  
4
Harmonization
In Lesson 9 you were asked to harmonize a melody using
only the primary triads (tonic, subdominant and dominant). In this
lesson you will be harmonizing melodies using any of the triads
or 7th chords available in root position or inversion.
The following guidelines are
very general, but will help you determine which chord or chords
to use as you harmonize a melody.
1. |
Establish the key and mode of the melody: |
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a. |
Look at the key signature. |
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b. |
Look at the first and the last tones of the
melody. |
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c. |
See if the implied chords at the beginning of the first
full measure and at the end of the last measure are the same.
Generally they are, and this chord is the tonic (I). |
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2. |
Once you have established the
key and mode, determine the diatonic triads/7ths in that key
and write them down. The most commonly used 7th chord is the
dominant seventh. |
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3. |
Determine the approximate harmonic
rhythm you will use. |
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4. |
Decide the chord progression you
will use. The accompaniment chords you choose should contain
most of the tones found in the melody. Tones on strong beats
are generally more important than tones on weaker beats. |
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5. |
Some pitches in the melody may
not belong to the chord chosen for the accompaniment. For
the most part, these will be the nonharmonic tones that were
discussed in the first topic of this lesson. |

Harmonizing
a melody
On a separate sheet of paper, harmonize the
following melody. Although most of your chords may be primary chords,
try to use a few other chords as well. Also, include at least one
7th chord. Label each chord you use with the appropriate Roman numeral
symbol. Make sure you take into consideration the time signature
when writing your chords. Remember that most of the notes of the
melody should be a member of the accompanying chord. Circle each
nonchord tone in the melody and label it. If you cannot play the
harmonization yourself, consider putting it into Finale Notepad
so you can listen to your choices.
Even though I have provided one possible harmonization to this
melody, keep in mind there is no single correct answer. Your ear
must decide whether you like your results or not.

  
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