Illuminating the Harmonic Journey: The Phrase Model and Functional Bass Analysis

Описание: Discover how harmony creates direction, meaning, and musical momentum.

In this video, we move beyond identifying chords to understanding what they do. Using the phrase model and functional bass analysis, you’ll learn how tonal music organizes harmony into a goal-directed journey toward a cadence. We’ll compare traditional functional tonality with other styles, including drones, ostinatos, and chord cycles, and then develop a practical system for analyzing harmonic function in real music.

You’ll learn:

• How harmonic function shapes a listener’s sense of motion and arrival
• The three primary harmonic functions (tonic, subdominant, dominant) and how all diatonic chords fit into them
• How to use functional bass symbols alongside Roman numerals
• The phrase model (T–S–D–(T)) and how it underlies tonal phrases
• How functional analysis can clarify a progression’s structure

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Harmony as musical journey
00:39 – Drones, ostinatos, and chord cycles vs. tonal harmony
03:34 – Why harmonic function matters
05:23 – Review of Roman numeral analysis
06:05 – Defining harmonic function & chord categories
10:26 – Functional bass symbols explained
11:30 – Practice example 1: key, Roman numerals, function
14:28 – Practice example 2 & deceptive cadence
15:08 – The phrase model (T–S–D–T)
16:31 – Authentic, plagal, and no-function-change progressions
17:18 – Reducing progressions to the phrase model
19:10 – More practice and next steps

👉 Get the most out of this series:
📄 Practice worksheet for harmonic function & phrase analysis → https://robertkelleyphd.com/home/Roma...

🎥 Previous videos:
• Chord Roots & Inversions →    • Decode the Sound: A Guide to Analyzing Mus...  
• Finding the Key of Any Music →    • How to Discover the Key of Any Music Fast  
• Figured Bass →    • Beyond Inversion Symbols: Mastering Figure...  

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