Category: Music Theory

Video – Counter Melody in 2 Steps

In the video below Ryan Leach demonstrates a quick and easy method to compose a counter melody.

Starting with a main melody, chord progression and bass line, to compose your counter melody do the following:

1. Find missing chord tones.

Examine the melody and bass line to find any missing chord tones from each chord. If the current chord is a C (C E G), and the melody is playing a G (and then perhaps other non chord tones), and the bass is playing a C, the missing note is E. Use E as your counter melody note. Use a whole note or other long note for now. If the melody is playing multiple chord tones (perhaps both E and G) choose a chord tone to double. From the rules of harmony, it seems that the root (C) of the chord or the fifth (G) are the ones recommended to be doubled.

When adding a missing chord tone (or doubling a chord tone), another thing to consider is which of the chord tones is closest to the previous harmony note. For example, if you’ve chosen a G harmony note to accompany a C from the previous bar, and you now need to fill in harmony for an F chord and there are two missing notes from that chord in the current bar, say for example the C and the A are missing from the F chord, a good choice would be to use A as the harmony note since it is closest to the previous G harmony note from the previous bar.

2. Add rhythm

Having worked out what starting notes to play for the counter melody, now consider the rhythm. The idea is to have the counter melody resting or holding a note while the main melody is busy, and have the counter melody busy while the main melody is holding a note or resting. Using a missing chord tone for the counter melody in step 1, was a starting point. To add rhythm to the counter melody, other notes from the key can be used to move form one chord tone to the next.

The above two steps (and adding a second harmony part by repeating those two steps) are demonstrated in greater detail in the following video:

Write A Great COUNTER MELODY In Only 2 Steps – (by Ryan Leach)

Video – Smooth Chord Transitions

This video demonstrate a few good techniques for smooth transitions between chords. My explanations below, taken from the video (far below), assume a general knowledge of scales and chords. The techniques used in the video are:

1. Using a pedal note.

This is a note that remains the same through each chord in the chord progression, usually higher or lower in pitch than the chords in the chord progression. This could be a common note in the chords or the root note of the scale from which the chords originate. For example, in the key of C, if playing a C F G C chord progression, you could use C as the pedal note. This technique can be a good effect when used sparingly. Hearing the same note frequently or for long periods of time, gets boring quickly.

2. Chord inversions, or voice leading.

For smooth chord transitions, it’s best to keep the distance between adjacent chords to a minimum. For example, if transitioning from a C (CEG) to an F (FAC) chord, recognize which notes both have in common and place those notes in the same position in each chord. Look at the difference in movement to get from one note to the other in these 2 examples of transition from a C chord to an F chord.

This is good voice leading with minimal movement between a C and F chord (C root position to F second inversion or C to F/C):

C -> C (no movement)
E -> F (semi-tone)
G -> A (2 semi-tones)

This example is more movement which will not sound as smooth between C and F chords (C root position to F root position):

C -> F (5 semi-tones)
E -> A (5 semi-tones)
G -> C (5 semi-tones)

3. Suspended chords.

A suspended chord is achieved by moving the 3rd of the chord up or down. This is a useful way of providing a smooth transition between chords that have no common note. For example, to transition from a C (CEG) to a Dm (DFA) a suspended chord can be injected between the two as a short transition chord. In the following example, the 3rd in the C chord (the E) is raised to F to create a Csus4 chord. This means the 3rd has been suspended and replaced with another note.

C -> C -> D
E -> F -> F
G -> G -> A

In the above, there are now common notes between the C and the Csus4, and the Csus4 and the Dm chord.

4. Anticipation.

This involves playing a note from the next chord, early in anticipation of the new chord. A suspended chord achieves this but this can also be achieved by anticipating any note in the new chord:

C -> D -> D
E -> E -> F
G -> G -> A

… or both can be used one after another for an even more smooth transition, first the sus chord, then the anticipation:

C -> C -> D -> D
E -> F -> F -> F
G -> G -> G -> A

As you can see, the C (CEG) chord, one note at a time, blends in to the Dm (DFA) chord.

5. Joining notes.

This means instead of playing the same note twice, hold the note twice as long. In the first example where the chords were C played as (CEG), and F, played as (CFA) instead of playing the C twice, just hold the C.

C ____
E -> F
G -> A

The above is meant as a brief summary or reference. This is best understood by watching the video from “Hack Music Theory” which demonstrates these concepts very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7FeqpBuxm0

5 Hacks for Better Chord Progressions – (by Hack Music Theory)

Video – Finding Harmony (The Easy Way)

This short video shows some simple steps to easily create a harmony for your melody, whether the harmony is for a vocalist, a piano or an accompanying instrument.

To find the high harmony, start with the melody note and move 2 scale notes up. The low harmony is the melody note but 2 scale notes down. For example, if your melody note is an E (in the key of C), your high harmony is a G, your low harmony is a C. You can use either the high harmony, the low harmony or both harmony notes together with the melody.

If the high and low harmony notes are played together, they form a chord with the melody note, so adjustments may be necessary if the harmony forms a diminished chord (which may sound too dissonant). Try lowering or raising a harmony note to avoid this.

Check the harmony notes against the chord progression. In the video, the low harmony note had already been lowered a tone to avoid a diminished chord. This turned the harmony from a 3rd below the melody to a 4th below the melody but this clashed with the chord progression so the low harmony was lowered another scale note, which then made the low harmony a 5th below the melody which fit with the chord progression.

Also note that the high harmony can be played an octave lower, and the low harmony can be played an octave higher. This turns harmony in 3rds to harmony in 6ths.

All this is demonstrated in the video below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RK7k34mJo2s

How to find harmony the easy way – (by Quincy Kane Morris)

Video – Chord Progression Tips

There is more to a chord progression that just a sequence of chords. The video below offers some good tips for enhancing a basic chord progression such as:

  • lining up common notes between chords for a smoother transition
  • ensuring the common note between chords occurs in the same voicing (top, middle or bottom note)
  • switching from a chord to an inversion of the same chord
  • using sus chords to add extra interest (can also be used to force a common note between chords)
  • using syncopation to have the chord change with the off beat

These are all good tips to add extra interest to your composition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgRrbVh4PI

Chord Progression Theory (by Revolution Harmony)

Video – Counterpoint P1,P2

This is a follow up to the blog post where I discuss basic counterpoint here:

Video – Cheater’s Guide to Counterpoint

I strongly recommend reading the above post and watching that video first. With just the few counterpoint rules demonstrated, the above video will take you pretty far. The following 2 videos take things even further and discusses the rules for other intervals besides just 3rds and 6ths.The addition rules discussed below, are summarized as follows but will make more sense after watching the video.

First we need to define some terms

  • IC – Imperfect Consonances : 3rds and 6ths, major and minor
  • PC – Perfect Consonances : unison, 5ths, octaves
  • D – Dissonances : 2nds, 4ths, 7ths

The counterpoint rules for the above groups of intervals are:

1. You can arrive at an Imperfect Consonance (IC) by way of any other interval

IC (3rd, 6th)            -> IC (3rd, 6th)
PC (unison, 5th, octave) -> IC (3rd, 6th)
D (2nd, 4th, 7th)        -> IC (3rd, 6th)

In other words you can arrive at a 3rd or 6th by any other preceding interval.

2. You can only arrive at a Perfect Consonance by way of an imperfect consonance

IC (3rd, 6th) -> PC (unison, 5th, octave)

In other words you can only arrive at a Unison, 5th or Octave, by way of a 3rd or 6th.

3. You can only arrive at a Dissonance by an Imperfect Consonance.

IC (3rd, 6th) -> D (2nd, 4th, 7th)

In other words, you can only arrive at a 2nd, 4th or 7th by way of a preceding 3rd or 6th.

Basically, 3rd and 6th are like wild cards. They can do anything. They can follow or precede any other interval. All other intervals must be preceded by and lead to a 3rd or a 6th.

The above refers to harmonic intervals, both notes playing at the same time. For melodic intervals where notes play consecutively, only the augmented 4th and 7th intervals are considered dissonant.For a more complete explanation of the above summary, see the 2 videos below:

https://youtu.be/ZiFzLzDKZe8

Counterpoint P1 (Introduction) – by JJay Berthume

https://youtu.be/T7lNDhOykTo

Counterpoint P2 (Basic Principles) – by JJay Berthume

Video – Cheater’s Guide to Counterpoint

What is counterpoint? It’s defined by Merriam Webster as:

one or more independent melodies added above or below a given melody

The rules of counterpoint have been developed to instruct a composer on how to create a counter melody that can be independent yet still blend harmonically with the main melody.

The video below (by Jon Brantingham from “Art of Composing”) demonstrates the steps to composing with nothing more than the most basic understanding of music theory and counterpoint. All you need to know is what notes are in a chord, what notes belong to the scale in the key of your chord progression, how to choose a chord inversion so that one chord more easily flows into the next and 2 very simple and basic counterpoint rules. That’s it.

For choosing chord inversions, what I mean is that if you are playing a C chord “C-E-G” and you wish to move to an F chord, instead of playing C-E-G and then F-A-C, you are better off playing C-E-G and then C-F-A, because this represents less movement. Instead of all notes moving up by 4 notes, one note stays the same and the rest only move up by one note. This is referred to as good voice leading.

So, the steps from the video below are as follows:

  1. Start with a chord progression One chord per bar. You could use C F Am G C for example – though that’s not what was used in the video. It’s just a nice easy chord progression
  2. Create a half note melody using chord tones from whatever chord is being played in that bar. If you are playing a “C” chord, your chord tone melody can use “C”, “E” or “G” since those are the notes that make up a “C” chord
  3. Replace some half notes with shorter notes to move from one melody note to another, usually by playing a fragment of a scale moving up or down towards the next melody note
  4. Add a half note harmony (which will become the counter melody) to the existing main melody you already have from step 3. To do this, choose a note that is a 3rd or 6th below the melody note. Other intervals can be used but this requires a slightly more advanced knowledge of counterpoint which provides guidance on which intervals can follow and precede other intervals (see my follow up post about counterpoint). 3rd and 6ths can always follow and precede each other so for now, it’s simplest to stick with 3rds and 6ths. Note that steps 3 and 4 can also be done in the opposite order. 
  5. Repeat step 3 for the harmony, with this rule in mind: generally, when the melody is holding a note, the counter melody should be moving. When the melody is moving, the counter melody should be holding a note. So for example, if the melody is playing a half note, perhaps the counter melody could be playing quarter or eighth notes using either chord tones or part of a scale.

Between 4:18 and 18:26 is a good example of easily using just the basics of music theory and counterpoint as described above. (I’ve already set the video to start at 4:18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjneZHiUBZU&t=4m18s

The Cheater’s Guide to Counterpoint (by the “Art of Composing”)