Harmonize Melodies by Thinking in Color

Today, I’ve got a quick tip for you about harmonizing melodies by thinking in terms of chord and modal color. This can be a great way to help you justify your chord choices, rather than just haphazardly finding a “chord that fits”.

It’s a conscious effort to create harmonic colors by thinking about the relationship between your melody notes and the chords you choose with the aim of creating a certain emotional impact or overall mood.

This approach can also be another way to create extended chords and also a door to using modal modulation in your music.

If this sounds interesting to you, then let’s look into it.

HARMONIC COLOR

Firstly, what do I mean by color?

I’m referring to the overall harmonic effect of when the chord is heard with a specific melody note. Let me give you a few examples illustrating how different This E note will sound depending on the chord you choose:

• as the 3^rd of C#m7 add11

• as the 7^th of F#m7 b5

• as the 9^th D maj9

As you heard, not only that note assumes a different character depending on the chord type (major, minor, diminished, etc.), but also by what that note is in relation to the chord you choose – while being a 9^th, 6^th or a 3^rd of that chord.

So, this is one of the aspects of the harmonization process that involves choosing the chord for the effect it creates when it’s played against a note in the melody.

Now let’s look at what usually happens which is choosing a chord that is to be played over a melodic part, or in other words a chord over a bunch of notes 🙂

What we are looking for is a chord that, together with the melody, helps to flesh out the sound of a modal color, let’s say. Let’s hear some examples of what I suggested. It’s a 4-bar melody that I harmonized with two different chords from the same key (C major in this case), while trying to explore those modal colors.

For the first example, I chose the modes Dorian and Mixolydian while on the second example, using the same melody, I colored it with the modes Lydian and Phrygian.

INTENTIONALITY

As you noticed, the character of the melody changes quite a bit depending on the harmony that goes with it. So, the next consideration is of the utmost importance: What do you want to say?

If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s easier to get lost so, at least, you should have a good idea of the general vibe or mood you are trying to create or where you want to surprise your audience, so that you choose your chords and colors accordingly.

This means that you need to familiarize yourself and integrate in your harmonic vocabulary how the different chord types sound; the harmonic sound of a 9^th, 6^th or 7^th in a chord and, in the same way, the sound of the different modes so that you can make more informed choices and have more control over the emotional impact of your music.

COLORS AND A CASE FOR MODAL MODULATION

Up until now, we have only considered the modes within a key but what if you want to add extra color to your melody and bring in chords from outside that key?

Let’s consider this short melody in the context of C major:

With an emphasis on the note D, I chose the next chords with a certain disregard for the other notes, as long as they wouldn’t sound too out of place. So, the D could either be the 9^th of C major or the 9^th of C dim, but also the #11 of Ab major or the minor 7^th of E major:

what you just heard was the result of the exercise for finding chords that fit. But the caveat for this approach is perhaps that it’s too open and the possibilities are gigantic. It works too, don’t get me wrong.

But choosing chords with an intention serves as a guide throughout the harmonization process so, let’s stick to it and try to avoid being swallowed by the amount of possibilities 🙂

With that said, although we will be bringing in chords from other keys, the method is the same as before – to create a modal color through the interaction of that group of notes with the chord we choose.

Now, depending on how far the key is, you may have to adjust the melody. If that isn’t a problem, here’s how that melody we’ve previously used could sound:

Remember that the reasoning behind this harmonization process is what color or mode could I bring forth if I make this chord interact with that bit of melody, and of course, the fact that you wish to create a harmonic surprise which is what we are exploring in this case and thus why we changed the melody.

However, if you don’t want to have significant changes to your melody, if at all, pay attention to the melody notes that are going to be harmonized and pick keys with chords that could go along with it, like in this example:

I picked chords and modes from the key of C, G and from A melodic minor, to explore the Mixolydian flavor without making any changes to the melody. Since these key areas are close, It’s relatively easy to get away with this approach.

In this final example I only altered melody notes in one of the bars, for dramatic effect. The chords and modes came from the related Fm melodic and Ab major.

By focusing on the interaction between the melody and the chord, you can create modal colors that aren’t immediately obvious. As such, this is a great way of subtly introducing surprises in your music as the shift in harmony adds depth, surprise, and a new emotional dimension through this technique called modal modulation.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHORD EXTENSIONS AND MODAL CHORDS

So far, we’ve been using triads and leveraging on the melody notes to have a richer harmonic color. But you can definitely play the respective chord including the extensions you are implying, like in the following example where instead of the G major triad, you can have a G9 chord that is basically including some of the notes present in the melody. This way you’ll be enhancing the overall color through the harmony:

Another aspect to consider is in the creation of modal chords. Simply put, these are chords that when played already carry or imply the sound of that mode. Think of the notes that help to bring forth that modal color and include them in a chord, as I’ll show you in the next examples:

This is a great way of making sure that you come across with the intended modal color without having to rely too much on the melodic movement!

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, that’s the tip for today! This approach isn’t about over-complicating things — it’s about listening closely to your melody and by thinking in terms of color. Each note in your melody has the potential to express a wide range of emotions – you’re not just finding a chord that fits, you’re sculpting the emotional landscape of your music!

Harmonize with color in mind, and experiment with the role of the melody notes in the context of the chord you choose. It’s a small shift in perspective, but it can lead to amazing harmonic discoveries.

If this sparked any ideas for you, let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear about it!

And if you wish to take your melody harmonization skills a step further, check out the course “Mastering the Art of Harmonizing Melodies”.

Happy Composing!