5197 / 18210 · Workshop 35 — “Stella by Starlight”: Ambiguous Function, Deceptive Resolutions, Local Key Centers, and Navigating When the Harmony Refuses to Behave← prev⊞ allnext →
35.14Local tonic versus structural tonic
Imagine the global song is heading toward B♭ major.
But for two bars you get:
Em7♭5 → A7 → Dm.
D minor sounds like a temporary home.
Then the music continues elsewhere.
So:
Dm = local tonic
not necessarily:
the song's home.