The relationship between harmony and the tonal systems
The relationship between harmony and the tonal systems

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to highlight the intrinsic relationship between harmonic structures and tonal systems. It provides a historical perspective on the six tonal systems – oligochordic, pentatonic, modal, functional tonal, serial-dodecaphonic, meta-tonal – along with the main principles underlying their evolution from oligochordic to dodecaphonic systems. The study also analyses the moment of emergence of polyphony, the influence of the vertical dimension of music, of harmony, on the functional systems and the ways in which these two entities interacted and impacted each other. The article presents its own concept of non-harmony and attaches it to the oligochordic systems – predominantly monodic – but also to the dodecaphonic ones, which by their internal rules of operation are at odds with the functional harmony specific to the modal and functional tonal systems.

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