9-Cmaj7 (GBFD#Ab – CEGB)

V7-I: G remains the same, B stays the same or resolves up to C, F resolves a semitone
down to E or a wholetone up to G, D# resolves a now closer semitone up to E, Ab a
semitone down to G.

The resolutions become even closer if other extensions are added, for example if
Cmaj7 is replaced by a Cmaj7/9 (D# down to D or up to E), or a Cmaj7/13 (Ab to A).

Passing note: With this in mind, it might be useful to have a fresh look at the different
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dominant 7 chords shown in Chord Types, and analyze their tensions and resolutions.

Outside of one single key, but within the twelve-tone chromatic universe of Western
music, the strong I-V connections between functional chords point to the cycle of fifths.

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6. Some V-I resolutions

EADGbe EADGbe
------ ------
IIX |1|23| IIX 1|||||
||4||| ||||2|
|||||| ||34||
|||||| ||||||
|||||| ||||||
G7#5 Cmaj7
73#51 1573
FBD#G resolves to: GB(C)EG

EADGbe EADGbe
----xx ----xx
II |||||| II ||1|||
||1||| 23||||
2||3|| |||4||
|4|||| ||||||
|||||| ||||||
G7b9 Cmaj7
b9573 5137
AbDFB resolves to: GCEB

For more on shell voicings see Voicings.

EADGbe EADGbe
------ ------
IIX ||||1| X ||1|||
|||||| ||||||
|||2|| |||333
||3||4 ||||||
|||||| ||||||
G7#5/b5 Cmaj7
b571#5 1573
DbFGD# resolves to: CG(B)E

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 Thirty spokes are made one by holes in a hub,
By vacancies joining them for a wheel’s use;
The use of clay in moulding pitchers
Comes from the hollow of its absence;
Doors, windows, in a house
Are used for their emptiness:
Thus we are helped by what is not
To use what is.
- Tao Te King (transl: Witter Bynner, 1944)

7. Cycle Of Fifths

This circle is a common graphic arrangement showing all major and minor keys.

Clockwise, the keys proceed in ascending perfect fifths (V), counterclockwise, in

descending perfect fifths (V). If you go counterclockwise, it can be viewed as a cycle of
perfect fourths (IV).
Small letters show minor keys, enharmonics are included, notational keys are omitted.
In direct line with the major keys are their relative minors. On the opposite side of the
circle is a given note’s tritone or b5.

Passing note: It is profoundly useful to study this circle, and to memorize the order of
keys arranged in a sequence of fifths. When practicing scales, following the cycle lets
you travel all twelve keys in fifths or fourths, the strongest harmonic movements.
Connecting scales, arpeggios, and chord forms along the cycle link positions on the
fretboard in a harmonically useful way.

© 2002 by Nick Naffin.

On the web: www.nicknaffin.com
Please send questions, suggestions and comments to chops@takenotepromotion.com

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This document may be freely distributed as long as content is maintained ‘as is’, and the copyright notice is not removed.