MICHAEL BARKL

ANALYSING HARMONY
 Published by Michael Barkl
7/4 Pleasant Avenue, North Wollongong NSW 2500, Australia

Copyright © Michael Barkl, 2009

2
CONTENTS

Preface 3

Chapter One: Chords and Extensions 5

Chapter Two: Chord Progression 10

Chapter Three: Principles of Modulation 15

Chapter Four: Diminished Chords and Patterns 20

Chapter Five: Seven Analytical Examples 23

Chapter Six: Substitute Chords 26

Chapter Seven: Cadences 33

Chapter Eight: Passing Diminished Chords and 38

the Death of Chord ii

Chapter Nine: Blues 42

Chapter Ten: Analysing Excerpts from 45

Standards

Chapter Eleven: Analysing Standards 49

Chapter Eleven: Analysing The Beatles 58

Chapter Thirteen:The ‘Tristan Chord’ 60

3
PREFACE
‘To define something is to begin to lie about it’, as they say. This booklet is
therefore not about truth but expediency. Its purpose is to make some kind of
sense or order from tonal harmony as used in the popular music of the mid-
20th century; the kind of music that is known as the ‘great American songbook’
and has been used as ‘standards’ by jazz musicians.

The benefit of using this kind of repertoire is that, because it is highly ‘refined’,
in the sense of being systematised and predictable, other musics, such as
classical and pop, may be usefully compared with it to highlight similarities
and differences of tonal use.

The purpose of the booklet is twofold. Firstly, it may assist songwriters

suffering from the ‘lost chord’ of songwriter’s block. The patterns and
substitute chords analysed here can provide a range of chords that have the
‘correct’ harmonic function: it’s then a matter of choosing one according to
taste. Secondly, an analytical understanding can greatly assist the
improvising musician to develop broader and more complex melodic ideas
over longer time-frames, rather than responding to each individual chord as it
comes along.

This is not an academic work and does not intend to provide an accurate
historical basis for its observations. Instead, it reflects the response of the
modern musician that has grown up with American music.

4
CHAPTER ONE: Chords and Extensions

Just because classical, pop and jazz music are ubiquitous, this doesn’t
mean that that is what ‘real music’ is, just as Coca Cola is not necessarily
‘the real thing’.

It seems the triumph of Western civilisation, and now more particularly

American ‘culture’, is its success as an export.1 A glance at the work of
ethnomusicologists will confirm that today’s popular music, though played
in one form or another around the world, is just one of the many musics
humankind have invented; and it’s just as well to remember here that
there’s no suggestion that it’s the ‘best’.

Perhaps the greatest thing African music has to offer the world is rhythm;
for Indian music it may be melody; for Australian Aboriginal music it may
be social cohesion. For European music it might just be harmony.

Received wisdom is that European music, derived from middle-eastern

Arabic music, was once monodic, melodic, highly decorated, modal, and
accompanied by percussion and drones. Formalised phrase endings, or
cadences, fell to and settled on their target pitch.

The development of polyphony maintained this ‘horizontal’ orientation by

combining melodies. Two melodies, both settling to a final cadence
through formalised approaches, began to be heard ‘vertically’, since the
formula was repeated and lost its focus on linearity. With the addition of
parts, the vertical cadential formulas came to be heard as ‘chords’.

When we study these chords, it’s just as well to remember that there may
be no such thing: chords are slices cut from polyphony. So, if a classical
musician shows little orientation towards or understanding of chords, it’s
not necessarily because he or she is dim. On the contrary, this musician
may have a more refined or complex understanding. To define these
calibrations [chords] we begin to disassociate them from their context; we
begin to lie about them by simplifying them and focussing on limited
aspects of them.

In other words, just because something is useful, it does not mean it’s
correct. Understanding chords and chord progressions is very useful for
the contemporary performing or songwriting musician, and it is hoped that
this booklet may be useful too, if not correct.

To understand this booklet, the reader is expected to already understand

two things: chords and their conventional extensions [or ‘tensions’ as the
Americans would say]. That is, firstly, the so-called ‘scale-tone 7ths’ for
both the major and minor scale.

1
See Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel, London: Vintage, 2005.

5
 For the major scale these are [in the key of C]:

Cmaj7
Dmin7
Emin7
Fmaj7
G7
Amin7
Bmin7b5

Chords with a major 3rd between the root and the 3rd are given in upper-
case Roman numerals, while chords with a minor third are given in lower-
case. Therefore, the chords of the major scale are I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii.

Chords for the minor scale are conventionally derived from the harmonic
minor scale, viz [in the key of c minor]:2

Cmin/maj7
Dmin7b5
Ebmaj7+
Fmin7
G7
Abmaj7
Bdim

Minor scale-tone 7ths are therefore i, ii, III, iv, V, VI, vii.

The second prerequisite, understanding extensions, includes the

knowledge that there is a difference between ‘added-note’ chords, such as
C6, and extensions, such as Cmaj13. A 13th [or an 11th or a 9th] implies
the inclusion of the 7th.3 Moreover, a 13th may also include an 11th and/or
a 9th as per the musician’s performance practice. The inclusion of a 9th,
11th or 13th makes no comment on the voicing of the chord.

An important aspect of chord extensions is that, when used within the key,
they do not change the function of the chord. That is, chord I in C major is
always chord I, and chord IV in C major is always chord IV.

Hypothetically, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths [or their chromatic alterations] may
be added as extensions to any chord. In practice, however, only some are
what we may regard as ‘conventional’; that is, used by performing
musicians on a regular basis without overtaxing the sensibilities of the
common listener.

2
It must be acknowledged that the minor scale is a slippery concept, and composers regularly use
chords derived from the melodic minor form. This changes not only the root and colour of the chord,
but also the available extensions. Consideration of the melodic minor as a generator of chords is
addressed below.
3
6+7=13; 4+7=11.

6
 There is a simple rule: if the extension is a full tone above a lower degree
chord note [the root, 3rd or 5th], then it is conventional. If it is only a
semitone above a lower degree chord note then it is not [but for a couple
of exceptions which I will clarify later].4 However, the addition of the 9th is
generally heard to be significantly less of a ‘tension’ than the 11th or the
13th.

Cmaj7 will therefore extend to Cmaj9, Cmaj7#11 and Cmaj13, but not
Cmaj11. If Cmaj11 is written, the musician will play Cmaj7sus [that is,
replacing the E with the F].

However, in the key of C major, chord I will never be Cmaj7#11, because

the F# is out of key. One sharp implies the key of G major, and
Cmaj7#11 therefore implies chord IV in G major.

Chord I in C major may extend to Cmaj9 or Cmaj13.

Chord ii may extend to Dmin9, Dmin11 or Dmin13.5
Chord iii may extend to Emin11 only.6
Chord IV may extend to Fmaj9, Fmaj7#11 and Fmaj13.
Chord V may extend to G9 and G13.7
Chord vi may extend to Amin9 and Amin11.8
Chord vii may extend to Bmin11b5, or even Bmin7b5b13.9

In the minor key:

Chord i may extend to Cmin/maj9 and Cmin/maj11.10

Chord ii may be extended to Dmin11b5 and Dmin7b5b13.
Chord III may be extended to Ebmaj9+ only.
Chord iv may be extended to Fmin9 and Fmin13.11
Chord V may be extended to G7b9 and G7b13.
Chord VI may be extended to Abmaj7#11 and Abmaj13.12
Chord vii may be extended to include the note G.13

4
Why might this be the case? The western musical sensibility holds that a tone is much less discordant
than a semitone when played harmonically [vertically].
5
The minor 13th chord is somewhat rarer than the minor 9th and minor 11th no doubt because of the
discord and functional implications of the tritone between the 3rd and the 13th.
6
Emin9 includes the out-of-key note F# and Emin13 includes C#.
7
G11 will be played as G7sus [or G9sus] and G7#11 is out of key.
8
But not Amin13, since F# is out of key.
9
Bmin9b5 includes C#, so is out of key. The b13 is G, one tone above the b5.
10
As with chord ii in the major key, the min/maj11 is rare because of the tritone between the 7th and the
11th.
11
The 11th would be Bb, implying the melodic minor descending form, whereas B is the note in the
harmonic minor scale.
12
The 9th would be Bb, implying the melodic minor descending form, whereas B is the note in the
harmonic minor scale
13
Although one could say G was the b13th, diminished chords do not carry this nomenclature due to
their association with the octatonic [or ‘diminished’] scale. That is, with 9 notes to the octave instead
of 8, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths become misnomers. The resultant name for the chord is the clumsy
Bdim(addG).

7
 Chord V, extended to G7b9 and G7b13, appears to ‘break’ the ‘tone-
above’ extension rule, and indeed it does for good reason. The ear hears
an alternative powerful structure that overrides the ‘tone-above’ extension
rule. G7b9 is chord vii, Bdim, with a G-bass, and G7b13 is chord III,
Ebmaj9+, with a G-bass. Diminished chords are symmetrically
constructed from three minor 3rds; Eb+ is an augmented chord: two major
3rds.

It is well known and understood that the melodic minor scale modifies the
harmonic minor scale for a smoother melodic effect; that is, to avoid the
augmented second between the 6th and 7th degrees. The ‘ascending’ form
preserves the raised 7th degree leading note and, additionally, raises the
6th degree. The ‘descending’ form, which doesn’t require the leading note
to be raised, follows the key signature, and is known as the ‘natural minor’
or the Aeolian mode.

In practice, the ‘ascending’ form may descend and the ‘descending’ form
may be used ascending. The actual scale form used is more likely to be
determined by the harmony. All things being equal, chord i accompanies
melodic movement between the 5th degree and the upper tonic in the
normal ‘scalar’ manner: that is, raising the 6th and 7th degrees ascending
and following the key signature descending.

Chord iv, having the flattened submediant as its 3rd, accompanies the
‘descending’ form, whether the melodic movement is descending or
ascending. Chord V, having the raised leading note as its 3rd,
accompanies the ‘ascending’ form, whether the melodic movement is
ascending or descending.14

One of the significant outcomes of the interaction of the melodic minor

scale with minor harmony is that, in jazz music at least, the minor 6th chord
[an ‘added note’ chord, not an extension], is normally used as the 4-note
version of chord i rather than the minor/major 7th. Jazz musicians
associate the ascending form of the melodic minor with the minor 6th chord
and call the scale the ‘jazz melodic minor’.15

Despite the traditional association of the harmonic minor scale with ‘chords
in the minor key’, some composers and songwriters use chords derived
from the jazz melodic minor scale and the Aeolian mode within the minor
key context.

The scale tone 7ths on each degree in the c jazz melodic minor are:

Cmin6
Dmin7
Ebmaj7+
F7
14
In the same way, chords ii and VI accompany the ‘descending’ form and chord III accompanies the
‘ascending’ form.
15
That is, the ‘jazz melodic minor’ scale is the same ascending and descending.

8
G7
Amin7b5
Bmin7b5

Note the two ‘dominant’ 7th chords and two min7b5 [half-diminished]
chords.

For the c Aeolian mode [the natural minor], the scale tone 7ths are:

Cmin7
Dmin7b5
Ebmaj7
Fmin7
Gmin7
Abmaj7
Bb7

The point of the discussion so far has been to clarify chord functional type
within a key. That is, when we begin to analyse harmony and we say
‘chord IV of C major‘, it is understood that it makes no difference whether
the chord is Fmaj7, Fmaj9, Fmaj7#11 or Fmaj13.

The next section will discuss modal chord progression and chord
progression within a key.

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CHAPTER TWO: Chord Progression

While this booklet is specifically about analysing tonal harmony, a brief

acknowledgement must be given to modal practice, if only to differentiate
the two. ‘Modal music’ in this context refers to 20th century jazz or pop
music, not to, say, European music in the 14th century or to non western
practices.

To simplify, modal music accentuates the melodic over the harmonic, and
tonal music accentuates the harmonic over the melodic. This is not to
assert that, say, Indian classical musicians do not feel the harmonic
[vertical] relationships of their melodies in relation to the drone any more or
less than western musicians feel the importance and musicality of melodic
movement. Indeed, modal music and tonal music often intersect in such a
way as to be impossible to determine when one becomes the other.

American ‘jazz improvisation theory’ typically teaches mode association:

Maj7 chord = Ionian [or Lydian]

Min7 chord = Dorian [or Aeolian or Phrygian]
Dominant 7 chord = Mixolydian [or a range of altered scales]
Min7b5 chord = Locrian
Diminished = Octatonic [diminished]
Augmented = Whole-tone

Some songs have only one chord, such as Herbie Hancock’s Memphis
Underground [C7 throughout] and Curtis Amy’s Native Land [Gmin7
throughout].

Others don’t change the root, only the chord colour, such as La Nevada
Blues by Gil Evans:

Gmin9 x 2 bars
Gmaj7 x 2 bars
Gmin9 x 2 bars
Gmaj7 x 2 bars
Gmin9 x 2 bars
Gmaj7 x 2 bars

Often, modal songs may change chord by step while maintaining chord
colour. Impressions by John Coltrane gives one of the simplest of
examples:

Dmin7 x 16 bars
Ebmin7 x 8 bars
Dmin7 x 8 bars

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 The skill of the professional improvising performer is to layer different
sounds [scales and chords] over what is essentially a d-eb-d drone.
Beginning jazz students, however, will be instructed to use D Dorian, Eb
Dorian and D Dorian, at least as a starting point. So, while non European
modal music, such as Indian classical music, typically has drones that do
not move, the harmony, or drone, of Impressions is a slow three-note
melody d-eb-d. Moreover, it’s heard melodically because the chord colour
does not change and therefore the chord function does not change.

The basic movement of simple melodies is step-wise movement, and other

pieces from the ‘modal jazz’ repertoire show the melodic component of the
harmony. Milestones by Miles Davis, for example:

Gmin7 x 16 bars
Amin7 x 16 bars
Gmin7 x 8 bars

Again, the harmonic colour is the same for each chord [thereby focusing
attention on the melodic component] and the movement is step-wise:
home-away-home.

Bob Brookmeyer’s Hum moves the harmony in a single direction while

maintaining chord colour:

Gmin7/C x 8 bars
Abmin7/Db x 8 bars
Amin7/D x 8 bars
Bbmin7/Eb x 8 bars16

Other songs move by a small leap of a 3rd, often known as a ‘skip’, while
maintaining chord colour, such as Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage:

D7sus x 4 bars
F7sus x 4 bars
D7sus x 4 bars
F7sus x 4 bars
Eb7sus x 4 bars
Db7sus x 4 bars
D7sus x 4 bars
F7sus x 4 bars

Here the melodic component is d-f-d-f-eb-db-d-f.

Other songs move by step or skip, changing chord colour but maintaining
a connection through a common chord note. Sakara by Francy Boland:

Dmin7 x 16 bars
Gmin7b5/C x 8 bars17

16
These chords are identical to C9sus, Db9sus, D9sus, Eb9sus.

11
 Dmin7 x 8 bars

Here the change of chord colour implies a more ‘harmonic’ relationship,

though some connection is maintained by the common chord note f. The
other notes change by step:

c
bb
a
g
f
f
d
db

More complex songs include Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island, where

the note ‘f’ is common throughout:

Fmin7 x 4 bars
Db7 x 4 bars
Dmin11 x 4 bars
Fmin7 x 4 bars

Even more subtle is John Coltrane’s Like Sonny, which begins each eight-
bar phrase modally and ends each phrase tonally. The progression
ascends by minor 3rd, the 3rd of each min7 chord in the first and third
phrases providing the link to the next min7 chord.18 In the second phrase
the progression descends by major 3rd, each 3rd of the chord becoming the
5th of the subsequent chord.

Dmin7 x 2 bars
Fmin7 x 2 bars
Abmin7
Bb7b13
Ebmaj7 x 2 bars

Amin7 x 2 bars
Fmin7 x 2 bars
C#min7
F#7
Bmaj7 x 2 bars

Dmin7 x 2 bars
Fmin7 x 2 bars
Abmin7
Bb7b13
Ebmaj7 x 2 bars

For modal chord succession we can make the following summary:

17
Gmin7b5/C is effectively the same as C7b9sus.
18
Moreover, their roots outline the dominant of the new key. That is, d-f-ab = 3-5-7 of Bb7.

12
 1. Simple modal chord successions typically use minor 7th and
dominant 7th chords; these are associated with Dorian and
Mixolydian modes respectively.
2. Connection between chords is established melodically through
movement by step or skip while maintaining chord colour [see
Impressions, Hum, Maiden Voyage], or movement by step or skip
while maintaining a common chord note [see Sakara, Cantaloupe
Island, Like Sonny], or maintenance of the root and a change of
chord colour only [see La Nevada Blues], or simply no chord
change at all [see Memphis Underground, Native Land].

Non-modulating tonal music19 uses chords within a key to provide

movement, contrast, and, most importantly, forward moving direction
based on the notion of ‘harmonic resolution’. And this is where tonal
music differs from modal: in modal music we speak of ‘chord succession’;
in tonal music we speak of ‘chord progression’.

In tonal music, any chord may be followed by any other chord in the same
key in order to ‘connect’.

Convention dictates that there are ‘strong’ progressions and ‘weak’

progressions.20 In triadic harmony, strong progressions [within a key] are
where less than half the notes are in common [that is, root movement by
4ths or 2nds]; a weak progression is where more than half the notes of the
triad are in common [root movement by 3rds]. However, movement by
2nds may become weak after two or more chords are heard in succession
because the melodic component is heard more strongly than the
harmonic. Extension of triads to the 7th and beyond does not significantly
change the relative strength or weakness of a particular progression.

A preponderance of strong progressions is typically used in rousing music;

weak progressions are typically used in ambient and gentle music. Most
conventional music is a combination of strong and weak progressions.

In the average, conventional, piece of music, strong or weak progressions

are used within the bar where there are two chords per bar [or the
equivalent durational unit of change where there is one chord per bar or
less]. Strong progressions are used across the bar line, especially at the
end of a phrase where a cadence needs to be articulated.

The common chord progression I-vi-ii-V shows some of these

characteristics. In C Major it is:

Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G7

C: I vi ii V

19
That is, tonal music that does not change key.
20
The words ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ are not intended to convey any positive or negative connotation.
Strong means ‘a significant harmonic change’ and weak means ‘an insignificant harmonic change’.

13
 With regard to the triadic component of the progression above, from C to
Am the common notes are c-e and the progression is weak. From Am to
Dm the different notes are d-f and the progression is strong. From Dm to
G the different notes are g-b and the progression is strong.

The same principles apply if the key is minor:

Cmin/maj7 Abmaj7 Dm7b5 G7b9

Cm: i VI ii V

Chord progressions may be part tonal and part modal [see Like Sonny].

Additionally, they can be part major and part minor. Convention has
allowed that equivalent degree chords from the minor can be inserted into
major progressions [and vice versa]. For example:

Cmaj7 Abmaj7 Dm7 G7b9

C: I ii
Cm: VI V

Or:

Cmin/maj7 Am7 Dm7b5 G9

C: vi V
Cm: i ii

The following chapter begins to address the purpose of this booklet; that is,
the principles of modulating harmony.21

21
The descriptive method of analysis shown above, with the key identified on the left and the degree of
the chord shown under the chord symbol on the relevant line, is an extension of the system used by
Walter Piston. See Walter Piston, Principles of Harmonic Analysis, Boston: Schirmer, 1933. This is
the system that will be used in this booklet.

14
CHAPTER THREE: Principles of Modulation

The following chapter introduces the basics of tonal harmony within the
modulatory context; that is, the simplified 20th century system of chord
progression and modulation.22 Of fundamental importance is the ability to
identify the key at any point in the music.

Key is defined by chord V.

There is only one dominant 7th chord in a key, so it provides a convenient

marker. Moreover, the same dominant 7th chord is chord V in both the
major and the parallel minor key: G7 is chord V for both C major and c
minor.23 The only way to indisputably identify whether the key is major or
minor [without looking at the context] is if the dominant chord is extended
to the 9th. G9 specifies C major [since it includes an a-natural] and G7b9
specifies c minor [since it includes an a-flat]. However, in the absence of a
specified 9th, the context of Dm7b5-G7 would suggest the minor key for
G7. That is, musicians would normally expect to extend the chord to G7b9
in performance in this context.

Key is not defined by chord I since the same chord colour is present for
both chord I and chord IV. Cmaj7 could be chord I in C, but it may also be
chord IV in G and chord VI in e minor: only context can clarify.

However, chord V has evolved a compelling relationship with chord I,

which serves to articulate time by implying a forward moving development
through time.24 The relationship is one of ‘resolution’ of the ‘dissonance’.

In the key of C, G7 holds the characteristic dissonance of the ‘tritone’25

from b-f. The traditional resolution of this dissonance is to move both
notes by step in contrary motion: b
c; f
e. The resultant chord c-e is
C, chord I.26

The principles of modulatory harmony [that is, establishing a range of

contrasting keys throughout a piece of music] therefore revolve around the
use of chord V.

22
This chapter and subsequent chapters are based on, and are an amplification of, the material
contained in lessons 16, 17 and 18 of The Berklee Correspondence Course, Boston: Berklee Press,
1971. This material was not published separately and was withdrawn from circulation in 1984.
23
There is only one minor7b5 in a key too, but its changing function, chord vii in the major and chord
ii in the minor, make it much less useful as a marker. Moreover, chord vii is rarely used in the major
key.
24
By contrast, a feature of modal music is to ‘suspend’ time by experiencing the moment rather than
the context of the moment in time. This is typical of meditative music, trance music, and some sacred
music and dance music.
25
The tritone is an interval of three tones.
26
This applies equally to the minor chord c-eb.

15
 Principle 1: Any chord I may be preceded by chord V in the same key.27
This usually occurs over the bar line. In the key of C:

G7 C
C: V I

Principle 2: Any chord V may be preceded by the V of V. [This may or

may not be across the bar line.] In the key of C:

D7 G7 C
C: V I
G: V

Principle 2 is the result of an ‘ellipsis’.28 That is, the ‘complete’ chord

progression may be seen originally to be D7-G-G7-C. Over time, the
arrival to chord I in the new key of G was assumed before the chord colour
change to G7, and was therefore able to be left out without compromising
the listener’s sense of connection. To acknowledge the achievement of
the ‘target’ key I will figure the analysis as below:

D7 G7 C
C: V I
G: V [I]

The acknowledgement of chord I in G is in brackets because G7 is not

really chord I in the key of G. However, the target, and incidentally the 1st
principle above, has been achieved by G7 acting in place of G.

The principle may be extended further [see the song Sweet Georgia
Brown by Ben Bennie and Maceo Pinkard].

E7 A7 D7 G7
C: V
G: V [I]
D: V [I]
A: V [I]

Principle 3: Any V may be preceded by chord ii in the same key. This

usually occurs within the bar. In the key of C:

Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I

27
These principles apply equally to major and minor keys.
28
An ‘ellipsis’ is where there is an omission that would complete or clarify the construction. In
language, an ellipsis is where a clarificatory word may be omitted when it would be tedious to include
it. In music, the exact target chord is often omitted for the same reason.

16
 Also:

Am7 D7 G7 C
C: V I
G: ii V [I]

A ‘delayed resolution’ is also common:

Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I
G: ii V [I]

Therefore we may have:

Bm7 E7 Em7 A7 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7

C: ii V
G: ii V [I]
D: ii V [I]
A: ii V [I]

Principle 4: Any chord ii may be preceded by chord V of ii. This usually

occurs across the bar line. In the key of C:

A7 Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]

Here V of ii may be usefully defined as being in a minor key [since ii is a

minor chord and the most natural chord extension of chord V for the
performing musician would be A7b9].

This principle may be extended as follows:

G#m7 C#7 F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7

C: ii V
Dm: V [i]
D: ii
Em: V [i]
E: ii
F#m: V [i]
F#: ii

Because chord ii, as a minor 7th, is in a major key, and the dominant 7th is
looking forward to a resolution to the minor key, the key of the first half of
each bar above is major and the key of the second half of each bar is
minor, which accounts for the extra key lines.

17
 Principle 5 is the final principle: Anything may follow chord I. This
principle, in a sense, is similar to the modal harmony principles. Once
we’re ‘home’, we can go off in any direction.

The following eight examples show the above principles in action.

Example 3.1:

Bm7 E7 Em7 A7 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
G: ii V [I]
D: ii V [I]
A: ii V [I]

Example 3.2:

Abm7 Db7 F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]
D: ii
Em: V [i]
E: ii
Gbm: V [i]
Gb: ii

Example 3.3:

F#m7 B7 Bm7 E7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]
D: ii
A: ii V [I]
E: ii V [I]

Example 3.4:

F#m7 B7 Bm7 E7 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
G: ii V [I]
Am: V [i]
A: ii
E: ii V [I]

18
 Example 3.5:

F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
G: ii V [I]
D: ii V [I]
Em: V [i]
E: ii

Example 3.6:

C#m7 F#7 Bm7 E7 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
G: ii V [I]
Am: V [i]
A: ii
Bm: V [i]
B ii

Example 3.7:

C#m7 F#7 Bm7 E7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]
D: ii
A: ii V [I]
Bm: V [i]
B: ii

Example 3.8:

C#m7 F#7 F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]
D: ii
Em: V [i]
E: ii
B ii V [I]

19
CHAPTER FOUR: Diminished Chords and Patterns

The following chapter applies the basic principles from the previous
chapter to typical progressions found in numerous popular songs. To do
so, we need to understand the application of the diminished chord in
popular music.

The diminished chord has a dominant function, just like chord V, or, to be
exact, V7b9.

From chapter 1, we know that the diminished chord is chord vii in the
minor key. In the key of c minor, chord vii would be Bdim: b-d-f-ab.

It will be noticed that this chord has the characteristic tritone of the
dominant 7th chord, b-f, which is why it is heard as a version [or
‘substitute’] of chord V. Indeed, if the note ‘g’ is played under Bdim we
have G7b9: g-b-d-f-ab.

In terms of the principles discussed in the previous chapter, chord vii in the
minor key behaves in the same way as chord V.

There is, however, a problem: Bdim = Ddim = Fdim = Abdim.29 That is,
the notes of all these chords are identical [because the diminished chord is
a stack of minor 3rds] and the chord symbol used is normally chosen with
reference to the desired bass note rather than with reference to the root.
Additionally, because the 7th of the scale [the ‘leading note’] is normally an
undesirable bass note, the name of the diminished chord often is not the
root of the diminished chord.

Thus, principle 1 from the previous chapter may appear as:

Bdim C
C: I
Cm: vii

Or:

Ddim C
C: I
Cm: vii

29
Note that, because of their ambiguity, diminished chords are the only chords that may be ‘spelt’ any
way.

20
 Or:

Fdim C
C: I
Cm: vii

Or:

Abdim C
C: I
Cm: vii

Note, however, that the analysis is always the same, because each
diminished chord is acting as Bdim [a substitute of G7b9], chord vii of c
minor.

Some of the following chord patterns use diminished chords in the manner
shown above.

Pattern 1 we have seen before in chapter 2, and is found in innumerable

songs:

Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G7

C: I vi ii V

Pattern 2 is based on principle 2, the ‘V of V’ principle:

D7 Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I
G: V [I]

Pattern 3 is similar to pattern 2 but uses the diminished chord instead:

Ebdim Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I
Gm: vii [i]

Ebdim [eb-f#-a-c] is identical to F#dim [f#-a-c-eb], which is vii of g minor

and a substitute for chord V of g minor, D7b9: d-f#-a-c-eb. . Ebdim is
chosen as the chord symbol to facilitate the bass movement by step: eb-
d.

21
 Pattern 4 is based on principle 4, the ‘V of ii’ principle:

A7b9 Dm7 G7 C
C: ii V I
Dm: V [i]

Pattern 5 is similar to pattern 4 but uses the diminished chord instead:

C C#dim Dm7 G7 C
C: I ii V I
Dm: vii [i]

In this case bass note of the diminished chord and the root note are the
same. C#dim [c#-e-g-bb] is a substitute for A7b9: a-c#-e-g-bb.

Pattern 6 is unique in that the final key of C is established by context and

not by chord V:

C C7 F Fm6 C
C: I IV I
Cm: iv
F: V I

The pattern is a decoration of C-F-C [I-IV-I] in the key of C.

IV-I is decorated by the insertion of iv borrowed from the parallel minor

key. These kinds of borrowings are easy to understand. If one was
singing, for example, an ‘a’ from the F chord and resolving it to a ‘g’ from
the C chord, the ‘ab’ [forming the Fm chord] would simply become a
chromatic approach note to ‘g’.

C7-F is a modulation to the key of F, and the chord of F is in two keys at

once—called a ‘pivot’ chord.

C7 may follow C because of principle 5: anything may follow chord I.

22
CHAPTER FIVE: Seven Analytical Examples

The following chapter applies the basic patterns from the previous chapter
to simple song chord progressions and provides analyses for them.30
Each example is eight bars long.

Example 5.1:

C C7 F Fm6
C: I IV
Cm: iv
F: V I

C A7 Dm7 G7 C Fm6 C
C: I ii V I I
Cm: iv
Dm: V [i]

The first four bars are pattern 6; bars 5 and 6 are pattern 4, and bars 7 and
8 are derived from pattern 6.

Example 5.2:

Gm7 C7 F D7b9 Gm7 C7 F

F: ii V I ii V I
Gm: V [i]

Am7 D7b9 Gm7 C7 F Bbm6 F

F: ii V I I
Fm: iv
Gm: V [i]
G: ii

Bars 1-2 are a ii-V-I in F; bars 2-4 are pattern 4, as are bars 5-7; bars 7-8
are derived from pattern 6.

30
The chord progressions are taken directly from Berklee lesson 17, which are left un-analysed in the
original text. The list of keys down the left hand side of each analysis does not follow a prescribed
order: I have simply attempted to group things together.

23
 Example 5.3:

G Abdim Am7 D7 G G7 C Cm6

G: I ii V I IV
Gm: iv
C: V I
Am: vii [i]

G Bbdim Am7 D7 G C G
G: I ii V I IV I
Dm: vii [i]

Bars 1-3 are pattern 5 [Abdim = G#dim]; bars 3-5 are pattern 6; bars 5-7
are pattern 3 [Bbdim = C#dim]; bars 7-8 are simply a I-IV-I decoration in
the key of G.

Example 5.4:

Fm7 Bb7 Bbm7 Eb7 Ab Bdim

Ab: ii V I
Ebm: vii
Eb: ii V [I]

Bbm7 Eb7 Ab Db Ab
Ab: ii V I IV I
Ebm: [i]

Bars 1-3 are pattern 2; bars 4-7 are pattern 3 [Bdim = Ddim].

Example 5.5:

Bb Gm7 Cm7 F7 Bb Dbdim Cm7 F7

Bb: I vi ii V I ii V
Fm: vii [i]

Bb Bb7 Eb Ebm6 Bb Ebm6 Bb

Bb: I IV I I
Bbm: iv iv
Eb: V I

Bars 1-3 are pattern 1; bars 3-4 are pattern 3; bars 5-7 are pattern 6 and
bars 7-8 are derived from pattern 6.

24
 Example 5.6:

D F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 D D7
D: I ii V I
G: V
Em: V [i]
E: ii

G Gm6 D B7b9 E7 A7 D
D: IV I V I
Dm: iv
G: I
A: V [I]
Em: V [i]

Bars 2-4 are pattern 4; bars 4-6 are pattern 6; bars 6-7 are a variation of
pattern 4; bars 7-8 are pattern 2.

Example 5.7:

Eb Am7 D7 G Gm7 C7
Eb: I
F: ii V
G: ii V I

F Fm7 Bb7 Eb Ab Eb
Eb: ii V I IV I
F: I

Example 7 is a series of ii-V-I progressions in the keys of G-F-Eb.

25
CHAPTER SIX: Substitute Chords

The following chapter introduces basic substitute chords. These

substitutes do not change the principles of chord progression established
in chapter 3. Instead, different chords are given the same harmonic
function.

The first substitute we may call the ‘iii for I substitute’. That is, chord iii
may substitute for chord I. In the key of C, Em7 may substitute for Cmaj7.

Chapter 1 in this booklet confirmed that chord I may extend to the major
9th. Cmaj9 has, therefore, the notes c-e-g-b-d. Emin7 has the notes e-g-
b-d. The overlap is so substantial, and not surprising since chords are
built in 3rds, that the listener will easily allow the upper part of Cma9 [that
is, Emin7] to stand for Cmaj9 itself.

Chord iii is never used for chord I at the end of a piece of music. Typically,
it is used as a pivot chord to move the progression into another key.

Dm7 G7 Em7 A7b9 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V iii [I] ii V I
Dm: V [i]
D: ii

Here, Emin7 is simultaneously chord iii in C and chord ii in D. I have

included an acknowledgement of Emin7 as a substitute of chord I in C [in
brackets] in order to fulfil principle 1 in chapter 3.

Here is another example:

Ab Adim Bbm7 Eb7 Cm7 F7b9 Bbm7 Eb7 Ab

Ab: I ii V iii [I] ii V I
Bbm: vii [i] V [i]
Bb: ii

With time and familiarity chord iii has also altered to include the minor
form. Thus:

Dm7 G7 Em7b5 A7b9 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V [iii][I] ii V I
Dm: ii V [i]

26
 With further familiarity an ellipsis [from Em7-E7] has become common,
where chord iii has become chromatically altered to a dominant form:

Dm7 G7 E7b9 Am7 D7 Dm7 G7 C

C: ii V [iii][I] ii V I
Am: V [i]
G: ii V [I]

The second common substitute may be called the ‘bVII7 for iv substitute’;
that is, in the key of C, Bb7 for Fm6. We are familiar with chord iv as the
second last chord from pattern 6. The notes in Fm6 are f-ab-c-d. The
notes in Bb9 [extended from Bb7] are bb-d-f-ab-c. Like the ‘iii for I
substitute’, these chords are close enough for the listener to accept. Here
is pattern 6 [from chapter 4] with the substitute:

C C7 F Bb7 C
C: I IV I
Cm: [iv]
F: V I
Eb: V

While Bb7 is ‘literally’ in the key of Eb, it does not require resolution to a
target because it is functioning as chord iv, which, in the analysis, is
identified in brackets.31

The third common substitute is known as the ‘tritone substitute’. This is

where, in the key of C, Db7 substitutes for G7.

It will be observed that G7 [g-b-d-f] and Db7 [db-f-ab-cb] have,

enharmonically, the same tritone ‘b-f’. Since the tritone is the ‘operative’
part of the dominant chord, one chord may substitute for the other.
Indeed, superimposing Db7 on G7 would give the chord G7b9#11, a
colourful, but not unusual, chord.32

Changing G7 to Db7 in Pattern 2 [chapter 4] gives the following analysis:

D7 Dm7 Db7 C
C: ii I
Cm: [V]
Gb V
G: V
Dbm: [V] [i]

31
It should be acknowledged that the Bb7 tritone can resolve by step in contrary motion to part of the C
chord, or, more properly, because it is a substitute for iv, the c minor chord: d
eb; ab
g. Classical
musicians will recognise this as being the ‘interrupted cadence’, something I will discuss later. Note
also that Bb7 occurs as chord VII in the Aeolian mode [see chapter 1].
32
An extension of Db7 to Db9 with G7 would give G7b9#11b13; an extension of Db7 to Db13 with
G7 would give G7b9#9#11b13.

27
 Db7 is literally, though not functionally, in Gb: hence V of Gb without the
‘target’ resolution specified on that line. Db7 is identified as substituting for
V of c minor rather than C major, since Db7 includes the note ‘ab’ [the b9
in G7] and also a ‘db’, which is a chromatic approach note to ‘c’: Db7/G =
G7b9b5. This also gives the chord a more minor colour, being associated
with the Phrygian mode.33

D7 loses its target of G major, instead becoming a substitute for Ab7, V of

db minor.

To summarise, D7 is literally V of G; it is also a substitute for V of db

minor, which is why [V] is in brackets. Db7 is literally V of Gb major; it is
also a substitute for V of c minor, which is why [V] is in brackets, and the
target for V of db minor, which is why [i] is in brackets.

If both dominant chords are substituted, the analysis becomes a little

simpler:

Ab7 Dm7 Db7 C

C: ii I
Cm: [V]
Gb V
Db: V [I]

With a tritone substitute for G7, pattern 4 [from chapter 4] would appear:

A7b9 Dm7 Db7 C

C: ii I
Cm: [V]
Gb V
Dm: V [i]

When both dominant 7ths are substituted, the result is:

Eb7 Dm7 Db7 C

C: ii I
Cm: [V]
Gb V
Dm: [V] [i]
Ab: V

33
Tritone substitutes are essentially altered dominants and are not really in a minor key at all, though
the net effect is ‘minor-ish’. Instead, they are the product of an ellipsis of the voice-leading of the
dominant 9th resolving to the tonic though chromatic appoggiature. In the progression G9
C, the
voice-leading may be as follows: d-d#-e [to account for the b13 or #5]; d-db-c [to account for the #11
or b5]; a#-b-c [#9]; a-ab-g [b9].

28
 However, when the dominant 7th chords change, application of the ‘ii-V
principle’ [principle 3 from chapter 3] can result in further variation. Pattern
2 may look like this:

D7 Abm7 Db7 C
C: I
Cm: [V]
Gb ii V
G: V
Dbm: [V] [i]

Note that Abm7 is not a substitute for Dm7. It is an alternative ii-V

progression.

At first sight pattern 4 may also begin to look different:

A7b9 Abm7 Db7 C

C: I
Cm: [V]
Gb ii V
Abm: [V] [i]
Dm: V

While A7b9 changes to being a substitute for Eb7, the functional analysis
is essentially the same.

Here are the seven analytical examples from chapter 5 with some of the
above substitutions added.

Example 6.1:

C Gb7 F Bb7
C: I IV
Cm: [iv]
Eb: V
F: I
Fm: [V]
Cb: V

C Eb7 Dm7 Db7 C Bb7 C

C: I ii I I
Cm: [V] [iv]
Gb: V
Eb: V
Dm: [V] [i]
Ab: V

29
 Example 6.2:

Gm7 C7 Am7 Ab7 Gm7 Gb7 F

F: ii V iii [I] ii I
Fm: [V]
Cb: V
Gm: [V] [i]
G: ii
Db: V

Am7 Ab7 Gm7 Gb7 F Eb7 F

F: ii I I
Fm: [V]
Cb: V
Fm: [iv]
Ab: V
Gm: [V] [i]
Db: V
G: ii

Example 6.3:

G Abdim Am7 Ab7 G Db7 C F7

G: I ii I IV
Gm: [V] [iv]
Bb: V
Db: V
C: I
Cm: [V]
Gb: V
Am: vii [i]

G Bbdim Am7 Ab7 G C G

G: I ii I IV I
Gm: [V]
Db: V
Abm: vii [i]

Note that the Bbdim, which was acting as a C#dim [vii of d minor], is now
acting as a Gdim [vii of ab minor].

30
 Example 6.4:

Fm7 E7 Bbm7 A7 Ab Bdim

Ab: ii I
Abm: [V]
D: V
Ebm: [V]
Eb: ii
A: V [I]
Am: vii

Bbm7 A7 Ab Db Ab
Ab: ii I IV I
Abm: [V]
D: V
Am: [i]

Bdim, which was acting as a Ddim [vii of eb minor], is now acting as a

G#dim [vii of a minor].

Example 6.5:

Bb Gm7 Cm7 F7 Dm7 Dbdim Cm7 B7

Bb: I vi ii V iii [I] ii
Bbm: [V]
E: V
Bm: vii [i]

Bb E7 Eb Ab7 Bb Ab7 Bb
Bb: I IV I I
Bbm: [iv] [iv]
Db: V V
Eb: I
Ebm: [V]
B: V

Dbdim, which was acting as Edim [vii of f minor], is now acting as an

A#dim [vii of b minor].

31
 Example 6.6:

D F#m7 F7 Em7 Eb7 D Ab7

D: I ii I
Dm: [V]
Ab: V
Gm: [V]
Em: [V] [i]
E: ii
Bb: V

G C7 D F7 E7 Eb7 D
D: IV I I
Dm: [iv] [V]
F: V
Ab: V
G: I
Ebm: [V] [i]
A: V
Em: [V] [i]
Bb: V

Example 6.7:

Eb Am7 Ab7 G Gm7 Gb7

Eb: I
F: ii
Fm: [V]
Cb: V
G: ii I
Gm: [V]
Db: V

F Fm7 E7 Eb Ab Eb
Eb: ii I IV I
Ebm: [V]
A: V
F: I

32
CHAPTER SEVEN: Cadences

The following chapter discusses cadences, and typical substitute chords

used at cadence points. Cadences are the formulaic chord progressions
used to end harmonic phrases.

Classical musicians recognise four basic cadences:

Perfect: V
I
Plagal: IV
I
Interrupted: V
vi
Imperfect: anything
V

Contemporary popular music employs the same cadences, incorporating

substitute chords as well. Additionally, because cadences are formulaic,
and therefore more predictable, more distant substitutes are often used,
which would not necessarily be common within normal harmonic
progressions.

Perfect cadences take the two forms already discussed:

G7 C
C: V I

And:

Db7 C
C: I
Cm: [V]
Gb: V

Extension of the ‘iii for I substitute’ would allow the following, though it is
not common:

Bm7b5 C
C: vii I

Bm7b5 [b-d-f-a] and G9 [g-b-d-f-a] have the same tritone and are close
enough to have the same function.

Plagal cadences are IV-I:

F C
C: IV I

33
 They can also be a substitute of IV-I. Therefore:

Dm7 C
C: ii I

Dm7 [d-f-a-c] has the same notes as F6 [f-a-c-d]. Indeed, this relationship
is the same as the ‘iii for I substitute’.

A much less obvious substitute for the plagal cadence is:

B7 C
C: [IV] I
E: V

There are a few reasons why this seems to work. Firstly, B7 is the tritone
substitute for F7, which is chord IV in the blues. Secondly, it’s a kind of
interrupted cadence in e minor [V-VI]: it’s familiar, but can’t be an
interrupted cadence because it ends on chord I. Thirdly and finally, the B7
contains the note ‘a’, which is a fundamental component of the plagal
cadence.

The plagal minor cadence is the one familiar from pattern 6:

Fm6 C
C: I
Cm: iv

It generates an interesting number of substitute versions, including the one

already discussed:

Bb7 C
C: I
Cm: [iv]
Eb: V

The operative note in the plagal minor cadence is ‘ab’, so the following
becomes possible:

Abmaj7 C
C: I
Cm: VI [iv]

Abmaj7 [ab-c-eb-g] may be heard as the upper part of Fm9 [f-ab-c-eb-g].

34
 The following is also seen as a variation on the above especially in a
bluesy context:34

Ab7 C
C: I
Cm: [iv]
Db: V

Also:

Dbmaj7 C
C: I
Cm: [iv]
Ab: IV

Here, Dbmaj7 works because Cmin [c-eb-g] is the upper part of Abmaj7
[ab-c-eb-g], which would be chord I. Additionally, Fm7 is the upper part of
Dbmaj9.

The interrupted cadence [or ‘deceptive’ as some say] may be interpreted

in the contemporary context as V
‘substitute for I’. That is, V
vi [G7

Am7, or G7
Abmaj7 in the minor key], or V
iii [G7
Em7]. The
first example typically ends phrases, and the second example is often
used to modulate as shown in chapter 6.

The imperfect cadence is likewise interpreted in the contemporary context

as ‘anything’
‘V or substitute for V’.

Further extension of the ‘iii for I’ substitute to other degrees of the scale
may also be seen. In the major key, these are:

iii for I: Em7 for C, as previously discussed; note, however, that

Em7 may not extend to Em9 in this context and stay in key:
Em9/C = Cmaj7#11.

IV for ii: F for Dm7 as previously discussed. Fmaj7/D = Dm9;

Fmaj9/D = Dm11; Fmaj7#11/D = Dm13. And ii is also a
substitute for IV: Dm7/F = F6; Dm9/F = Fmaj13.

V for iii is not a substitute: G7/E does not equal Em9, nor is
Em7b9 a conventional extension.

vi for IV: Am7/F = Fmaj9; Am9/F = Fmaj7#11; Am11 = Fmaj13

vii for V: Bm7b5/G = G9; Bm11b5/G = G13.

I for vi: Cmaj7/A = Am9; Cmaj9 = Am11.

34
Blues will be discussed in more detail later.

35
 ii for vii is not a substitute: Dm7/B includes the note ‘c’, an
unconventional extension for Bmin7b5.

In the minor key the ‘III for i’ substitutes are as follows.

III for i: Ebmaj7+/C = Cmin/maj9; Ebmaj9+/C = Cmin/maj11;

Ebmaj7#11+/C = Cmin/maj13.

iv for ii is not a substitute in the minor key: Fm7/D includes the

note ‘eb’, an unconventional extension for Dm7b5. However, ii
may be substituted for iv: Dm7b5/F = Fm6.

V for III, unlike the major key, is a substitute in the minor: G7/Eb
= Ebmaj9+; G9/Eb = Ebmaj9#11+. III may also be substituted
for V: Ebmaj7+/G = G7b13

VI for iv: Abmaj7/F = Gm9; Abmaj9/F = Fm11; Abmaj7#11 =

Fm13. iv may also be substituted for VI: Fm7/Ab = Ab6.

vii for V is the diminished chord with the dominant function, as

discussed in chapter 4: Bdim/G = G7b9.

i for VI is not a substitute, unlike the major key: Cmin/maj7/Ab

includes the note ‘b’, an unconventional extension for Abmaj7.

ii for vii is not a substitute: Dm7b5/B includes the note ‘c’, an

unconventional extension for Bdim.

Extended cadential patterns normally proceed in the order:

subdominant
subdominant-minor
dominant
tonic.35

Thus:

F Fm6 G7 C
C: IV V I
Cm: iv

35
That is, any number or combination of chords may be used as long as the functions proceed in this
order. The possibilities are therefore: subdominant
tonic; subdominant-minor
tonic; dominant

tonic; subdominant
subdominant-minor
tonic; subdominant
dominant
tonic;
subdominant-minor
dominant
tonic; subdominant
subdominant-minor
dominant
tonic.
The classic ii-V-I is therefore subdominant
dominant
tonic.

36
 The substitutes presented in this chapter may be inserted in the
appropriate places for interesting effects. Even the following is possible:

B7 Bb7 Db7 C
C: [IV] I
Cm: [iv] [V]
Gb: V
Eb: V
E: V

And therefore:

D#m7b5 Dm7b5 Fm7b5 C

C: [IV] I
Cm: [iv] [V]
Gb: vii
Eb: vii
E: vii

37
CHAPTER EIGHT: Passing Diminished Chords and
the Death of Chord ii

The following chapter discusses problems with ‘passing’ diminished

chords, and presents the ‘death of chord ii’.

There are a number of common ‘passing diminished patterns’. The first is

familiar:

Example 8.1

C C#dim Dm7
C: I ii
Dm: vii [i]

The second is similar:

Example 8.2

Dm D#dim Em7
C: ii iii
Em: vii [i]

As is the next

Example 8.3

F F#dim G7
C: IV V
Gm: vii [i]

Example 8.2 may also appear as:

Example 8.4

Dm D#dim C/E
C: ii I [iii]
Em: vii [i]

And Example 8.3 may appear as:

Example 8.5

F F#dim C/G
C: IV I [V]
Gm: vii [i]

38
 C/G, while literally chord I, is generally heard as V with a double
appoggiatura.36 That is, the chord after C/G would normally be G or G7:37

e
d
c
b
g
g

The following two examples are probably heard as decorations of the first
chord, whatever the ‘analysis’ may be.

Example 8.6

C Cdim C
C: I I [iii]
Em: vii [i] VI

Cdim = D#dim.38

Example 8.7

G7 Gdim G7
C: V V [vii]
Bm: vii [i] [VI]

Gdim = A#dim.

The next two examples are Example 8.4 and 8.5 backwards, with an extra
resolution:

Example 8.8

C/E Ebdim Dm7 G7

C: I ii V
Gm: vii [i]

Example 8.9

C/G Gbdim F G7
C: I IV V
Gm: vii [i]

36
This 2nd inversion chord is familiar for its functional use as an upbeat to the cadenza in a concerto. A
cadenza is essentially a decorated resolution of the appoggiature.
37
An exception to this is where the bass moves through the chord as an arpeggio, such as C-C/E-C/G-
C. Here C/G is heard as C.
38
Note that B7b9
C would be interpreted as a plagal cadence in the key of C, and an interrupted
cadence in the key of e minor.

39
 Sometimes the resolution is not given:

Example 8.10

C/E Ebdim Dm7 C

C: I ii [V] I
Gm: vii [i]

Example 8.11

C/G Gbdim F C
C: I [V] IV [V] I
Gm: vii [i]

How can this be? How can ii be V, and how can IV be V?

In contemporary popular and jazz music chord ii is customarily linked to

chord V [see principle 3 in chapter 3] as the ii-V pattern. Chord ii has,
therefore, lost its individual characteristics and is heard as a double
appoggiatura into chord V:

f
f
d
d
c
b
a
g

Indeed, the chord Dm7/G is G9sus. Through association, chord ii has

become a version of chord V. This is also why the ‘till ready’ vamp of ii-V-
ii-V-ii-V, etc., is used. Functionally, the harmony hovers on the dominant.

Chord IV has the same function as chord ii. Fmaj7/G is G13sus and,
when resolved to G7, is heard as a triple appoggiatura.39

f
f
e
d
c
b
a
g

It should be noted that it is relatively rare for chord ii [or chord IV] to act as
chord V. Typically, it occurs in standard patterns like those above, where
the familiarity of the pattern is a factor.

At this stage in this booklet our analyses have been simplified down to a
basic level: chord-I, or not-chord-I.40

39
Fmaj7/G is famous as the ‘LA chord’ of smooth west coast music.

40
 The ‘chord-I group’ includes I, iii, and vi.

The ‘not-chord-I group’ includes V, ii, IV, and vii.

In tonal music, ‘not-I’ moves to I, its target. This type of analysis is

concerned with finding the targets, which are the real or implied keys.

Pattern 1 from chapter 4 was given as

Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G7

C: I vi ii V

We can now see that this is functionally the same as two bars of chord I,
followed by two bars of chord V.

40
This is not a new idea. See, for example, Heinrich Schenker, “Vom Organischen der Sonatenform,”
in Das Meisterwerk in der Musik, Vol.II, Musich: Drei Masken, 1926; trans. W.Drabkin as “On
Organicism in Sonata Form,” in The Masterwork in Music, Vol.II, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

41
CHAPTER NINE: Blues

The following chapter briefly discusses the influence of the blues on tonal
chord progressions.

While the first blues records were made in the 1920s when the form was
already developed, the first time the word actually appeared on a piece of
sheet music was in 1912, when Memphis Blues and Dallas Blues were
published. As far as can be ascertained, the term ‘blues’ was never used
in any 19th century writings on black music, though some people speculate
that the term may be derived from the phrase ‘the blue devils’, which dates
from Elizabethan times.41

There have been, and continue to be, many original, ‘authentic’ and
important characteristics of blues, such as call-and-answer or the slow
ground beat influence from work songs. Over the years blues has been
incorporated into boogie-woogie and rock ‘n’ roll and has been
appropriated to make ‘white blues’ and jazz.42 Along the way much of the
original character has been lost [for example, blues does not ‘have’ to
have a slow ground beat] whilst still being identified as ‘blues’.

One of the important identifiers is that the form has three phrases;
nowadays these phrases have been regularised into four bars each [’12-
bar blues’].

Traditionally, the first phrase made a declamation. The second phrase

was more or less a repeat of the first phrase, but with a flattened melodic
inflection, at least at the beginning of the phrase—a so-called ‘blue note’.
The third phrase was an answering or ‘commenting’ phrase:

‘My man, my man, he treats me awful mean

You know, my man, my man, he treats me awful mean
Oh yeah, he’s the meanest man I’ve ever seen.’

The second important contemporary identifier is the choice of chord for the
beginning of the second, inflected, phrase.

When attempting to accompany, with chords, what would have been non-
western, modal music, one can imagine that the early performers just
played simple chords that seemed to fit. For example, if the first phrase
centred around the pitch ‘e’, the chord could be C; and if the second
phrase inflected the pitch to ‘eb’, the second chord could be F [to make

41
James Lincoln Collier, The Making of Jazz, NY: Delta, 1979. This may not be as surprising as it
first sounds. It’s well known that ‘removed’ societies often maintain words or customs for longer than
the ‘original’ culture.
42
See, for example, White Blues (1983) by Michael Graillier, title track of Chet Baker’s compilation
album, Camden CD 74321 451892.

42
 F7], or indeed Ab or Ab7 [or even Eb7], which are also used to begin the
second phrase in a number of blues songs. While it seems that the
important blues characteristic is the flattened melody note in the second
phrase, and not the particular chord that is used to harmonise with it, the
choice of harmony here has become strongly associated with a ‘bluesy’
feel in the harmonic context.

The last phrase is a turnaround, so the dominant chord would have been
the clear choice. This means the whole form could be harmonised by the
primary triads I-IV-I-V-I. The addition of 7ths to every chord reduces their
harmonic function and makes the result more ‘modal’.

Blues is not, therefore, fully tonal and to attempt to fit it in to a tonal

analysis means one has to ignore the functionality of the dominant 7th
chords, particularly in the second phrase.43

C7 C7 C7 C7
C: [I]
F: V

F7 F7 C7 C7
C: [IV] [I]
F: [I] V
Bb: V

G7 G7 C7 C7
C: V [I]
F: V

The result is that the dominant 7th as chord IV has come to be a

particularly strong blues ‘identifier’. Indeed, one only has to use it to make
the song immediately sound more ‘bluesy’. Contemporary popular music
and jazz regularly ‘borrow’ this chord [or the dominant 7th on the flattened
submediant—Ab7 in the key of C] in the same way as chords from the
parallel minor key are ‘borrowed’.

Even the most tonal of ‘white blues’ progressions include the ‘blue note’ in
this vital position. Note the passing diminished pattern in the second
phrase [from example 8.5 in chapter 8]:

C7 F7 C7 Gm7 C7
C: [I] [IV] [I]
F: V V ii V
Bb: V

43
Note that F7 as chord IV is present in the jazz melodic minor [see chapter 1] and to analyse it as
chord IV in c minor [rather than a variant of IV in C major] would therefore be possible.

43
 F7 F#dim C7 A7
C: [IV] [I]
F: [I]
Gm: vii [i]
D: V
Bb: V

D7 G7 C7 F7 C7 G7
C: V [I] [IV] [I] V
F: V V
Bb: V
D: [I]
G: V [I]

44
CHAPTER TEN: Analysing Excerpts from Standards

The following chapter analyses some excerpts from the ‘great American
songbook’.44

Talk of the Town

F Abdim Gm7 C7 F F7+ Bb Eb7

F: I ii V I IV
Fm: [iv]
Ab: V
Bbm: V [i]
Cm: vii [i]

F E7 Eb7 D7 G7 Gm7 C7
F: I ii V
C: V [I]
G: V [I]
Dm: [V] [i]
Ab: V
Ebm: [V] [i]
A: V

But Beautiful

G Abdim Am7 Bbdim

G: I ii
Bm: vii
Am: vii [i]

G/B Bm7b5 E7 A7 A7
G: I [iii]
D: V V
Am: ii V [i]
Bm: [i]

Am7 D7 Bm7 Bbdim Am7 D7 G

G: ii V iii [I] ii V I
Dm: vii [i]
D: [I]

44
These excerpts are taken from the Berklee, lesson 18 assignments.

45
 Em7 A7 Am7 D7
G: vi ii V
D: ii V [I]

Cynthia’s in Love

Fm7: Bb7b9 Eb Fm7 Gm7 Gbdim

Eb: ii I ii iii
Ebm: V
Bbm: vii

Fm7 Bb7 Eb Db7 C7

Eb: ii V I
F: V
Cm: [V] [i]
Gb: V
Bbm: [i]

Blue Room

F Abdim Gm7 C7 F D7b9 Gm7 C7

F: I ii V I ii V
Gm: V [i]
Cm: vii [i]

F F7 Bb Eb7 F G7 Gm7 C7
F: I IV I ii V
C: V [I]
Fm: [iv]
Ab: V
Bb: V I

There’s No You

F Bbm6 F Dbm7 Gb7

F: I I
Fm: iv [V]
Cb: ii V

46
 F Am7 Abdim Gm7 C7
F: I iii ii V
Cm: vii [i]
Fm: [i]

Moonglow

Eb Ebm6 Bb C7
Bb: IV I
Bbm: iv
F: V

Cm7 F7 Bb/D Dbdim Cm7 Dbdim Bb/D

Bb: ii V I [iii] ii [V] I [iii]
F: [I]
Fm: vii [i]
Dm: vii [i]

Cm7 [bar 8] = F9sus [see chapter 8].

I Understand

F#m7 F7 E7 A7 Am7 D7 G Am7

G: ii V I ii
D: V [I]
A: V [I]
Em: [V] [i]
E: ii
Bb: V

G/B E7 Am7 D7 G
G: I [iii] ii V I
Am: V [i]
A: [ii]

47
 Gone with the Wind

Fm7 Bb7 Eb C7b9 Fm7 Bb7 Eb

Eb: ii V I ii V I
Fm: V [i]

Am7 D7 G E7b9 Am7 D7 G

Eb:
G: ii V I ii V I
Am: V [i]

Ebmaj9 Gbdim Fm7 Bb7

Eb: I ii V
Bbm: vii [i]

Eb Bb7+ Gm7b5 C7 Fm7 Db7 Bb7

Eb: I [I] [iii] ii V
Ebm: V [iv]
Gb: V
Fm: ii V [i]
Gm: [V] [i]

Bb7+ [bar 13] is also functioning as D7b5#5.

48
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Analysing Standards

The following chapter analyses some standards from the ‘great American
songbook’.45 Some of them have tricky sections.

All of Me

C6 C6 E7 E7
C: I I
A: V V

A7 A7 Dm7 Dm7
C:
A: [I]
Dm: V V [i] [i]
Am: iv iv

E7 E7 Am7 Am7
C:
Am: V V [i] [i]
G: ii ii

D13 D13 Dm7 G7

C: ii V
G: V V [I]

Beautiful Love

Em7b5 A7#5 Dm D7
Dm: ii V i
Gm: V

Gm7 C7 Fmaj7 Em7b5 A7

Dm: ii V
Gm: [i]
F: ii V I

45
These standards are taken from Chuck Sher [ed.], The New Real Book, Petaluma: Sher Music Co,
1988.

49
 Dm Gm7 Bb7 A7
Dm: i iv V
Am: [V] [i]
Eb: V

1st time
Dm B7b5 Em7b5 A7
Dm: i ii V
Em: V [i]

2nd time
Dm B7#9 Bb7 A7 Dm Dm
Dm: i V i i
Bbm: [V] [i]
Em: V
Am: [V] [i]
Eb: V

Blame it on My Youth

Ebmaj7 Fm7 Gm7 Cm7 Fm7 Edim Fm7 Bb7

Eb: I ii iii vi ii ii V
Fm: vii [i]

Fm7 Edim Fm7 Bb7 Gm7 Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 Eb7sus Eb7
Eb: ii ii V iii [I] ii V I
Fm: vii [i]
Ab: V V

Abmaj7 Bb7 Gm7 Cm7 Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7

Eb: IV V iii [I] vi ii V I
Ab: I

Dm7b5 G7 Cm Abmaj7 C7 F7 Bb7sus Bb7

Eb: V V
Cm: ii V i VI [i]
F: V [I]
Bb: V [I]

But Beautiful

Gmaj7 Bm7b5 E7b9 Am9 C#m7b5 F#7b9

G: I ii
Am: ii V [i]
Bm: ii V

50
 Gmaj7 Bm7b5 E7sus E7 A9 A9
G: I [iii]
Bm: [i]
Am: ii V V [i]
D: V V

1st time
D13 Cdim Bm7 Em7 Am7 D9sus D7 Gmaj7 B7
G: V iii [I] vi ii V V [I]
D: [I]
Gm: vii [i]
Em: V

Em7 A9 Am7 D7
G: ii V
Em: [i]
D: ii V [I]

2nd time
D7 D7/C Bm7 Em7 Am7 F#m7b5 B7 Em F9
G: V V iii [I] vi ii vi
Em: iv ii V i
Gm: [iv]
Bb: V

Gmaj7/D E7 Am7 D7 G6 G6
G: I ii V I I
Bb: [I] [iii]
Am: V [i]

Notes: Bars 1-5 decorate a slow I-ii-iii progression. The F9 in the 5th last
bar has two functions: firstly it is part of a iv-I in G [see chapter 6];
secondly, it is V-I in Bb, where the G second inversion chord functions as
a D chord [see chapter 4].

51
 Darn That Dream

G6 Bbm7 Eb7 Am7 B7b5 Em7 D7 Cm6 Bm7b5 E7

G: I vi V [I] [iii]
Gm: iv
Ab: ii V
F: iii [I]
Fm: [iv]
Em: iv V [i]
Am: ii V

1st time
Am7 F9 Bm7 Bbm7 Am7 D7 Bm7 Bb7 Am7 D7
G: ii iii [I] ii V iii [I] ii V
Am: [i] [V] [i]
Bb: V
Gm: [iv] [i]
Ab: ii [V]
Dm: [V] [i]
Eb: V

2nd time
G6 Fm7 Bb7
G: I
Eb: ii V

Ebmaj7 Cm7 Fm7 Bb7 Gm7 F#m7 B7 Fm7 Bb7

G:
Eb: I vi ii V iii [I] ii V
E: ii V
Bbm: [V] [i]

Ebmaj7 Cm7 Gm Am7 D7 Bbm7 Eb7 Am9 D13

G: ii V ii V
Eb: I vi iii [I]
Dbm: [V] [i]
Ab: ii [IV] V
Dm: [V] [i]
Repeat [A] section

Notes: In bar 2, Am7 functions as chord I in F, allowing Eb7 to function as

chord iv in f minor [see chapter 6]. Cm6 in bar 3 has been given as chord
iv and so may move to a substitute for chord I in bar 4. However, it may
also be heard as F9, the substitute dominant of E7 in the next bar [see
chapter 6]. The passing Bbm7 in bar 6 is given as Eb11 [see chapter 8].
The D7-Bbm7 progression in the last two bars requires explanation:
Bbm7=Db6, allowing D7 to be the dominant substitute of Ab7.

52
 Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You

C7 Ab7 G7 C7 F7 Bb7 Eb6 G7

Eb: V I
C: [I] V [I] V
Fm: V [i]
Db: V
Gm: [V] [i]
F: V [I]
Bb: V [I]

C7 Ab7 G7 C7 F7 Bb7 Eb6 Eb7

Eb: V I
C: [I] V [I]
Fm: V [i]
Db: V
Gm: [V] [i]
F: V [I]
Bb: V [I]
Ab: V

Ab6 Adim Eb6/Bb Eb7 Ab6 Adim Dm7b5 G7

Eb: I
Ab: I V I
Bbm: vii [i]
Gm: vii [i]
Cm: ii V

C7 Ab7 G7 C7 F7 Bb7 Eb6

Eb: V I
C: [I] V [I]
Fm: V [i]
Db: V
Gm: [V] [i]
F: V [I]
Bb: V [I]
Cm: [i]

Notes: Even though C7 in the first bar is intended to invoke a bluesy

sound, there is a clear resolution to a substitute for Fmin [see chapter 7].

53
 I’m Old Fashioned

F6 Dm7 Gm7 C7 F6 Dm7 Gm7 C7

F: I vi ii V I vi ii V

Bb6/F Fmaj7 Em7b5 A7

F: IV [I] I
Dm: ii V

Dm7 G13 Dm7 G13

F:
C: ii V ii V
Dm: [i]

Gm7 Gm7 Abdim Gm7 C7

F: ii ii ii V
C: [I]
Cm: vii [i]

F6 Dm7 Gm7 C7 F6 Dm7 Bm7 E7

F: I vi ii V I vi [I]
A: ii V

Amaj7 Bm7 C#m7 D7 E7 F#dim Gm7 C7

F: ii V
A: I ii iii [I] V [vi] [I]
G: V [I]
Gm: vii [i]

F6 Dm7 Gm7 C7 F6 Dm7 Gm7 C7

F: I vi ii V I vi ii V

Cm7 F7 Bbmaj7 Eb9#11 Am7 Dm7 Dm7/C Bm7b5 Bbm6

F: [I] iii [I]
Fm: iv iv
Bb: ii V I
Dm: [V] [i]
C: ii ii vii [V]

Am7 Dm7 Gm7 C7 F6

F: iii [I] vi ii V I
C: vi [I]

54
 Notes: Unusually, the G13 in bar 12 waits four bars for its resolution in bar
16. In bar 23, E7-F#m7 would not be unusual as the progression V-vi; in
this case E7-F#dim is much less usual, but since it is an ellipsis of V-vi,
F#dim is acceptable in place of I.

Jersey Bounce

F6 F6 G7 G7
F: I I
C: V V

Gm7 C7 F6 Abdim Gm7 C13

F: ii V I ii V
C: [I]
Cm: vii [i]

F6 F6 G7 G7
F: I I
V V

Gm7 C7 F6 Db9 F6
F: ii V I I
Fm: [iv]
C: [I]
Gb: V

F13 F13 Eb13 Eb13

F:
Bb: V V [I]
Ab: [ii] V V

Db13 Db13 C7 C7#5

F: V
Fm: V
Ab: [I]
Gb: [ii] V V
Cm: [V] [i]
Repeat [A2] section

Notes: In bars 15-16, Db9-F6 is a plagal minor cadence [see chapter 7].
In bar 19, Eb13 is taken as an ellipsis of Bbm7-Eb13 [see chapter 8], thus

55
 F13 finds its target. Likewise, Db13 in bar 21 is taken to be an ellipsis of
Abm7-Db13, allowing Eb13 to ‘resolve’.

Killing Me Softly with His Song

Bbm7 Eb9 Ab Db
Ab: ii V I IV

Bbm7 Eb9 Fm Fm
Ab: ii V vi vi

Bbm7 Eb7 Ab C7
Ab: ii V I
Fm: V

Fm Bbm7 Eb Ab
Ab: ii V I
Fm: i iv

Fm Bb/D Eb Db
Ab: V IV
Eb: ii V I

Ab Db Gbmaj7 Gbmaj7 F F
Ab: I IV
F: I
Fm: [iv]
Db: I IV IV

Notes: This song is potentially difficult because of the lack of chord

extensions that ‘pin’ down the chord function. Modulations are made via
pivot chords rather than through resolution of the dominant 7th. Gbma7-F
is a plagal minor cadence [see chapter7].

Lady Bird

Cmaj7 Cmaj7 Fm7 Bb7

C: I I
Cm: iv [iv]
Eb: ii V

56
 Cmaj7 Cmaj7 Bbm7 Eb7
C: I I
Ab: ii V

Abmaj7 Abmaj7 Am7 D7

C:
Ab: I I
G: ii V

Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 Eb7 Abmaj7 G7#5

C: ii V I
Cm: VI V
G: [I]
Ab: V I

57
CHAPTER TWELVE: Analysing The Beatles

The following chapter analyses a couple of interesting excerpts from The

Beatles songs.

The song Yesterday contains a dominant 7th that apparently does not
resolve: it accompanies the line, ‘I believe in yesterday’:

Dm7 G7 Bb F
F: IV [V] I
C: ii V [I]

In this case, chord IV, Bb, is acting as a dominant, C9sus [see chapter 8].

The introductory chord of A Hard Day’s Night is notated with the chord
symbol Gsus4/D before moving into the first chord of the song, G.
Gsus4=g-c-d. However D7sus=d-g-a-c. Since the note ‘a’ is not
necessarily required, Gsus4=D7sus. Thus:

Gsus4/D G
G: I [V] I

The first four bars include tonal and modal aspects:

G C G F G
G: I IV I I
Gm: [iv]
Bb: V

Although the progression G-F-G is modal, it recalls the chord iv

substitution [see chapter 6] even without the extension to the dominant 7th.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is strongly influenced by the blues,
and so is not ‘tonal’. Every chord is a dominant 7th so the progression is
heard melodically as a kind of riff: I-II-IV-I. Assigning the dominant chords
as chord V in a particular key, while perhaps being literally correct,
completely misses the point. C7 might be heard as a target [D9b13sus]
for A7 [see Yesterday and chapter 8].

G7 A7 C7 G7
G: [I] [ii] [IV] [I]
C: V [I] V
D: V [I]
F: V

58
 Come Together is interesting because almost all the major chords extend
to the dominant 7th except chord V. Here is the second verse:

D7#9 D7#9 D7#9 D7#9

D: [I]
Gm: V

A A G7 G7
D: V [IV]
Gm: [i]
C: V

Bm A G A D7#9 D7#9
D: vi V IV V [I]
Gm: V

D7#9 as chord I and G7 as chord IV are imported from the blues.

59
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The ‘Tristan Chord’

Wagner’s ‘Tristan Chord’ is notorious as a subject for analysis.46 The one

given below is how Paul Cooper heard it: a French 6th resolving to the
dominant of a minor [E7], followed by another to G7, and then [what
amounts to] another to B7.47

Cooper’s interpretation is the same as how the jazz musician would hear
it.48 Bar 3 is clearly E7 with an appoggiatura in the first voice from a#-b.
Similarly, bar 2 is F7b5, with a long appoggiatura in the first voice from g#-
a.

Confusion may come from naming the chord on the downbeat of bar 2 as
its own chord Db9 or G7b9#5, by focussing on the f-b tritone for example,
or as Fm7b5. Instead, if heard as a tritone substitute for B7, the first beat
of bar 2 may be named F7b5#9, though this is missing the point
somewhat.

Bars 6-7 are identical, but transposed. Bars 10-11 are slightly different.
The final chord in bar 10, though, is C+, which may still function as a
tritone substitute for the dominant of B7.

46
Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde was composed from 1857 to 1859 and was widely
regarded as a departure from the ‘classical’ harmonic system. The following excerpt is a piano
reduction of the first eleven bars of the ‘Prelude’.
47
Paul Cooper, Perspectives in Music Theory, NY: Dodd, Mead & Co, 1975, p.219.
48
A French 6th is enharmonically the same as the tritone substitute for V of V.

60
 What is not happening is a clear resolution of each imperfect cadence: E7
is followed by G7, followed by B7. Why is there no resolution? Perhaps
the answer is this is art music, where expected resolutions are delayed
and larger patterns are articulated thematically over longer time scales;
additionally, in this highly dissonant context, even resolutions to the
dominant 7th, followed by a rest, may be heard as ‘final’ enough to move
the tonality elsewhere.49

However, if compelled to retrospectively force this sophisticated music into

the mindset of American jazz harmony, the following will have to do:

G7 followed by E7 is not unusual in jazz harmony [see chapter 7], but E7

followed by G7 is. However, if the general key is taken to be a minor/C
major, the first phrase is an imperfect cadence in the relative minor and
the second phrase an imperfect cadence in the relative major. This key
relationship is so close that we should find logical progression at the
chord-to chord level, despite the chromaticism.

If E7 was followed by Am, the interpretation would be V-i; or V-of-vi to vi in

C major. If E7 were followed by Ab, the interpretation would be V-of-vi [C
major] to VI in c minor, with the Am being replaced by Ab as a chord
‘borrowed’ from c minor. The extension of Ab to Ab7 may be understood
as an ellipsis [see chapter 3].

With the second phrase ending on G7, the first chord of the third phrase
being C+ is uncontroversial.

Omitting the melody-only bars,50 the chordal analysis would look like this:

F7b5 E7 Ab7b5 G7 C+ B7
Am: V [i] iii
C: V [I]
Em: [V] [i] V
Bbm: V
Cm: [VI] V
Gm: [V] [i]
Dbm: V
Bm: [V] [i]
Fm: V

49
Note that the tonalities articulated are not radical: the music moves from the minor key, to the
relative major, to the dominant of the minor.
50
I hear the melody-only bars as moving from 5-to-3 of the chord [not from 3-to-1]. Thus, the
anacrusis and bar 1 are Dm [iv of a minor], bars 4-5 are E [V of a minor], and bars 8-9 are G [V of C
major]. These last two are uncontroversial as they merely prolong the previous chord. Hearing Dm as
the first chord is a back-formation.

61