The term functional harmony derives from Hugo Riemann and his textbooks on harmony in the late 19th century, with roots back to Jean-Philippe Rameau's theoretical works amongst others. His main idea was to create a comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding the principles of harmonic relationships typical for the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. His work had huge impact, especially where German influence was strong. A good example in this regard are the textbooks by Hermann Grabner.
Riemann's basic theories have since been adopted, refined and elaborated upon by many authors of textbooks in harmony, arranging and composition. Functional harmony is being taught as a basic discipline in music theory all over the western world, though different labels are used. Other terms used in the English and American tradition include Common Practice Harmony (stemming from Walter Piston), Tonal harmony (as used by Allen Forte), and Traditional harmony (as used by Gordon Delamont. Vincent Persichetti describes the 19th century harmonic repertoire as "chords evolving around the tonic pillars" (tonic, subdominant, dominant).
Nonfunctional harmony, the opposite of functional harmony, is harmony whose progression is not guided by function.
Read more about this topic: Diatonic Function
Famous quotes containing the words functional and/or harmony:
“Well designed, fully functional infant. Provides someone to live for as well as another mouth to feed. Produces cooing, gurgling and other adorable sounds. May cause similar behavior in nearby adults. Cries when hungry, sleepy or just because. Hand Wash with warm water and mild soap, then pat dry with soft cloth and talc. Internal mechanisms are self-cleaning... Two Genders: Male. Female. Five Colors: White. Black. Yellow. Red. Camouflage.”
—Alfred Gingold, U.S. humorist. Items From Our Catalogue, “Baby,” Avon Books (1982)
“We Americans have the chance to become someday a nation in which all radical stocks and classes can exist in their own selfhoods, but meet on a basis of respect and equality and live together, socially, economically, and politically. We can become a dynamic equilibrium, a harmony of many different elements, in which the whole will be greater than all its parts and greater than any society the world has seen before. It can still happen.”
—Shirley Chisholm (b. 1924)