Welcome to this lesson on how to Harmonize a Melody.
Hey! In this video lesson we’re going to be going over how to harmonize a melody with chords. In other words, how do you know what chords to play with the left hand that will sound good with the melody in the right hand? Find out in the video!
Key points from the lesson:
1. Figure out the main notes in a section of the melody and use chords with similar notes.
2. Play the melody with the chords together. If one of the chords sounds out of place, try substituting a different chord in.
3. Figure out the key of the piece if you can. This will limit your choices to 6 chords so it’ll be a lot easier to figure out.
4. Your ear is your greatest asset. Bottom line, if it sounds good it sounds good. Decide for yourself which chords work best.
Exercise on Harmonizing a Melody:
Pick an easy song (Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle, etc.) and harmonize it with chords. Watch the lesson video if you don’t know what steps to follow.
Downloadable PDFs
Quiz on Harmonizing a Melody:
Click here to take the quiz and test your knowledge!
Action Step:
Time to take action! Find a melody and start harmonizing it! Get melodies from wherever. It could be sheet music, YouTube tutorials, or popular songs you know. Then sit down and mess around with some chords to make it sound cool.
Have fun and see you in the next lesson.
-Zach