Axis system

The Axis System of functional harmony was first described by Ernő Lendvai in his analysis of Béla Bartok, a somewhat xenharmonic composer. Primarily organizing chords, it describes a new complete system of chord relations / substitutions for the full system of 12 edo, rather than a meantonic approach, such that notes separated by 1\2 are primarily connected and notes separated by 1\4 are secondarily connected. It is notable for its elegance, and its popular power in analyzing complex jazz in situations where no other system seems to work.