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Reharmonizing Chord Progressions

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Reharmonizing Chord Progressions Reharmonizing Chord Progressions We’re going to spend a little bit of time talking about just a few of the techniques which you’ve already learned about, and how you can use these tools to add interest and movement into your own chord progressions. CHORD INVERSIONS If a song that you’re playing stays on the same chord for several beats, it can begin to sound stagnant if you play the same chord voicing over and over. One of the things you can do to add movement into the chord progression is to stay on the same chord but choose a different inversion of that chord. For instance, if you have 2 consecutive measures where the 1(Major) chord forms the harmony, try playing the first measure using 1 in root position and start the next measure by changing to a 1 over 3 (in other words, use a first inversion 1 chord). In modern chord notation, we’d write this as C/E. Or, if you don’t want to change the bass note– you can at least try using a different ‘voicing’ of the chord: instead of (from bottom to top note) C, G, E, C you might try C, C, G, E or C, G, E, G. For a guitarist, this may mean just playing the chord in a different position. For a keyboardist, you may have to consider which note names are doubled and whether the spacing between notes is closer or farther apart. SUBSTITUTE CHORDS OF SIMILAR QUALITY One of the things we’ve talked about previously is that certain chords in any given key sound ‘at rest’ and certain chords sound with a great deal of tension and feel like they ‘need to resolve’ to a place of rest. For instance, while ONLY the 5 (Major) or 5 (Major with an added minor 7th) is built on the DOMINANT (5th step) of our scale– we also consider the 7° (diminished) to be a chord with Dominant Quality. The inclusion of the leading tone in both of these two chords (which strongly wants to resolve) contributes to their similarity. We can also add one non-diatonic chord to the chords with a Dominant Quality, a Dominant 7 chord built a minor 2nd above Tonic (or a 27 chord) is known as a Neapolitan Chord. This chord contains the same Tritone notes as the 57 chord– thus, itf may resolve to the same place a 57 chord normally would– to Tonic. A dominant 7 chord which is intended to resolve downward by 1/2 step is known as a Substitute Dominant. Substitute Dominant chords may be used as Secondary Dominants or as part of the 2 5 1 progression — modifying it to 2 27 1. ﹈ : ﹈ f : In the same way, the 1 (Major) chord, the 3minor and the 6minor chords, which all contain the 3rd step of the scale, all sound relatively at rest. While only the 1 chord is the true TONIC chord, all 3 may be considered to have Tonic Quality. That leaves the 4 (Major) chord and the 2minor, both containing the 4th and 6th scale steps. These chords don’t sound at rest, but don’t possess the strongest drive to resolve. For this reason, we consider both of these chords to have Subdominant Quality. They can lead either to a chord of greater tension (Dominant Quality) or to a chord of greater rest (Tonic Quality). (The Neapolitan Chord without an added 7th is also a substitute for Subdominant Quality chords.) DOMINANT or SECONDARY DOMINANT Dominant or Secondary Dominant Chords may be inserted before existing chords to add drive and movement, increasing the need for harmonic resolution. The ii V Secondary Dominant progression may be used. ﹈ UPPER TENSIONS ADDED TO EXISTING CHORDS (7ths, 9ths, etc.) Most of the chords we’ve used in class are basic triads containing a Root, 3rd, and 5th– but adding a 7th, 9th, or other common extended chord forms can be quite effective in giving an arrangement additional ‘color’. A useful guide to Additional Chord Possibilities exists in the student PDF for 4-Note Chords – Beyond the Triad. MAJOR/MINOR MODAL SUBSTITUTION As long as the melody note of a song is not one of the notes changed by substituting a new chord, it may be effective to substitute a chord on the same scale step from the parallel Major or minor key. As an example, if you are in a Major key You might consider substituting a 4m chord (from the parallel minor) for the 4 major chord. If the melody centers around the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th scale steps– playing a 4m instead of the 4 (major) might offer a pleasing substitution. BUT if the melody is sustaining a note or centered around the Major 6th scale step– you wouldn’t want to use a minor 4 chord because that chord contains a lowered or minor 6th scale step. The Tonic chord is usually not substituted for in this manner, since it defines the happy or sad tone of the song. CHANGES TO HARMONIC TIMING It may be possible to delay moving to a specific chord, or to arrive at that chord early. Particularly when we insert a harmonic change of chords slightly before a strong beat of a measure, we’d call this an anticipation of the beat. ADDITIONAL METHODS FOR INSERTING CHORDS There are additional methods for reharmonizing a song which we will not cover at this time. You may, however look these up if you’re interested in pursuing additional information. Among them: PASSING CHORDS NEIGHBORING CHORDS BASS LINE WALK-UPS & WALK-DOWNS BACKCYCLING PICARDY THIRD STEPS TO BASIC REHARMONIZATION • Analyze the existing harmony and the melody • Note where the melody resolves so you can adjust your harmonic rhythm & finish phrases appropriately • Add extended tensions to chords (7ths, 9ths, etc.) • Substitute chords with the same quality (Tonic, Subdominant, Dominant) • Lead to chords on strong harmonic beats using Secondary Dominant chords, a Secondary 2 5 progression, ﹈ or approach from 1/2 step above using a Neapolitan (dominant 7) chord • Substitute chords (other than Tonic) from the parallel Major/minor– so long as the chord does not conflict with melody notes So, here’s a guide to some chords which may be tried out as potential substitutes for each other within a Major Key: TONIC QUALITY SUBDOMINANT QUALITY DOMINANT QUALITY CHORDS CHORDS CHORDS 1(Major), 3m, 6m 2m, 4(Major) 5(major), 57, 7° 2(Major) (Neapolitan) 27 (Neapolitan 7) f f WHICH CHORD TO USE? It depends upon your personal taste and preferences... but as a very general guide – In a Major key, the goal of any chord progression is the 1 chord. The rest of the pattern is based around the strongest ways to get to this chord. When the Root of a chord moves upward by a 4th or downward by a 5th, this adds the most contrast and strength to a chord progression. Dominant Quality chords lead us to Tonic Quality chords. An authentic cadence from any of the Dominant Quality chords (5➙1) or (7°➙1) is the strongest way to approach a 1 chord. Subdominant Quality chords lead us to either Tonic or Dominant Quality chords. The strongest approach to a 5 chord is from 2m. The strongest approach to a 7° chord is from a 4 chord. Tonic Quality chords lead us to Subdominant Quality chords. The strongest approach to a 2m chord is from a 6m chord. The strongest approach to a 4 chord is from 1. Because of the strong Root movement, the strongest approach to a 6m chord is from 3m. The strongest way to get to 3m is from the 7° chord (which is already on our chart). Since 1 is the main chord of the scale, it can go to any other chord. Subdominant Dominant 3m ➙ 6m ➙ 2m ➙ 5 ➙ 1 4 7° [ ] [7 ] ( 2 Neapolitan ) ( 2 Neapolitan ) f f.
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