Lesson_12_template

Lesson 12

Harmony II

Assignments

Creative
Project

Sample Exam

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:
	a.	Look at the key signature.
	b.	Look at the first and the last tones of the melody.
	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).

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.

3.	Determine the approximate harmonic rhythm you will use.

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.

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.


			Harmonize a melody

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.