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Melody and Harmony

A melody note changes function when the chord underneath it changes. Hold C above C, Am, F and Dm7: the pitch stays fixed while it becomes root, minor third, fifth and minor seventh.

  • 1 held note
  • 4 chord functions
  • pitch stays C

Where you run into this

  • Jazz
  • Pop
  • Arranging
  • Songwriting
  • Film music
Play the four chordsI - vi - IV - ii7
C4C5

The progression

  1. I
  2. vi
  3. IV
  4. ii7

Follow the arrows once, then use the player below to hear the loop.

Name the relationship

ChordChord notesRole of melody note C
CC E Groot
AmA C Eminor third
FF A Cperfect fifth
Dm7D F A Cminor seventh

The note does not contain a fixed emotion. Its stability, colour and tendency depend on the chord, register, metre and surrounding melodic motion.

Chord tones on strong beats

Roots, thirds, fifths and sevenths identify the active harmony. Placing them on strong beats often makes a melody easy to hear against the progression.

Try one bar of eighth notes over C major. Put E on beat 1 and G on beat 3, then connect them with D and F. The chord tones mark the structure while the other notes create motion.

This is a starting method, not a restriction. Anticipations, suspensions and accented non-chord tones can make a strong beat deliberately tense.

Tension needs a destination or context

Hold F over C major. F forms a perfect fourth above the root and a minor second above E in a close voicing. That friction may sound exposed.

Resolve F to E and it becomes a suspension. Keep F while the chord changes to Dm7 or F major and it becomes a chord tone. Change the C chord to C7sus4 and the same F becomes part of the chord's stated colour.

A note that clashes in one setting may be structural in another.

Do "avoid notes" always need avoiding?

Jazz teaching sometimes calls F over a sustained Cmaj7 an avoid note because F can form a minor ninth above E. The label describes a voicing and style problem; it does not ban the pitch from the melody.

Duration, register and resolution matter. A short passing F can be clear. A long F placed close above E is more prominent. Test the actual voicing before applying the label.

Reharmonise one melody

Use the notes E-D-C as a three-note ending.

Over C-G-C. E is the third, D becomes the fifth of G and C lands on the tonic.

Over Am-G-F. E is the fifth of Am, D is the fifth of G and C is the fifth of F. The melody ends without a tonic arrival.

Over C-B-flat-F. The same notes enter a Mixolydian or borrowed-chord setting.

The melody stays recognisable while its harmonic route changes.

A four-step writing check

  1. Circle strong melody notesbeats 1 and 3 in a basic 4/4 phrase.
  2. Name their chord functionroot, third, fifth, seventh or extension.
  3. Mark non-chord tonesidentify how each one enters and leaves.
  4. Compare one new chordkeep the melody fixed and listen for the changed role.

When melody should lead

A songwriter can begin with melody and choose chords that give its important notes different functions. A long C could support C, Am, F, Dm7, A-flat major or other harmonies.

Choose according to phrase direction. The best chord is the one that supports what the section needs to do next, not simply the first chord containing the note.

Keep going

Everything in melody and form

Open melody and form
Writing a melody
Building a song
Taking it apart
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