If you've ever wondered how you can know which chords go with which melody notes, I've got good news for you!
It's easier than you might think to learn how to go about matching the melody notes (the tune) of any song to the
appropriate chords. It's really a simple 2-step process, once you understand it, but if you don't know the secret, you can
wonder about it for years. But if you learn it now, you will know it the rest of your life.
Back when I was a teenager learning to play the piano, it used to puzzle me which chords to use with which melody notes:
"I wonder how those top pianists know which chords to use? I mean, they don't always use the C chord to harmonize the
C melody note, or the D chord to harmonize a D in the melody, and so on -- so how do they do it?"
A few years later I had the extremely good fortune to find a teacher in Hollywood by the name of Dave. He was THE
teacher -- he taught many of the recording artists and names you would recognize -- plus a young aspiring piano player
named Duane (me). And he showed me how to go about matching the melody notes of any song to the appropriate chords.
That changed my musical life. I didn't have to wonder any more -- I knew for sure which chords went with which notes,
and when and why.
It's really a simple process once you understand it, and it has to do with knowing just 2 facts:
Fact 1: There are 3 basic chords that will harmonize any note, and that note is a member of all 3 chords;
Fact 2: These 3 chords rotate as the melody moves through the song, so pick the chord that has that melody note in it.
These 3 chords are known as the "primary chords" for a reason: they are the "home boys" for that song. Lots of other
chords can be used in a song, but you can get by with just these 3 "home boy" chords.
Then once you master them, you can widen your scope to "cousin chords" and "neighbor chords" and "color chords" and all kinds of other exciting variations, and then the sky is the limit in terms of improvising and making up your own musical sounds.
Rabu, 19 Agustus 2009
How To Match The Melody Notes Of Any Song To A Chord In Your Left Hand!
How to Create an Original Melody
Here's a method I use that works. First, sit down at your piano or keyboard and just improvise. I suggest improvising first because music that is created in this way is at its freshest. It's not adulterated or thought up. It is pure inspiration. Now, there will come times during improvisation where you may say to yourself, "this is nice and I'd like to develop it." You see, now you have an original melody to develop.
The trick is you don't need a lot of material to begin with. JUST TWO BARS IS ENOUGH to start you on your way. I usually work within 8-bar phrases so I know that the melody will usually end or repeat itself after 8-bars. I say usually because sometimes, the melody does not want to fit nice and neat into a predefined 8-bar phrase. But more times than not, the 8-bar phrase will serve you well
Now, to be able to grow the initial 2-bars of inspired melody into 8, you can either harmonize the melody with a few chords or just write out the rest of the melody as it comes. Once I have the first 2-bars, I usually have already identified what Key the piece will be in. It then becomes a matter of choosing a few chords from the Key and the rest of the material is easily flushed out into 8-bars. In the piece "Rainforest," I use 2 chords for an entire 8-bar phrase ( 4-bars for G Maj. and 4 for E-minor) and improvise the melody on top.