Core Roles

Function	Role	Typical chords in C	Practical focus
Tonic	Resolution point	C, Am, Em	Emphasize 1–3–5
Subdominant	Prepare motion	F, Dm	Outline 4ths/2nds
Dominant	Drive to tonic	G, Bdim	Target 3→1, 7→1

Treat every chord symbol as one of these roles before deciding what to play.

Rule-of-Thumb Flow

Standard path: Subdominant → Dominant → Tonic.
Staying in one box reduces movement; switch families when you want progression.
Modal vamps keep looping inside the Subdominant box until a Dominant gesture signals release.

Use the diagram as a quick check when analyzing or writing progressions.

Function	Chords	Notes
Tonic	Dm	Home base of the mode
Subdominant	G, Em	Share tones that move away from D
Dominant	A (often with C)	Contains C, the leading tone back to D

This labeling keeps modal fingerings and harmonic pull aligned.

Annotate progressions with T/S/D labels before playing.
Build a Dm–G–A–Dm vamp and highlight guide tones for each role.
Record short bass etudes and verify that the functional arc (depart–tension–resolve) is audible.

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