Harmonization

In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads". A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a root note for a chord and then by taking other tones within the scale building the rest of a chord. For example, using an Ionian (major scale) the root note would become the I major chord, the second note the ii minor chord, the third note the iii minor chord, the fourth note the IV major chord, the fifth note the V major chord (or even a dominant 7th), the sixth note the vi minor chord, the seventh note the vii diminished chord and the octave would be a I major chord. Using the minor (aeolian mode) one would have: i minor, ii diminished, ()III major, iv minor, v minor, ()VI major, ()VII major and the i minor an octave higher. Reharmonization is the technique of taking an existing melodic line and altering the harmony that accompanies it. Typically, a melody is reharmonized to provide musical interest or variety. Another common use of reharmonization is to introduce a new section in the music, such as a coda or bridge. A melodic tone can often be harmonized in a variety of different ways. For example, an E might be harmonized with an E major chord (E – G - B). In this case, the melodic tone is acting as the root of the chord. That same E might be harmonized with a C major chord (C – E – G), making it the third of the chord. This concept extends to ninths (E would act as the 9th if harmonized with a Dm7 chord – D – F – A – C – E), fifths (E would act as 5 on an A augmented chord – A - C – E), and a wide array of other options. Typically however, reharmonizations involve not just a single melody note, but a melodic line. As a result, there are often several melodic tones which might occur over a harmony, and all of these must be considered when reharmonizing.