(TRD) Roman Numeral Analysis

Roman Numeral Analysis

When analyzing music, each diatonic triad is identified by a Roman numeral. Four different types of roman numerals exist - one for each triad type.

Let's apply roman numerals to the C major scale.

Since the first triad is major, its Roman numeral is upper-case.

The second and third triads are minor; therefore, their numerals are lower-case.

The fourth and fifth triads are major; therefore, their numerals are upper-case.

The sixth triad is minor, making its numeral lower-case.

Since the seventh triad is diminished, its Roman numeral is lower-case and a little circle is added. To get the diminished symbol press the Alt key plus the numbers 0176 or use a zero.

Finally, the last triad is a repeat of the first.

Next, we will apply Roman numerals to the C natural minor scale.

Since the first triad is minor, its Roman numeral is lower case.

The second triad is diminished; thus, we will use a lower-case numeral with the little circle.

Since the third triad is major, its numeral is upper-case.

The fourth and fifth triads are minor; therefore, their numerals are lower-case.

The sixth and seventh triads are major; therefore, their numerals are upper-case.

Again, the last triad is a repeat of the first.

Finally, we will apply Roman numerals to the C harmonic minor scale.

Since the third triad is now augmented, its Roman numeral is upper-case with an added plus sign. Just use a plus symbol for the Augmented sign.

The fifth triad is now major - making its numeral upper-case.

The seventh triad is now diminished - making its numeral lower-case with the little circle.

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