Functional harmony for people who play
The sequel to "Harmony for people who play". From the harmonic field to the formulas popular music repeats — functions, cadences, II–V–I, secondary dominants and the turnaround — with the instrument in your hands and a real chart at every step.
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1. The map
- The letter after the slash
Inverting does not change the chord, it changes its weight, and the reason for nearly every inversion is a bass that walks.
- The map of the keys, and the path of the chords
Where the order of the accidentals comes from, and why the same drawing is the map chord sequences walk on.
2. The sentence
- Seven chords, three roles
Function reduces the seven degrees to rest, departure and tension, and from here you read a song by what each chord is doing.
- How a phrase ends
Four cadences compared with punctuation, and why the bass and the melody change the weight of each.
3. The formulas
- The formula that repeats most
The authentic cadence with preparation, why it works, and how to spot it in any chart.
- The chord from outside that sounds at home
The V7 of a degree that is not the first, the leading tone that makes it work, and how to find it in a chart.
- The two bars that hand the music back
A cadence stretched over two bars, made of functions in order, roots by fifths and secondary dominants.