Melody Harmonization Challenge

Chords, scales, harmony, melody, etc.
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

tee boy wrote:http://download.yousendit.com/7ABC301065FAA5BC

This time Iv changed to the minor mode and modulated to Eb. The melody is set out in octaves, with the bass and accompaniment in broken triplets.

TB
This one's my favorite so far..what style is that by the way? I would love to hear stuff like that!

Post

ok, heres my attempt. bit of a mish-mash of extensions and inversions and figuring out how to use a secondary dominant...

So, the 3rd chord which is E7 (at least i hope it is) leads to a C6, the A of the C6 providing the resolution for the E7's G# and the C resolving the B. And C6 is just an inversion of Am (or vice versa) ?

then i struggled a bit with the second half..trying to keep it interesting and not just repeat the first part but also find a way to end nicely on the C so i played with Em, the III of C so I didnt stray too far from my goal.

http://relivethefuture.com/music/mdk/harmonised.mp3

well, this is all what i think i did, i've been playing instruments and making music for a very long time now and always relied on my instincts, i just like to improvise and capture the moments that appear but i've never really set about understanding exactly what was going on in theoretical terms. ..anyway..ive decided at last to try :)

Post

MadPsyance wrote:
tee boy wrote:http://download.yousendit.com/7ABC301065FAA5BC

This time Iv changed to the minor mode and modulated to Eb. The melody is set out in octaves, with the bass and accompaniment in broken triplets.

TB
This one's my favorite so far..what style is that by the way? I would love to hear stuff like that!
Umm, its like an early romantic style. But I nicked an idea from Chopin Op25 No2, that is to put the accompanying figure in triplets with the melody in duple time. It could almost sound like 6/8 if the melody didnt keep it 4/4.

If you like that kind of thing, then have a listen to this piece. Its Liszt's Transcendental Etude No 10, one of my favorites:

http://download.yousendit.com/062077CC7158B867

TB

Post

marvotron wrote:ok, heres my attempt. bit of a mish-mash of extensions and inversions and figuring out how to use a secondary dominant...

So, the 3rd chord which is E7 (at least i hope it is) leads to a C6, the A of the C6 providing the resolution for the E7's G# and the C resolving the B. And C6 is just an inversion of Am (or vice versa) ?

then i struggled a bit with the second half..trying to keep it interesting and not just repeat the first part but also find a way to end nicely on the C so i played with Em, the III of C so I didnt stray too far from my goal.

http://relivethefuture.com/music/mdk/harmonised.mp3

well, this is all what i think i did, i've been playing instruments and making music for a very long time now and always relied on my instincts, i just like to improvise and capture the moments that appear but i've never really set about understanding exactly what was going on in theoretical terms. ..anyway..ive decided at last to try :)
Hey, thats pretty cool! Nice one :)

TB

Post


Post

Hey, nice one! The synchopations in the accompaniment work nice.

TB

Post

Here is a new one. This time I used just a motif from the melody to form this sweeping arpeggio in the treble, with some simple accompanying chords.

This could probably be developed much further and made into a kind of technical exercise or Etude for keyboard players! Not much in the way of musical substance, but an example of how melodies can be broken down into the component motives and used in totally different ways.

http://download.yousendit.com/A9F8622137768267

TB

Post

tee boy wrote:http://download.yousendit.com/7ABC301065FAA5BC

This time Iv changed to the minor mode and modulated to Eb. The melody is set out in octaves, with the bass and accompaniment in broken triplets.

TB
When you tweak the melody to fit the new mode/scale, do you just use the corresponding degrees in the new target mode/scale ? Is it how it's usually done, or am I completely wrong ?

Post

Indeed, yeah.

But you can also do more. For instance, in the last example, I used a fragment of the melody to make a sweeping arpeggio figure that changed with each chord.

Basically, think of how you might use a sampler in your music. You take a sample, you can chop it up, reverse it, pitch shift it, layer it with other samples, time stretch / compress etc. This is what you can do with melodic material in composition - cut out bits, invert the intervals, play the retrograde (reverse), augment and diminish (in terms of the note durations), transpose, sequence (ie, use motives in serial passages)... there is loads of stuff you can do.

Seriously, take a look at Bach's fugues. You may not even give a shit about this music, but its an education in itself. He builds entire pieces out of little more than a short 'subject'. Really amazing stuff.

TB

Post Reply

Return to “Music Theory”