Colin's Teaching Resources

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Tunes and Chords

Introduction

For this work we'll be using the following concepts. It is hoped that, if you do not understand them now, you will begin to do so as you work on the unit. Harmony is a big topic. We are only concerned with tunes you might play on a keyboard and accompany with automatic chords. In this situation, harmony does not change on every beat (as it does in, say, a hymn tune) although it is possible to have more than one chord in a bar. Usually we shall only need one chord per bar. For those of you who care about such things, we are also only dealing with root position chords.

The basic information you need

  1. Chord A group of notes played together.

  2. Triad A chord with 3 notes, consisting of the Root, 3rd and 5th. Triads can be formed on any degree of the scale.

  3. Tonic Triad A primary triad built on the 1st degree of a scale (I).

  4. Subdominant Triad A primary triad built on the 4th degree of a scale (IV).

  5. Dominant Triad A primary triad built on the 5th degree of a scale (V).

  6. Supertonic Triad A secondary triad built on the 2nd degree of a scale (II).

  7. Submediant Triad A secondary triad built on the 6th degree of a scale (VI).

  8. Cadence A progression of 2 chords heard at the end of a phrase of music

  9. Perfect Cadence The progression V to I

  10. Imperfect Cadence The cadential progression I to V or IV to V or II to V

  11. Interrupted Cadence The cadential progression V to VI (It was going to be perfect!)

  12. Plagal Cadence The cadential progression IV to I

  13. Modulation A change of key

  14. Harmony note A note in a tune which belongs to a chord (i.e. the chord in use at that time)

  15. Passing note When there could have been a jump of a 3rd in a tune, it has been filled with a single note which does not belong to the chord currently being sounded.

  16. Upper auxiliary note A note one step above a harmony note

  17. Lower auxiliary note A note one step below a harmony note

  18. Unessential notes 15 to 17 are also called unessential notes i.e. non-harmonic notes

  19. Chromatic A ½ step, or semitone (e.g. chromatic upper auxiliary)

  20. 7th chord This is when the note a 7th above the root of the chord is added to a triad. A common example is the dominant 7th.

Chord Table

Chord Notes in it In C major In F major In G major In D major In A minor
C C E G I V IV    
C7 C E G Bb   V7      
D D F# A     V I  
Dm D F A II VI     IV
E E G# B         V
E7 E G# B D         V7
Em E G B (III)   VI II  
F F A C IV I     (VI)
G G B D V   I IV  
Gm G Bb D   II      
A A C# E       V  
Am A C E VI III II   I
Bm B D F#     III VI  
Bb Bb D F   IV      

 

TUNE 1 below is in G major. It is possible to harmonies it using one chord in each bar.

Use the table above to add a chord to each bar (in each box), then play it by yourself or with a partner. In bar 2 try both possible chords and see which you like. Bar 6 really has to be a particular chord. Which chord contains all 3 harmony notes? Finally, circle the passing notes.

Did you use a 7th chord? You didn't have to; it is up to personal taste. You might like to see if it is better with two chord (worth a minim each) in bar 6. There are reasons why purists would avoid that, but it is only GCSE. Did you identify the cadences before, or after, you had added the chord? Discuss your answers in class.

 

In TUNE 2, use the following chords, although you will have to work out the order!

G chord in 3 bars; C chord in 2 bars; D chord in 2 bars; Em chord in 1 bar

EXTRA TASK: See if you can work out an alternative harmony for the tune.

QUESTION: The quaver in bar 4 is a _________________ auxiliary.

Note that the quaver in bar 7 adds a 7th feeling to the music. This is one reason why you do not always need to use a dominant 7th in a perfect cadence; the tune might supply it for you. By the way, this quaver is not a passing note, if anything it is an échappée, so don't worry about it.

 

TUNE 3 is longer. You will need to finish with a perfect cadence and then have plagal cadence in the "coda" like long note. This tune could have been written in common time. Since the tune would need two chord per bar in several cases, we have converted it to 2/4. Hence, the same chord lasts for 2 bars in 4 places. You need these chords, but you will have to work out how many of them you require. Notice that you need all 3 Primary Triads and 2 Secondary ones. Name and identify the numbered non-harmony notes.

F   Gm   Bb   C(7)   Dm.

Note 1 is ___________________________________________

Note 2 is ___________________________________________

Note 3 is ___________________________________________

Note 4 is ___________________________________________

Note 5 is ___________________________________________

Note 6 is ___________________________________________

 

 

TUNE 4 has 4 phrases. It could be harmonized in C major throughout, but most musicians would want to change key, briefly, in bars 11 and 12. That is where you should use E7 followed by Am. Start by identifying the unessential notes. Then you can ignore those because the remaining notes will tell you what chords to use.

TUNE 5

Something different here. You are given the bars with their harmony but in the wrong order!

Write the tune out again so that it makes sense! Good luck!

Work on the stave provided.

 

The first bar above has an A7 chord with a B. The B makes a 9th which sounds interesting. It just goes to show that notes which do not appear in a chord can still work with a chord. However, your ear will tell you if you are trying to force a square peg into a round hole - to mix my metaphors!

You now need to compose tunes of your own in the same style and soon you will find melodic writing quite easy. Remember, it takes time to develop a personal style.