Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Harmonizing with Melodies .........................................................................
In This Chapter
Understanding consonance and dissonance
Using conflict and resolution to help create harmonies
Using the Circle of Fifths to suggest harmonies
Mixing it up with pivot notes
Exercising your harmonizing
A
melody floating around in space is nice, but a good melody deserves a
framework in which to bob and weave. At least it deserves some com-
pany. Where can we find good harmonizations for our melodic ideas?A simple melody can suggest a harmony, which in turn can suggest chords.
After all, a chord is nothing more, or less, than a harmonic cluster. So har-
monic composition can mean anything from a melody and a single harmony
to a progression of chords that supports a melody, or from which a melody
can be extracted.This chapter begins the search for harmonies to go with your melodies. And
we begin by trying to define why some notes sound better together than
others.Harmonizing Using Consonance and Dissonance......................................
One good source for harmony is the melody itself. Melodies often suggest
harmonies, and vice versa. Even a single note can suggest harmony.