5225 / 18210 · Workshop 35 — “Stella by Starlight”: Ambiguous Function, Deceptive Resolutions, Local Key Centers, and Navigating When the Harmony Refuses to Behave← prev⊞ allnext →
35.42Level 18 — tritone substitute as ambiguous connector
Suppose:
D♭7 → C.
Clear subV.
But if the next chord is not C:
D♭7 may instead function as:
- chromatic dominant color
- altered passing chord
- part of a sequence
Again, context matters.
Do not label based on root alone.