This Lesson is Brought to You by:
"The Secret to Harmonizing Melodies"
By Jermaine Griggs
---------------------------------------------
Note: You might want to print this lesson out for easier reading....
In this lesson, we will learn how to take a melody and form various
chords to accompany it. This is a common technique used especially by
musicians who work with choirs.
For example, if one composed a melody which included the i, iii, iv,
vi, vii, and viii tones of a scale, harmonizing this melody would mean
playing a chord to accompany every note of the melody (either one
chord or a combination of chords). The above melody in C major is:
C - E - F - A - B - C
Using a few techniques (as explained in my workbook The Home Piano Course you can easily find the corresponding
chords to each of those notes.
To HARMONIZE a melody means to create a chord accompaniment for it.
Since the I, IV & V chords contain all the notes of the major scale,
many melodies in a major key can be harmonized with just these three
chords.
To determine the chords to be used, analyze the melody notes. Refer to
the following chart to see which chord is generally used with each
melody note of a major scale. When more than one chord can be chosen,
your EAR should always be the final guide.
SCALE DEGREE ------------------ CHORD
1 , 3 , 5 -------------------- I Chord (Major Chord)
2 , 4 , 5 , 7 ----------------- V Chord (Dominant Chord)
1 , 4 , 6 --------------------- IV Chord (Major Chord)
There is also one scale degree which can be accompanied by a minor
chord
SCALE DEGREE ------------------ CHORD
2 ---------------------------- ii Chord (Minor Chord)
From personal experience, here are the most common chords that I play
with the following scale tones:
SCALE DEGREE ------------------ CHORD
1 , 3 , 5 -------------------- I Chord (Major Chord)
2 ---------------------------- ii Chord (Minor Chord)
4 , 6 ------------------------- IV Chord (Dominant Chord)
7 ----------------------------- V Chord (Major Chord)
Using the above table, here is an example in C major.
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
E -- E -- F -- G -- G -- F -- E -- D -- C -- C -- D -- E -- E -- D --
D
With this "one-fingered" melody, I am going to show you how I can turn
each and every one of the notes above into 3-fingered chords. However,
if you are REALLY serious about learning this technique, you owe it to
yourself to at least read about my 300-pg course as it covers several
techniques to harmonize melodies. For more information on how you can
receive my course at go to The Piano Course Page and get a massive load of more tips and information!
Notice that the first 2 notes of the melody above is E (the 3rd scale
degree of the C major chord). If you look on my chart above, I most
commonly associate E with the (I) Major Chord. The (I) chord in the
key of C major happens to be a C major chord! So, the first two chords
are C major chords in the 2nd inversion (which makes E the highest
tone).
REFERENCE:
If you do not fully understand inversions, you need to check out my
300-pg course as these FUNDAMENTALS are key to your success!
Root Position: The keynote will always be the lowest note (for
example, C major = C - E - G in Root position).
1st Inversion: The keynote will always be the highest note (for
example, C major = E - G - C in 1st inversion). Keep in mind that the
notes are the same, but they are simply arranged differently with C on
top instead of the bottom.
2nd Inversion: The keynote will always be embedded in the middle. This
inversion will always put the third tone on top. (for example, C major
= G - C - E in 2nd inversion). Notice that the "E" is on top.
More References: The Piano Course--- Chapter 4-6
... ... Back to the lesson ... Since we want E on top, we will choose
a C major chord (2nd inversion) because it is this inversion which
makes E the highest tone.
By simply following this same pattern, you can figure out all of the
other chords. I have already done the work for you below. However, if
you are interested in studying this topic EVEN further with written
exercises and ear-training activities, visit:
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
E -- E -- F -- G -- G -- F -- E -- D -- C -- C -- D -- E --
E -- E -- F -- G -- G -- F -- E -- D -- C -- C -- D -- E --
C -- C -- C -- E -- E -- C -- C -- A -- G -- G -- A -- C --
G -- G -- A -- C -- C -- A -- G -- F -- E -- E -- F -- G --
E -- D -- D (end)
E -- D -- D
C -- A -- A
G -- F -- F
Above, you will find each melody / harmony combination (written
vertically from highest tone to lowest tone). As we studied earlier,
the first two chords are inverted C major chords. The third chord is
an inverted F major chord. Try to figure out the other chords ...
HINT: There are only 3 different types of chords (different inversions
however) used in this example and I have given you two of them
already!
Well ... this concludes this month's lesson. I hope that this
information has been valuable to you. Meanwhile, please visit my site for more free and valuable information at: www.hearandplay.com