Assigning chords to a melody

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by string1399

Here's Amazing Grace with a ton of chords

Hi string...

If I'd assigned a student to play Amazing Grace with a different chord for every melody note (and add two or three more), he/she would have received an A.

If I asked for it to be musical…they would have had it re-assigned.

[mtsusean]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi string...

If I'd assigned a student to play Amazing Grace with a different chord for every melody note (and add two or three more), he/she would have received an A.

If I asked for it to be musical…they would have had it re-assigned.

Thanks lj, Monk and Jon. I think you guys understood the question

I'm only interested in finding out how others find chords to fit a melody line. Be it Amazing Grace, skip to my Lou or Stardust.

I'm looking at an example down where a composer chose to assign a D chord, A7 chord and a B7 chord in different parts of a song - all over an A note. It's not right or wrong and all those chords sound good and the song is in G.

As always, lively discussion is good and entertaining. Thanks to everyone for their input.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by mtsusean

I'm looking at an example down where a composer chose to assign a D chord, A7 chord and a B7 chord in different parts of a song - all over an A note. It's not right or wrong and all those chords sound good and the song is in G.

Not likely chords for a song in G. Have an ear, but a little music theory helps you know what you are hearing.

[Doug Young]

I think this is a great topic. I actually just went thru this a bit, as I'm working on a new book and wanted to arrange some traditional tunes. Sometimes I came across the melodies with someone's idea of the chords written in (which I might or might not like), but lots of Irish tunes, for example, have melodies, that that's it. So how do you find the chords to use? As I said earlier, it's up to you, and your ear, but there are some ways to go about finding them. Here's a few ideas:

1st, find the key signature. It helps if you know enough music to know about key signatures. For example, if all the notes are "normal" (white notes, CDEFGAB) then the key is probably C (could be Am, G Mixolydian, and others, but let's keep it simple). If all there's an F#, it's probably the key of G. F# and C#, it's probably D and so on.

Now, you could play (or sing) the melody against a drone of that note. That probably could even sound ok in some cases, just like that. But more likely, you'll find spots where you hear some tension. That's a good sign that the chord probably needs to change. Try the IV or V chord. In all likelihood one of those will work. Continue until you have some chords you like.

From there, you can refine the process. Often where you can use a C, you can use an Am or an Em. Often in place of F, you can use Am or Dm, in place of G, maybe Em or Bm. You don't have to replace them wholesale. C - F could become C Am Dm F, for example. Now you have some nice chord motion.

You can also approach things mechanically. Look for strong beats, 1&3, or even just beats. Those often use chord tones. If you have a melody in eighth notes that are C, D, E, F, G, then beats 1,2, and 3 outline a C chord. Odds are that will sound right. F, G, A, B, C will probably fit an F chord. If you have an out-an-out arpeggio CEG, FAC, etc, then it's pretty obvious!

As far as odd chords like A7 in a song that is otherwise in C, there are many possibilities. If the melody suddenly has a C# in it, for example, the melody may have modulated to a different key. Jazz tunes and standards do this all the time.

But there are other possibilities, which mostly move into the realm of chord substitutions, which you can take whole college courses on. But as an example, say you're in the key of C, and you decide an F chord sounds nice in one spot. Well, a Dm is almost like an F chord, so maybe switch to a Dm. You can almost always briefly play the chord that is the V7 of a chord, followed by that chord, so you could perhaps play A7-Dm for the bar or bars that were previously an F. And once you've done that, why not use the V7 of the A, and play E7-A7-Dm? Will that work? Might, might not, it's up to your ear, but it's a mathemetically/theoretically sound way to "reharmonize".

If you've been listening to music all your life, odds are you know all these sounds, from simply droning on a root note to wild substitutions,and everything in between, so you just have to experiment until it sounds right to you. There are lots of books on music theory, chord construction, harmony, reharmonization, etc, that can all help (and I'm sure you can find websites that go into all of it as well), but just grab the guitar, and try using chords, starting with the I, IV, and V of the key, and you should be 99% of the way there, then let your ear take you to other places.

[rick-slo]

From just the melody line probably simplest is find the key. Then fill in the associated I,IV,V chords (tonic, subdominant, dominate). You probably will have a playable version of a lot of songs at that point. Then you can get more refined and highbrow.

[Doug Young]

Incidently, I assumed you wanted to know how to figure out chords for cases where no other info was available - maybe even a melody you made up yourself. But for any well known tune, and even ones that aren't well known, the easiest and most obvious way to get the answer is to remember that "google knows everything".

[mtsusean]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Incidently, I assumed you wanted to know how to figure out chords for cases where no other info was available - maybe even a melody you made up yourself. But for any well known tune, and even ones that aren't well known, the easiest and most obvious way to get the answer is to remember that "google knows everything".

Doug, I watched two videos of yours today. Good stuff, thanks for the recommendation.

[string1399]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi string...

If I'd assigned a student to play Amazing Grace with a different chord for every melody note (and add two or three more), he/she would have received an A.

If I asked for it to be musical…they would have had it re-assigned.

Seriously? If I were the student, I would be looking for another teacher who has more of an appreciation for jazz improvisation.

[pb+j]

I do this all the time in a jazz context. I usually have a lead sheet with some chord names, but they often are lousy chords for guitar--they don't flow well or they're too static. So then you can just find the melody note and build a chord around it. Major minor dom. Dim. Those are the starting choices, then add extensions or alterations, sometimes substitute a different chord.

I'm very weak on theory, but I can read and I have a fair number of chord shapes. it's still challenging and fun. I'm trying to work out my own arrangement of stardust, which is a bear of a tune. Melody all over the place.

Anyway, I find the next melody note and try different chords that contain that melody note, usually at the top. I look for combinations that flow well and fit the character of the song. So if the melody note is an "F," I could try Bb maj7 or Bbm7 or Bm7b5 or A7 or Dm7 or Adim or F7 or C#7 or Ab6/9. Lots of choices that might work depending on the context. I guess I generally think of the melody note and the root note direction--is there a root note that takes the feel of the song in a good direction?

Also lots of times you really don't need a whole ton of chords. A chord placed at the right time, in time, will make a song flow better than a chord for every note which is often just annoying.

[Luke_]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

"google knows everything".

Sounds like you got a really good grip on the idea also... Great post #19

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mtsusean

I'm looking at an example down where a composer chose to assign a D chord, A7 chord and a B7 chord in different parts of a song - all over an A note. It's not right or wrong and all those chords sound good and the song is in G.

Well, if they all sound good, then none of them are wrong. They're all right.
But don't forget that a chord's job is not only to harmonize the melody. All those chords contain an A note (but so do F, F#m, G9, Bbmaj7, etc...). But - at least with chromatic chords (outside the key) like A7 or B7 - look at where they're going: what chord comes next?
IOW, along with harmonizing the melody, chords (at least in a song like this) lead in some way to the next chord. With any chord other than the tonic, we usually get a sense of what might follow any particular chord. And particularly with chromatic chords, the whole point of introducing them is usually to make more interesting "voice-leading" on to the next chord (typically via new half-step moves), to make us more certain of what the next chord will be, to draw our ears in more.

So - in the key of G - I would expect A7 to be followed by D or D7, and B7 to be followed by Em, or (less often) C, E7 or Bm7.
The following chords would also have to harmonize the melody, of course - that's a prime purpose - but the voice-leading between other chord tones is the second significant factor: and that's where chromatic chords can add interest (and often too much interest... ).

[Bern]

Originally Posted by JonPR

... but the voice-leading between other chord tones is the second significant factor: and that's where chromatic chords can add interest (and often too much interest... ).

I would even go as far in saying that voice leading is a primary factor. Personally, I look at a piece of music as cohesive entity just like reading a novel where one can't wait for the next chapter.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Bern

I would even go as far in saying that voice leading is a primary factor.

Absolutely. Voice-leading (counterpoint, originally) is where it starts.
A chord sequence is really just a group of voices (2, 3 or 4) with individual melodies, all interlocking. At any one point, they happen to make a chord. When one or more of the notes changes, there's another chord.

And the concept of "voice-leading" is an additional kind of forward imperative: Certain sequences of notes (in a single melody) will make the ear expect the next note.
Chord "progressions" in "keys" tend to enhance that sense of forward momentum. They give a clear tonal context, with occasional tensions, or tendencies, making us anticipate particular resolutions; and clever voice-leading can keep us guessing.

(This is all a little advanced for the topic of simply adding basic chords to a tune, but it's good perspective to regard chords not as fixed blocks, with abrupt changes, but as fluid, blending from one into the next: sharing most notes and only changing one or two at a time.)

[rick-slo]

Probably over complicated as far a laying out the basic chord progression. Leading notes are unstable notes (also often of shorter duration).
Naming groups of notes that have a leading tone (in particular a chromatic voice leading note) in passing as a particular chord versus just the
chord being led to, well that depends, you could, but often not.