Roman numerals indicate three things: the scale degree of a chord’s root, the quality of the chord, and the chord’s inversion (see Inversion below). There is no such difference with lowercase Roman numerals.

Handwritten uppercase Roman numerals have horizontal bars across the top and bottom of the numeral, in order to further distinguish between uppercase and lowercase ( Example 2). The difference between handwritten and typed Roman numerals. To type uppercase Roman numerals, use the uppercase Latin alphabet letters “I” and “V” likewise, for lowercase Roman numerals, type the lowercase “i” and “v.” The Roman numerals IV (4) and VI (6) are often confused to remember the difference, think of IV (4) as V minus I (5 minus 1), and VI (6) as V plus I (5 plus 1). The three columns of Example 1 show the Arabic numerals 1 through 7 alongside the corresponding uppercase and lowercase Roman numerals. Because Roman numerals convey the same information across major and minor key signatures, using them can save time in analyzing Western common practice music. Roman numerals identify the scale degree of the chord’s root, the chord’s quality, and any extensions or inversions the chord may include. Music theorists use Roman numerals to identify chords within the context of key signatures.

D flat major solfege