What are Harmonic Functions?

Musicians who do not have a great deal of formal training sometimes play chords by "winging it." That is, they play a chord and then sort of stumble onto the next chord through a process of trial and error.

Unfortunately, musicians who play or compose in this manner end up frustrated and confused. They know little about chromatic harmony, and without a firm grasp of the basic rules of music, they are only holding back their own creative process.

That's because chords in music are not random or indiscriminate. Instead, diatonic harmony gives chord progressions a firm foundation. Composers are able to create pleasing pieces of music because they understand chord progressions and how they function.

In fact, a skilled composer will choose and place certain chords with a specific impact in mind. That is, they choose chords for their ability to suggest restfulness, movement, or even instability to make the music evoke a variety of feelings and meanings.

If you or your child have been taking music lessons, you may have heard the instructor talk about how chords and notes "function" within a piece of music. These functions are linked to the harmonies created by the composer.

To gain a better understanding of harmonic function, it is crucial to be familiar with the basic concepts of harmony.

What Is Harmony?

"Harmony" occurs in music whenever two or more notes are played simultaneously. Such notes are called intervals when they are played two at a time and chords when three or more notes are played at once.

Instructors frequently refer to the harmony in a piece of music as its vertical component while the rhythm and melody are considered horizontal components.

When you listen to or play music, most of it is called "tonal." This means that the piece has a main note and a main chord. These elements are the central focal point of the music, which may be called the "tonic."

If you want to identify the tonic for a particular piece of music, take a look at the key signature. As an example, a song with a C Major tonic may be referred to as being "in the key of C Major."

Introducing Harmonic Function

Harmonic function, which is also sometimes called diatonic function, describes how a certain chord or note relates to the tonal center, or tonic, of a certain piece of music.

"Function" is already a familiar word. It generally means the manner in which something may be used to complete a task.

Accordingly, "harmonic function" is all about looking at a note or chord and describing how it works in a chord progression or a melody.

Thus, considering harmonic function means answering questions such as:

• Is a chord close to the tonic?
• Is a chord far away from the tonic?
• Is the chord related to the tonic?
• Is the chord unrelated to the tonic?
• Is the chord moving away from the tonic?
• Is the chord leading back to the tonic?

To figure out the harmonic function of a chord, it's necessary to identify the notes that make up the chord. Moreover, you'll want to look at which chords precede or follow the chord in question and where it is placed within a chord progression.

Two Types of Basic Harmonic Function

Two schools of thought generally control harmonic function. These are the German Theory and the Viennese Theory.

In an 1893 book entitled Harmony Simplified, Hugh Riemann outlined the rudiments of the German Theory. In another book about 50 years later, Heinrich Schenker, Arnold Schoenberg, and Simon Sechter introduced the Viennese Theory.

Both of these theories are still introduced and used by music students, instructors and composers today. In fact, if you look into the subject deeply enough, you'll find that most musicians actually use points from both theories to inform their learning and performance.

The German Theory

The German Theory is based on the idea that it is possible for a chord or note to have one of three functions within a given piece. These functions are tonic, dominant, and subdominant.

Moreover, any key has three chords that may be utilized to fulfill any of these three basic functions.

Each function is associated with a primary chord that also has relative chords. These relative chords are a third below and a third above the primary chord.

Chords are named for the note on the tonic scale on which they are based. If we take the example from above of a song in the key of C Major, we begin by assigning a number to each note in the scale to arrive at a scale degree.

Remember, the notes in the C Major scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In this example, the attendant number assignments would be I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and I.

Accordingly, in the key of C, a D minor chord is built on the D note, which is the second note. This is designated as "II," which means that it is called a "II chord."

Tonic Function in the German Theory

Recall that a tonic is the primary chord in a song. Thus, a song that is in E Major has E and E Major chords as tonics.

When the tonic is played, it gives the piece of sense of rest and stability. This is usually because the tonic is where the song begins and concludes.

Generally, the primary chord has the tonic function and is referred to as the "I chord." This song also might have two additional chords that may function as tonic chords. These are the "III chord" and the "VI chord."

Dominant Function in German Theory

Next to the tonic function in order of importance is the dominant function. This is the function that moves the music back to the tonic from another point in the music. Composers frequently use dominant chords to create sensations of motion and instability.

In fact, it is fairly common for songs to end by moving from a dominant chord to a tonic chord.

The "V chord" usually is the dominant chord in a piece. However, there could be two additional chords that may have a dominant function: the VII chord and III chord.

Note that the III chord can be either tonic or dominant depending upon how it is used in the piece.

Subdominant Function in the German Theory

A subdominant chord or note occupies the middle ground in music. While it isn't quite as stable as the tonic chord, it also isn't as unstable as a dominant chord.

In many examples, the subdominant function may be the IV chord, the II chord, and the VI chord. This means that the VI chord may be either a tonic chord or a subdominant chord. The deciding factors are where and how the VI chord is used in the piece.

The Viennese Theory

Interestingly, the Viennese Theory has many similarities to the German Theory, which probably explains why many musicians use a combination of the two. In both theories, scale degrees are labeled I-VII. Both theories also rely on the terms tonic, subdominant, and dominant.

The Viennese Theory differs in that it uses these terms only for one certain chord. For example, the I chord is the tonic, the subdominant is the IV chord and the dominant chord is the V chord.

The other chords used in the Viennese Theory are called:

• II chord: supertonic
• III chord: median
• VI chord: submediant
• VII chord – leading tone/subtonic

Additionally, while German Theory sometimes is called "Function Theory," Viennese Theory is more frequently referred to as "Degree Theory."

The creators of the Viennese Theory wrote that each scale degree has its own independent function. Each of the degrees relates to the tonic in its own manner.

Harmonic progressions tend to play a larger role in Viennese Theory when compared with whether a chord is in the minor or major scale.

For instance, in German Theory, the harmonic model progresses from subdominant to dominant to tonic. Viennese "Degree" Theory stresses the Circle of Fifths, which may go from tonic to subdominant to leading tone, to median to submediant to supertonic to dominant to tonic.

For examples of these progressions, look to blues and jazz music pieces, which rely on them frequently.

Are You Ready to Learn More?

Harmonic function is just one element of what makes music work. If you and your children are excited about entering into the world of music, visit our Digital Plans & Pricing page. Thanks to our affordable, accessible music lessons, even the youngest children can begin to discover the joys of music.