Harmony Basics — The Way Home

1

Current step

Tonic — Home

Exercise · Level 1 · Key C · 80 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 80–120% · Playthroughs 2×

Teaching guidance

The tonic is the tonal centre. It is the point that usually feels stable and complete. In this Exercise nothing needs to move yet — first learn the feeling of home.

🎯 Goal: Hear C as the stable harmonic centre and keep a steady pulse while it repeats.

💡 Before you play: Play slowly and listen to the chord instead of waiting for a change.

✓ Tips: Leave a short silence after the final C. Does the music feel unfinished, or already at rest?

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2

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Dominant — Tension and Return

Exercise · Level 1 · Key C · 80 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 80–120% · Playthroughs 2×

Teaching guidance

The dominant creates tension in relation to the tonic. G7 becomes meaningful not only because of its sound, but because of the strong expectation it creates for a return to C.

🎯 Goal: Hear the difference between tonic stability and dominant tension, and recognise the V→I return.

💡 Before you play: Remember the stable feeling of C from Step 1. Use it as your reference point.

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3

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Subdominant — Motion from the Tonic

Exercise · Level 1 · Key C · 80 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 80–120% · Playthroughs 2×

Teaching guidance

The subdominant also moves away from the tonic, but differently from the dominant. It usually feels less tense and often prepares further harmonic motion.

🎯 Goal: Compare I→IV motion with the I→V tension from the previous step.

✓ Tips: F and G7 both leave the tonic, but they do not create the same kind of expectation.

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4

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IV–V–I — The Way Home

Exercise · Level 1 · Key C · 84 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 80–120% · Playthroughs 2×

Teaching guidance

Now connect the three basic roles. The subdominant prepares motion, the dominant creates tension and the tonic provides resolution.

🎯 Goal: Hear preparation → tension → resolution as one harmonic phrase.

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5

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II–V–I — Basic Cadence

Exercise · Level 2 · Key C · 90 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 80–120% · Playthroughs 3×

Teaching guidance

The ii chord can take the preparatory role we heard earlier from IV. V creates tension and I resolves it. This is one of the central harmonic movements of jazz.

🎯 Goal: Hear II–V–I as preparation → tension → resolution instead of three unrelated chord names.

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6

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VI–II–V–I — Turnaround

Exercise · Level 2 · Key C · 96 BPM

🎯 Mastery: Minimum speed 85–120% · Playthroughs 3×

Teaching guidance

Extend the previous II–V–I by adding vi at the beginning. The result is a classic turnaround: a longer chain that still points clearly back to the tonic.

🎯 Goal: Keep the four-chord motion flowing while still hearing C as the destination.

💡 Before you play: Do not treat each chord as a new beginning. Listen across the whole four-bar chain.

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