Educational Music Magazine, Nov-Dec, 1949

Functional harmony is a method used by modern arrangers and orchestrators which effects a complete and thorough understanding of the principles of harmony in a minimum of time. Contemporary arrangers use this approach not only because it saves time, but because it also greatly simplifies the choice of the right sound at any given moment and produces a good fundamental root movement.

The basic concept used in functional harmony is the fact that all harmonic sounds used in music may be classified in three large groups. These groups derive their names from the three important roots of the traditional harmonic system: the tonic, dominant, and subdominant. In this way they are comparable to the three primary colors used by the artist: red, yellow, and blue.

To carry the analogy a little further: The artist does not confine himself to the basically pure colors, red, yellow, and blue, but uses shades of red, shades of yellow, and shades of blue, which may vary considerably, but still fall in the original basic classification. Thus, a light blue, a dark blue, a royal blue, aquamarine, etc., are all basically related because they fall in the blue portion of the color spectrum. The same principle may be applied to the other two primary colors.

Now, in precisely the same way, functional harmony provides a ready means for classifying all sounds in the three basic colors, so to speak, of the harmonic art.

Using this approach, the tonic class includes not only the tonic chord itself, which is the fundamental sound, but also the submediant chord, which is the inferior (lower) related sound, and the mediant chord, which is the superior (upper) related sound. The mediant chord sounds in the tonic category where it functions as a "reflection" of the tonic sound.

The subdominant classes include besides the subdominant chord itself, which is, of course, the fundamental sound of this class, the supertonic chord, functioning as the lower related chord and the submediant chord, which functions in this classification when it sounds as a reflection of the subdominant sound.

Lastly, the dominant classification centers on the dominant chord itself and includes the mediant chord as the lower related chord and the leading tone chord as an upper related chord. The leading tone may be said to be an incomplete sound.

We may go a step farther in comparing the musician's utilization of his three basic sounds with the artist's utilization of his three primary colors. a fine artist not only uses many shades of red, many shades of yellow, and many shades of blue, but also uses mixtures of the primary colors. Thus, yellow and blue mixed form green; red and blue together form purple, etc. Purple, hence, is neither red nor blue, but a blend of the two. For purposes of the discussion which follows, it is interesting to point out that the mixed color, purple, tends to look blue if associated with shades of the primary color blue, but tends to look reddish if associated with shades of the primary color red.

In music we frequently encounter a similar phenomenon. A single chord may sound in one of two ways in terms of its association, or harmonic relationship. To cite a specific example, the tonic chord, C E G, in the key of C may be enriched by the addition of the note B flat. When this occurs, the chord may be said to have a potentially ambiguous character. It may sound in the tonic classification or in the dominant classification. Its final classification must depend upon its association, or resolution. By this we mean that if it functions in the original tonal center of C major, it is classified in the tonic category, despite the addition of the B flat. If, however, it functions in such a way as to cause a modulation, or movement of the tonal center to that of another key, it falls in the dominant category.

Thus far we have confined ourselves to a discussion of the principles of classification. We have seen first that all sounds may be arranged in three basic categories, we have seen that each category contains many shades of sound which are related, and we have seen that some sounds are ambiguous in character, and are finally classified by their relativity with other sounds preceding and following in the musical text. Having thus explained how chords are classified, we are ready to go ahead with the application of this knowledge to practical arranging.

First of all the knowledge of classification helps in securing the precise sound desired at a given moment in the music. To help make this clear, let us make a comparison with a device used by literary writers. An author frequently is unable to recall the exact word which best describes a meaning, but knows an approximation of the meaning he wishes. He then consults a Thesaurus, which takes him to a category which includes words expressive of the same basic meaning in subtly different ways. He is then quickly able to obtain the right word - the word which expresses as perfectly as possible the idea he wishes to convey.

By using the classification system the arranger is enabled to do much the same thing. For example, a dominant sound may be desired. To any arranger who desires truly subtle effects, however, the choice as to just which dominant sound is of paramount importance. Let us here briefly demonstrate the many varieties of dominant sound which may be explored in the search for a particular chord in the style being exploited.

The first step, once the basic category is selected, is to decide whether to use a fundamental dominant sound or an inferior or superior relative. Let us assume, for purposes of carrying out our illustration, that the fundamental dominant sound is chosen. The next step would be to choose between the dominant triad, the seventh, the ninth, and the thirteenth. Let us assume that the ninth chord is selected. Now the problem arises as to whether to alter the dominant ninth. Possible alterations include raising and lowering every note in the chord, although some alterations are extremely infrequent. Let us assume that the chord is altered so as to include a flat ninth and a raised fifth. The next problem is whether or not to include added notes. Let us add the second. We now have, in the key of C major, the chord of G A B D# F Ab. To extend the possibilities to the fullest extent, it is conceivable that this sound could be a simple element in a bitonal, polytonal, atonal, or superimposed system. Since this opens a field far beyond the intended scope of the present discussion, the mention of these possibilities will here suffice.

We have shown how classification aids in the selection of a precise sound. We are now ready to discuss another important aspect of good harmonic treatment - principles of good harmonic movement.

For purposes of clarity, let us first consider the possibilities of movement within a single category. There are four distinct methods of such movements. It is, of course, possible to move directly to the inferior or superior relatives, or back, quite freely. Another type of movement occurs when one or more notes are added to the fundamental sound or to the inferior or superior relatives. A third type of movement involves the addition of alteration to any of the notes in the fundamental sound, or to the note of the inferior or superior related sounds. Lastly, any type of combination of the three specific types of movement mentioned is possible. To sum up the possibilities of movement within a single category, we may say that such movement may be made with the utmost freedom, depending for its effect almost entirely on the skill and ingenuity of the arranger.

The second type of harmonic movement we should discuss is the movement from one classification to another. In the largest sense, of course, it is possible to move from any classification to any other. However, certain principles seem advisable as a general guide to such movement.

In the first place, tonic classification sounds move with the utmost freedom to dominant or subdominant classification sounds. Subdominant classification sounds may likewise move to either of the other classifications, in this case tonic or dominant. When subdominant sounds move to tonic sounds, however, the plagal effect is usually present. The dominant class by disposition, so to speak, prefers to move to the tonic class. Occasionally, it moves with great effectiveness to the subdominant class, however, in which case the resulting progression is retrograde.

The last important consideration to be considered in the use of functional harmonic treatment is the effect of inversion on sound classification, and, hence, on movement. First inversion tends to alter the classification of a chord if one of the harmonic pillars (the tonic note, the dominant note, or the subdominant note) is in the bass of the inversion. Thus, in the key of C, the E G B chord tends to sound in the dominant category when the G is the bass note. The E takes on something of the character of a non-harmonic tone.

Possibly the most striking example of the effect of inversion upon sound classification occurs in the second inversion. Here the effect may be so strong as to transplant even a fundamental chord to another classification. In the key of C, the tonic chord itself, C E G, may sound dominant if the G sounds as the lowest note. Here the C and E tend to sound as suspensions to the B and D of the dominant sound hence cause this striking phenomenon.

In conclusion it is necessary to say that the classification system is by no means the sum total of all ingredients which go to produce a beautifully written arrangement. The study of non-harmonic tones, counterpoint, the effect of rhythm upon harmonic and melodic movement, stylistic, coherence, instrumentalism and, of course, good taste, all must be present in the production of a well rounded and artistically conceived arrayed arrangement. It has been our experience, however, that the study of functional harmony as here presented does much to clarify one's thinking in terms of these various related facets of truly successful arranging.

Article transcription courtesy of Mark Minasian