A Brief Introduction to Functional Harmony

Functional Harmony is a system whereby chords get categorised into three main functions, Tonic, Pre-Dominant and Dominant. These categories tell you how a chord functions or “behaves” inside a progression. In other words, it tells you where a Chord wants to go and which chord should precede it.

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This can be very useful when you want to build a progression that has a specific goal, such as creating tension or a “peaceful mood”.

You could argue that the function of a chord (for example Dominant) is way more important than the Chord name itself (for example G7 ) as it tells you how you should use the chord, not just what you should name it.

The goal of this video is to give you an overview of Functional Harmony, but there’s much more to discover now that you’re getting excited about music theory!

Overview:
00:25 What is Functional Harmony?
01:45 The Tonic Function
02:15 The Dominant Function
03:29 The Pre-Dominant Function
04:30 Practical Example