40 Basic Elements of Popular Music Harmony

2010 m.mermikides@surrey.ac.uk

Fundamentals

12-notes and the

cycle of 5ths
All the keys
Major & minor

Major, minor scale

construction.
tones & semitones

The pull of 4-3 and

7-1

Intervals &
Accidentals

Chord
Construction

Triad and 7th chord

construction

6ths, 9ths, 11ths,

13ths, sus and add
chords

Altered chords

Inversions and
hybrid chords

Chords from
Scales

Diatonicism
Constructing
chords from a 7 note
major scale

Diatonicism
Constructing
chords from a 7 note
minor scale (natural,
harmonic, melodic

Roman numeral
analysis

Non-diatonic
roman numeral
analysis

Diatonic Cycle of
5ths

ii7 V7 I
ii V7 i
Voice leading and
5th cycle
Brackets & arrows

Secondary
Dominants
(& related ii chords)
Cycle V
progressions

Tritone substitution
Dominants
(& related ii chords)
Dotted brackets &
arrows

Borrowing chords
from parallel major
and minor

iv-I
iv-bVII - I
(Aeolian ii-V)
bVI-bVII-I

The bVII chord &

iv-bVII - I
(Aeolian ii-V)

Hybrid progressions

Other
common
devices

The IV- I cadence.

Cycle IV progression

Inversions and
basslines

Pedal Tones

Modulation
Pivotal and direct

Stylistic
devices

Blues I7 IV7
(Non functioning
dominants)
Blues forms

Rhythm Changes
Form

Passing Diminished
Chords
between I ii & ii iii i
either direction
and IV to I(2 inv.)

CESH
4 types
and other static
chord
embellishments

Modes

Modes of the major

scale
and their characters

Harmonic minor
mode 5

Melodic minor
mode 1, 4 and 7

Modal interchange

Basic
cadences

Major and
minor in
parallel

Common
Pentatonics
and
Hexatonics

Major and minor

pentatonics.
Neutrality.

Major and minor

blues hexatonics

Pentatonic
relationships with the
modes

Parallelism

Non-diatonic use of
parallel chords

5, major, dom7 and

other structures
on...

...minor pentatonic,
blues, whole tone,
chromatic and other
scales

How pentatonics are

used melodically.
Key area
Minor over mjajor

Parallelism with
pedal tones