How to... Harmonizing a melody? (starter level)

[JumpingJackFlash]

I meant it is not important when deciding on the key (or the harmony/chord at that point).

Yes it is. That G# indicates an E chord, which is the dominant of A, which is the dominant of D, so clearly the piece modulated from D to its dominant, A, for a little while.

Well, that's one possibility. The G# could either be treated as a harmony note, or a non-harmony note. (Lower chromatic auxiliary). - It goes back to my point about there being no right way to harmonise a melody; everyone will do it differently (which is where the creative fun comes from).

But with A major, how do you rationalise the C naturals and B flats (which are unequivocally harmony notes)? - Granted, these are in the next phrase, so a passing modulation to A major is certainly possible. Or, you could just keep in D major (which works well with the D's at both ends of the line). - Either would probably work.

[spuddle]

Great thread guys.

[Sascha Franck]

The G# could of course be treated as the third of a secondary dominant (E7) leading to the dominant (A7), but in this context, I'd most likely simply treat it as a chromatic passing note, especially assuming that the tempo Compyfox used in his mix is of any relevance.

[Hannes_F]

You guys are overloading him. Why?

[Sascha Franck]

Well, I tried to keep it simple, but have just been going OT along with Vic and Jack.

[VicDiesel]

but in this context, I'd most likely simply treat it as a chromatic passing note, especially assuming that the tempo Compyfox used in his mix is of any relevance.

Ok, I didn't listen to that, just been eyeballing it. At a slower tempo I might do

D A/C# | D/C E/B | A/C# D | G/A D7 |

(where X/Y means X chord with Y bass)

Or something.

Victor.

[dark.nowhere]

Compy: do not give up. This is good stuff right here and it will teach you some good things, just try to be relaxed about it. If you're getting overloaded you're probably taking on too much at once (keep in mind, these people were taught one thing at a time, and your destination has many steps in it.) Try to make use of each thing before getting to the next. When you're comfy with it, move on to the next step. It should become clear if you go slow.

Sascha: What you wrote on page 2 there is really solid. It made a lot of lights go on in my head. I was 'taught' (expected to memorize, which I didn't) some stuff in school, but I've been on a sort of quest lately to turn that stuff into rationale. You've cut my work by half or so.

Lots of other good points from others too. This is a rather triumphant thread in that it's compressed an arseload of theory accessibly into a few posts.

[JumpingJackFlash]

Ok. Before I talk about harmonisation, you should make sure you understand what a chord is (specifically a triad), and the difference between major and minor. (But don't worry about complicated chords like 7ths, 9ths, or suspended chords for now).

In any scale (major or minor), there are 7 different notes. (Following the alphabet from A to G, then back to A again).
From bottom to top:
Major scales all have the pattern Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone.
Harmonic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone+Semitone, Semitone.
Ascending Melodic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone.
Descending Melodic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone.
(See my post in this topic for more details).

With whatever key you've decided on, write the scale down on a piece of manuscript paper (starting low).

Now, each note of the scale has a triad attached to it. These are 3-note chords based on thirds.
For this bit, forget about flats and sharps, and forget about major and minor. Just go through your notes on-by-one, adding in the note a 3rd above, then another note a 3rd above that (so, a 5th above your first note). On manuscript paper this is easy; for notes on a line, just put in 2 more notes on the next two lines above it. On notes in a space, put in two more notes in the next two spaces above it.

So, for each note of your scale, you now have a triad (of some sort). These triads are labelled with Roman Numerals . I=1. II=2, III=3, IV=4, V=5, VI=6, VII=7. Underneath each triad, write down a roman numeral, starting with your root note as I, and going up in order: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII.

Now, go back to your key and look at which sharps or flats it contains. Adjust your triads accordingly. So, D major for example has F and C sharps. Therefore, every F and every C in your triads should also be sharp. (Add # before the note).

By doing this, you are changing the intervals in the triads, and thus you are changing the nature of the chord (whether it's major, minor, diminished or augmented). - (You may notice that, in any Major key, chords I, IV and V are major chords, while chord II, II and VI are minor. Chord VII is diminished. - But, you don't actually need to know what they are called, as long as they all contain the correct sharps and flats as in your key, you will be fine).

So, you now have a total of 7 chords. Any of these chords can be used to harmonise your melody. (Note that chords I, IV and V are the most important.).

Now, onto chord inversions.

Any triad can come in 3 different inversions, depending on which note is in the bass (the lowest part, at the bottom).

If the root (1st) the chord (the bottom note in the triads you've just written) is in the bass, the chord is said to be in 'root position'.
If the 3rd (the middle note in your triads, a 3rd above the root) is in the bass, we call it 'first inversion',
If the 5th (the top note in your triads, a 5th above the root) is in the bass, we call it 'second inversion'.

We amend our Roman Numerals to tell us the inversion. the letter 'a' after a roman numeral indicates a chord in 'root position', the letter 'b' means first inversion, and the letter 'c' means second inversion. (Some people like to use figured bass notation instead, but this can be complicated).
Note though, that as root position chords are so popular, we don't always bother with the 'a'. Thus, a roman numeral without a letter after it also means 'root position'.

For example, IIb means chord II in First Inversion. Ic means chord I in Second Inversion.

Ok, Harmonising a melody.

Once you have identified the key(s) (see my previous post), you are ready for the next step:

2) Identify Rate of Harmonic Change

Also called Harmonic Rhythm, this is the rate at which the chords change. - In other words, how long one chord lasts before a new one begins. In your melody for example, you could probably harmonise it with one chord every bar, or (more likely) two chords per bar (so, one chord every 2 beats). Sometimes the rate can vary (often speeding up towards cadence points - see below), but it is important to get a feel for this harmonic rhythm.

3) Identifying Cadences
This step goes hand-in-hand with working out the key, since the cadences are a good way of identifying the key (and must fit with whatever key you decide).

Cadences provide structure and grammar to melody. They occur at the end of phrases and either provide a pause or breathing space before beginning the next phrase, or they are responsible for providing a sense of finality and firmly conclude the piece (to let people know when the piece is finished).

There are several types of cadence:

Perfect cadence
Also called authentic cadence or full-close. (Some people distinguish between authentic and perfect cadences, but treat the terms interchangeably for now).

A perfect cadence is the audio equivalent of a full stop. It signals the end of a phrase and ends conclusively and decisively. This almost always occurs at the end of a piece. It consists of V-I (dominant-tonic - the 5th chord of the scale to the 1st chord of the scale, eg in C: G major to C major).

Imperfect Cadence
Also called half-close. This is the equivalent of a comma, and has an unfinished feel. It is a moment of pause, perhaps representing the half-way point of a phrase (or the end the penultimate phrase). It ends on V (the dominant), which can be proceeded by any chord (I, IV and II being popular).

Think of simple tunes you know; short kids songs and stuff for example. The chances are, there will be an imperfect cadence half-way through the piece, and a perfect cadence at the end. Another way to think about it is as a question and answer. The first phrase is a question and ends on an imperfect cadence, the second phrase is the answer and ends on a perfect cadence.

There is also the Interrupted Cadence (V-VI) and the Plagal Cadence (IV-I), but these should be reserved until later. Cadences are always stronger when involving root position chords.

Once you have identified the cadences, write in the relevant Roman numerals underneath the stave.

You are now ready to harmonise the rest of the piece. Some people like to work out the approach chords to the cadence first (which are important) - this is essentially working backwards. Other people like to work forwards, and go back to the beginning of the piece and start from there. The first chord of the piece is usually the tonic; chord I.

4) Harmonise the rest of the piece

Pick chords (from your triad diagram I told you to draw) for the rest of the melody. Note: if you are trying to make a nice sounding melody with nothing too spicy, for now you might want to avoid using chords VIIa, VIb and III (any inversion). IIa should be avoided in a minor key, but is ok in a major key. Also note, chords in Second Inversion should not generally be used as they are so week. Finally, progressions II-I and V-IV should be avoided for now.

Which chords you pick is mostly a matter of taste. At the point where you want a chord, look at the melody (look over the whole duration of where the chord will go). Pick out the crucial notes at that point. (As I said before, there are many different varieties of non-harmony notes which you don't need to worry about when choosing chords).

Choose a chord which fits as many of the notes at that point as possible. The notes that the chord does not fit should be explainable as some sort of non-harmony note. (Generally, non-harmony notes move by step, whereas if a note moves by leap, it is usually a harmony note).

Write the Roman numerals for your chosen chord beneath the stave at the relevant point.

5) Form your bass line

Once you have chosen chords for all the relevant places, it is time to think about the bass. This is the bottom line and is the foundation of everything. The chords and the inversions you have chosen will already tell you what notes form your bass line, so go ahead and write it in (usually in bass clef if you can read it on a separate line beneath the melody).

Care must be taken to ensure you have a good bass. The best bass lines have an almost melodic quality to them; that is, they would not sound out of place as melody in their own right. They should usually move by step, but may leap at cadence points. - You do not want a bass line that randomly jumps around all over the place. If you finds that you have one of these, go back to the chords and see if you can change them (often just changing their inversion) to better suit the bass.

Try not to leap a 7th (for example C up to B), or any interval larger than one octave.

If you can, play (or get the computer to play) your melody and your bass line together before you put in the other parts. - Change anything that sounds wrong.

6) The other parts

Once you're happy with both your harmony and your bass, it is time to add in the other parts. The type, number and range of the other parts will greatly depend on what style of music you're dealing with. - For example, writing for a string quartet, a piano, or a guitar will all be written very differently. - The notes these middle parts will play should fit in with the chord at that point.

At a minimum, you really need one other part that will play whichever note of your triad is not covered by the melody and the bass at any point. For example, if your first chord is D major in root position, your bass will be a D, the first note of your melody is an F-sharp, therefore the missing note is A (the 5th of the chord), which should be added somewhere in between the melody and the bass. (Do not write anything below the bass).

If you need to (or if you want to) add more parts (sometimes called 'voices'), you obviously need to double up at least one note of the triad. Generally, the best note to double is the root of the chord, the next best is the 5th. (But, every chord needs at least one 3rd).

When you get really advanced, you can start adding non-harmony notes (such as passing notes) to your other parts to make them more interesting. Additional chords such as 7ths are also possible.


There. Hopefully at least some of that will help you. - Any questions, just ask.

[Compyfox]

There. Hopefully at least some of that will help you. - Any questions, just ask.

How to get "Complete Idiots Guide to Music Theory" in less than 3 weeks (order time) or another dead simple and easy to understand theory book in German?


Seriously... it looks like I better should start reading a book, or find a video DVD that's teaching me all this stuff before I ask any further. Maybe it's for the better, especially since the melody I chose was not, er, simple to beginn with (even though I heard awesome interpretations of it already). So please don't take this personally, you just try to help a helpless fool.

[Sascha Franck]

Start with the first step. That's all you need to do.
By now it has all been explained.

[VicDiesel]

Harmonic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone+Semitone, Semitone.
Ascending Melodic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone.
Descending Melodic Minor scales all have the pattern: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone.

You're confusing the poor boy.

1. You never encounter a harmonic minor scale. It's not a scale, it's just the notes of the chords that are usually used to harmonize a tune in minor.

2. In addition to ascending & descending, half the time you'll have that mode with the major sixth and the minor seventh. Feel free to tell me the name; I'm sure I'll forget it anyway.

Minor is a mess. The first 5 notes of the scale are clear; after that you can have 3 different ways of completing the scale.

Harmonizing is even more of a mess. The I (minor) IV (major or minor) and V (major) are clear. Beyond that? If you stick to your scales, then you should see diminished triads on the II and VI, and augmented on the III, and you know that you never see those in ordinary popular song.

Just harmonize however you see fit.

Victor.

[skipscada]

Seriously... it looks like I better should start reading a book, or find a video DVD that's teaching me all this stuff before I ask any further.

Excellent posts here, but easy to get lost unless you've already got an idea. Don't read entire posts and expect to get it just by thinking about it. I advise you to look at the last post there step by step with a keyboard and pen paper in front of you, or alternatively finale notepad or something. Your ears and your instrument need to get involved if you are to really get it.

[Compyfox]

You're confusing the poor boy.

Too late, already am.
This is why I said "er... book first?!" and I guess I'll go that way, unless someone can tell me which DVD would cover the same thing (I'm more like a visual person than reading books only).

So yeah - let's keep it at that I'd say. And then if I have further questions, I'll simply ask. *and that'll sure happen one day*

[SFA]

Compyfox, I'd definitely recommend that you read and re-read Sascha Franck's post on pg 2. He pretty much summed up everything I know about theory at this point (and did it very well too). Just getting your head around that will be a pretty big job. The big problem is to just focus in on the basics. People are throwing a lot of stuff at you that you don't need. Store that post somewhere, study it, work it out and forget about the rest. Get a handle on that & you've got a handle on the basics of theory!

BTW, I wouldn't even know where to begin trying to create a harmony for a melody. Write your progression first, then write a melody over it.

You can't learn all this stuff overnight, but it won't take years either. Put a few evenings into Sascha Franck's info and you'll be well ahead of the game!

[Compyfox]

Sure will.