THE DISSOLUTION OF FUNCTIONAL TONALITY

Five Principal Features

1. The increasing use of chromaticism, which weakens the diatonic
basis of functional tonality, the secure status of the key, and the
secure status of goals within a key.

2. The increasing use of dissonance in the form of nonharmonic
tones, dissonant chords, and altered chords, which weakens the
consonance-dissonance distinction crucial to harmonic stability
and resolution.

3. The increasing use of distant harmonic relationships between
consecutive chords and key areas, which weakens the distinction
between closely related and distantly related tonal areas, and blurs
the status of harmonic goals.

4. The use of modal alterations and nondiatonic scales, often for
exotic effects, which also weakens the clarity of harmonic and
melodic goals.

5. The avoidance of direct statements of the basic functional
harmonic progressions and voice leadings, since in this new
harmonic and tonal environment, simple progressions sounded too
old-fashioned and banal.


LESTER, Joel (1989). Analytic Approach to Twentieth-Century Music.
New York: Norton.