Combining melody and harmony
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compose a melody that fits with my chord sequence, including the use of passing notes.
Key learning points
- Melody and harmony must use some of the same notes to sound musically coherent.
- Chord tones should form the basis of a melody.
- Passing notes can make a melody interesting and more ‘melodic’ by creating conjunct movement.
- Melodies should still follow a recognisable or repeated phrase pattern.
Keywords
Chord tone - any note that is included in a chord (e.g. a C chord has the chord tones C, E and G)
Phrases - a short section of a melody, often lasting 1, 2 or 4 bars
Passing notes - a non-chord tone that links two chord tones by step
Conjunct - a conjunct melody has small changes in pitch between one note and the next (moving by ‘step’)
Common misconception
A melody must be completely conjunct.
This is not true - great melodies often use disjunct movement. However, when learning to compose melodies, sticking to mostly conjunct movement and small intervals helps them to sound melodic.
Teacher tip
The 'rules' used in this lesson are strict and are designed to create a solid baseline for pupils learning to compose melodies. However, where you just that students already have a solid basic understanding of writing melodies, you may wish to show more flexibility with rules.
Equipment
A DAW, notation software, a keyboard or other suitable instrument that can be used as a composition tool.
Licence
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