Qualities of triads in major keys with Roman numerals. In this textbook, we privilege the distinction of triadic qualities as denoted by uppercase and lowercase Roman numerals.Įxample 3 reproduces Example 7 from the Triads chapter, which shows the qualities of triads in major keys now including Roman numerals:Įxample 3. In such cases, all Roman numerals are uppercase. Some music theorists prefer Roman numerals to reflect only the scale degree of a chord’s root, without distinguishing the chord’s quality by uppercase and lowercase Roman numerals. Roman numerals are generally placed below a score in the analysis of Western music. Uppercase Roman numerals followed by a + sign (for example, the rare V +) represent augmented triads. Lowercase Roman numerals followed by a superscript o symbol (such as vii o) represent diminished triads. Uppercase Roman numerals denote major triads, and lowercase Roman numerals denote minor triads. For example: the first scale degree of a major key, \hat1 or do, is identified by Roman numeral “I,” the second scale degree of a major key, \hat2 or re, is identified by Roman numeral “ii,” etc. Music theorists use Roman numerals to identify the scale degree of a chord’s root, its quality, and inversion. There is no difference between handwritten and typed lowercase Roman numerals. The difference between handwritten and typed Roman numerals. This difference is seen in example 2:Įxample 2. When handwriting uppercase Roman numerals, music theorists often add a small horizontal line across both the top and bottom of the numeral, in order to further distinguish between uppercase and lowercase. It may be helpful to remember the difference by thinking of IV/iv (4) as one less than V/v (5), and VI/vi (6) as one more than V/v (5). It is important to note that Roman numerals IV/iv (4) and VI/vi (6) are often confused. When typing uppercase Roman numerals, often the Latin alphabet letters “I” and “V” are used likewise, when typing lowercase Roman numerals, often the Latin alphabet letters “i” and “v” are used, as can be seen in Example 1. The leftmost column shows Arabic numerals, the middle column shows the corresponding uppercase Roman numerals, and the rightmost column shows the corresponding lowercase Roman numerals: This is useful because Roman numerals convey the same information across major or minor key signatures therefore utilizing Roman numerals can save time in the analysis of Western common practice music.Įxample 1 shows three columns. Roman numerals identify the scale degree of the chord’s root, its quality, and any extensions or inversions the chord may include. Music theorists use Roman numerals to identify chords within the context of key signatures.
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