Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Roman numeral analysis
In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of harmonic analysis in which chords are represented by Roman numerals, which encode the chord's degree and harmonic function within a given musical key.
Specific notation conventions vary: some theorists use uppercase numerals (e.g. I, IV, V) to represent major chords, and lowercase numerals (e.g. ii, iii, vi) to represent minor chords. Others use uppercase numerals for all chords regardless of their quality. (As the II, III, and VI chords are always minor chords and the VII always diminished, a further distinguishment is thought unneeded, see table for Major Diatonic scale below)
Roman numerals can be used to notate and analyze the harmonic progression of a composition independent of its specific key. For example, the ubiquitous twelve-bar blues progression uses the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) chords built upon the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees respectively.
Roman numeral analysis is based on the idea that chords can be represented and named by one of their notes, their root (see § History for more information). The system came about initially from the work and writings of Rameau's fundamental bass.
The earliest usage of Roman numerals may be found in the first volume of Johann Kirnberger's Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in 1774. Soon after, Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler occasionally employed Roman numerals in his Grunde der Kuhrpfälzischen Tonschule in 1778. He mentioned them also in his Handbuch zur Harmonielehre of 1802 and employed Roman numeral analysis in several publications from 1806 onwards.
Gottfried Weber's Versuch einer geordneten Theorie der Tonsetzkunst (Theory of Musical Composition) (1817–21) is often credited with popularizing the method. More precisely, he introduced the usage of large capital numerals for major chords, small capitals for minor, superscript o for diminished 5ths and dashed 7 for major sevenths – see the figure hereby. Simon Sechter, considered the founder of the Viennese "Theory of the degrees" (Stufentheorie), made only a limited use of Roman numerals, always as capital letters, and often marked the fundamentals with letter notation or with Arabic numbers. Anton Bruckner, who transmitted the theory to Schoenberg and Schenker, apparently did not use Roman numerals in his classes in Vienna.
The first authors to have made a systematic usage of Roman numerals appear to have been Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg, both in their treatise of harmony.
In music theory related to or derived from the common practice period, Roman numerals are frequently used to designate scale degrees as well as the chords built on them. In some contexts, however, Arabic numerals with carets are used to designate the scale degrees themselves (e.g. 
, 
, 
, ...).
Hub AI
Roman numeral analysis AI simulator
(@Roman numeral analysis_simulator)
Roman numeral analysis
In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of harmonic analysis in which chords are represented by Roman numerals, which encode the chord's degree and harmonic function within a given musical key.
Specific notation conventions vary: some theorists use uppercase numerals (e.g. I, IV, V) to represent major chords, and lowercase numerals (e.g. ii, iii, vi) to represent minor chords. Others use uppercase numerals for all chords regardless of their quality. (As the II, III, and VI chords are always minor chords and the VII always diminished, a further distinguishment is thought unneeded, see table for Major Diatonic scale below)
Roman numerals can be used to notate and analyze the harmonic progression of a composition independent of its specific key. For example, the ubiquitous twelve-bar blues progression uses the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) chords built upon the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees respectively.
Roman numeral analysis is based on the idea that chords can be represented and named by one of their notes, their root (see § History for more information). The system came about initially from the work and writings of Rameau's fundamental bass.
The earliest usage of Roman numerals may be found in the first volume of Johann Kirnberger's Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in 1774. Soon after, Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler occasionally employed Roman numerals in his Grunde der Kuhrpfälzischen Tonschule in 1778. He mentioned them also in his Handbuch zur Harmonielehre of 1802 and employed Roman numeral analysis in several publications from 1806 onwards.
Gottfried Weber's Versuch einer geordneten Theorie der Tonsetzkunst (Theory of Musical Composition) (1817–21) is often credited with popularizing the method. More precisely, he introduced the usage of large capital numerals for major chords, small capitals for minor, superscript o for diminished 5ths and dashed 7 for major sevenths – see the figure hereby. Simon Sechter, considered the founder of the Viennese "Theory of the degrees" (Stufentheorie), made only a limited use of Roman numerals, always as capital letters, and often marked the fundamentals with letter notation or with Arabic numbers. Anton Bruckner, who transmitted the theory to Schoenberg and Schenker, apparently did not use Roman numerals in his classes in Vienna.
The first authors to have made a systematic usage of Roman numerals appear to have been Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg, both in their treatise of harmony.
In music theory related to or derived from the common practice period, Roman numerals are frequently used to designate scale degrees as well as the chords built on them. In some contexts, however, Arabic numerals with carets are used to designate the scale degrees themselves (e.g. , , , ...).