13
votes
Should I use uppercase or lowercase roman numerals in Jazz harmonic analysis?
Having looked at many analyzed scores, I find the lower case for minor and diminished and upper case for major and augmented much easier to read. The most common places I found hard to read were in ...
12
votes
Should I use uppercase or lowercase roman numerals in Jazz harmonic analysis?
As long as you use the two systems with the degree of specificity that you've done in your question, it ultimately won't matter, because they tell you the exact same thing.
As you've mentioned, major/...
9
votes
what's the role of Ebmaj7 on this Ebmaj7 D7#9 Gm9 progression?
EbM7 is the VI chord in G minor, a standard predominant chord. VI - V - i is a common progression. F#dim7 is the leading-tone chord (vii) in G minor — it's standard to raise the seventh degree in ...
8
votes
Accepted
Is there a common labeling system for tritone substitutions?
This is often notated as sub(V), spoken as "sub five". The "sub" is short for "substitution", and it is understood as specifically the tritone substitution of the chord. ...
7
votes
Accepted
In the common-practice style, did minor dominant chords (v) still function as a dominant?
These minor v chords are not typically viewed as dominant in function, no.
Instead, they most often function as passing chords. Imagine we pass from i through v6 down to VI (or even iv6). In these ...
7
votes
Accepted
D Mixolydian key: is it possible?
Any mode or scale can be built on any tonic.
So, yes, you can have D mixolydian... or D flat mixolydian, C mixolydian, etc. etc.
If you have analyzed the song to have a D tonic and is mixolydian in ...
7
votes
Should I use uppercase or lowercase roman numerals in Jazz harmonic analysis?
My preference, and I think it's the more contemporary style, it to user upper/lower case to show chord quality.
Using all upper case (and sometimes only Roman numerals) seems to be an older analysis ...
6
votes
Accepted
Analysis of a jazz chord progression
Even in tonal music every chord does not need to have a functional role.
Beside the possibility of mixing tonal and non-functional harmony, the obvious case would be a passing chord.
| Cm7 | Em7b5 | ...
6
votes
Accepted
Harmony exercise, enharmonic equivalence
You should respond according to the original interval. Responding according to the enharmonic equivalent will give an enharmonically equivalent answer, so nothing is gained in that sense. Piston is ...
6
votes
where does the dominant IV7 (ie; F7 in the key of CMaj) come from?
Long answer. I guessed and extrapolated what you might mean, so this could be off by a mile.
If by "F7 in the key of C major" you mean a style like blues where everything is a dominant-...
5
votes
Does V42 only resolve to I6 or can it move to V7 forming a stepwise bass?
No, this is not frequently done, for a lot of reasons:
The pattern of scale tone Fa resolving to scale tone Mi is just too strongly-embedded in this style to allow for Fa-Sol in the bass there.
The ...
5
votes
Accepted
What do these up arrows/chevrons over numbers mean?
Chevron above Arabic number marks pitch of the notes with respect to the root of the key. In this case these notes are 6 and 5 in scale of the key.
There is one flat in key signature, so the key could ...
5
votes
where does the dominant IV7 (ie; F7 in the key of CMaj) come from?
It's a chromatic chord. It comes from the blues. That is good and sufficient reason!
It COULD be V7 of ♭VII, but it almost certainly isn't doing that!
Yes, its notes occur in the parallel minor ...
4
votes
Accepted
Name for chord progression in pop music
ii -> V -> I -> vi (or V/ii) -> (starts over on ii)
I think it is unlikely that enough people have referred to that progression by a specific non-systematic description to justify ...
4
votes
Accepted
Secondary dominant of a minor tonic?
F minor is a key. F harmonic, melodic and natural minors are scales.
Modulation occurs between keys, not scales. The scales are simply sets of notes ordered. It happens that in minor keys, there are ...
4
votes
Accepted
Are the functions of substitute chords different in minor and major?
The vi and VI chords in major and minor, respectively, may both substitute for the tonic (in a deceptive cadence) or the subdominant. Why the text mentions these functions only for minor is not clear.
3
votes
How can I modulate the distance of a tritone using 3 secondary dominant chords?
We can go considerable modulatory distances by using secondary dominants of closely related what would be minor keys as secondary dominants of major keys instead.
One such example that gets you from A ...
3
votes
D Mixolydian key: is it possible?
D Mixolydian is a mode of the parent key G major - both contain exactly the same 7 notes. The main difference, as you say, is that a piece in key G is recognised as that, due to the home note/chord ...
3
votes
does the progression VII > III in minor mean you have modulated to the relative major key?
From just VII III... no.
You need more context.
In some kind of circle of fifths or other sequential passage, it doesn't necessarily make sense to label any descending fifth progression as a key ...
3
votes
does the progression VII > III in minor mean you have modulated to the relative major key?
This ambiguity is an important feature of the i-III pairing of first and second themes in classical sonatas and baroque (and pre-baroque) overtures. The progression c-f-Bb-Eb, taken in isolation, can ...
3
votes
Analysis of a jazz chord progression
I have to admit that it's easier for me to think of the Em7♭5 as a voice leading construct, as Cm7 - Em7♭5 only requires shifting the Cm7's C and E♭ one step each and leaving its G and B♭ as is, and ...
3
votes
what's the role of Ebmaj7 on this Ebmaj7 D7#9 Gm9 progression?
where's the Ebmaj7 coming from?
This might seem like a controversial or even wrong statement, but you should consider relative major and minor as being one bi-polar key. It's like a person standing, ...
3
votes
where does the dominant IV7 (ie; F7 in the key of CMaj) come from?
If you are looking for the source of the IV7 you only have to look at the parallel Dorian mode. That is where the IV7 chord exists in its natural habitat.
It is also a V/VII (from the parallel minor) ...
3
votes
Can V resolve to iii?
There are rules. Some people even follow them.
In C, a G7 resolving to e would likely have an F resolving to E, but the B doesn't resolve to C, so the tritone resolution feels merely half-satisfying. ...
2
votes
does the progression VII > III in minor mean you have modulated to the relative major key?
The VII-III occurs in almost all minor songs that contain more than only tonic, dominant and subdominant and very often they are part of a fifth-fall progression. In this case music theorists don‘t ...
2
votes
Should I use uppercase or lowercase roman numerals in Jazz harmonic analysis?
Would you rather write Imaj(maj7) or I(maj7)? IIm7 or ii7? Unless you see some advantage in the longer form, I suggest you use the more compact one.
2
votes
What are idiomatic ways to harmonize ^5 ^4 ^3?
TL;DR
Idiomatically, the best options in this specific instance are:
The given solution
Parallel 10ths
Voice exchange
Parallel 10ths
I mention this first only to reiterate what's already written in ...
2
votes
Secondary dominant of a minor tonic?
Functional harmony typically prefers V over v since V makes use of the leading tone and has a stronger pull to the tonic. So the analysis would just be V-i. No modulation, just how minor harmony works....

Dom♦
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2
votes
How can I modulate the distance of a tritone using 3 secondary dominant chords?
We can re-write the question as how one makes x+y+z=6 mod 12 then reinterpret the numbers as scale steps. A quick answer is -2-2-2 or 2+2+2 moving the harmony by whole steps. Another is 1+2+3 (in some ...
2
votes
How can I modulate the distance of a tritone using 3 secondary dominant chords?
Consider that a commonly used key change, or probably modulation here, is up a semitone. That's easily achieved, and used often, as the pivot V of the new 'key' contains one of the old tonic notes - ...
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