Arrangement Seminar/Discussion

Dr, I liked Martina's minor ninth

Why not chordal?

What do we need to know, for the purposes of an arrangement, if a note in the melody is not chordal?

I forgot, also in general, what would this type of "melodic" analysis be used for?

mmm... so, if we are talking about writing for a quartet it naturally doesn't have great utility, but if we think of a wind section it can be useful.

Generally, one starts with homorhythmic writing, in blocks, to harmonize the melody; therefore, to harmonize every single note we must establish which notes (and, in practice, which chord) to assign to the underlying voices. In practice, if we consider a chordal note, the remaining voices will complete the indicated chord; if there is tension in the singing, one of the four notes of the chord will have to be eliminated; if a note is not chordal, different types of harmonization are used.

Martina's analysis isn't "wrong," however Bb and F# are not contemplated as notes belonging to an F major.

The matter should become clearer with some examples.

DrJellyfish wrote:

Things should become clearer with some examples.

So the time has come to make a little example, perhaps a partial one, continuing on your proposal for the indicated piece. I volunteer myself

I have performed an analysis and a harmonization of the first measure. Naturally, for the harmonization of different notes, alternative solutions exist.

In order not to frighten those approaching this work for the first time, I would say that I have proposed a rather challenging piece - in which we find various types of difficulty (precisely for this reason it would be of great help to hear the suggestions of Geppino, Alessandro and others) and we have the possibility to use many harmonic solutions - specifically to provide an overview of the various issues and so that everyone can test their own preparation. Having done this, we can also work backwards knowing which points need clarification.

For example, some might need a chart of the harmonic tensions applicable to each type of seventh chord.

To begin with, I would take the chordal notes into consideration. To harmonize these, it is sufficient to add the remaining notes of the specified chord below the note, in close position.

A little rule: as far as possible, let's try to avoid the semitone interval between the lead (the upper voice) and the second voice, so that the melody is clearly perceptible. For this reason, when we find the fundamental in the singing part on a chord with a major seventh, it is permitted to replace the latter with the major sixth.

Just as occurs in the example above, for the F on the second sixteenth note of the triplet.

At a more advanced level, we will see that this problem also occurs in late arrangements, so there is a tendency to avoid the minor 9th interval between the singing part and the inner voices,

but we can talk about this later...

A piece of advice: do not blindly trust what I say, but verify for yourselves the sonic effect of everything we discuss, on the piano or with a notation program:

it is nonetheless necessary to have a sonic image of everything you write, in order to be able to work even without an instrument.

Why harmonize a melody note by note? A sort of counterpoint that isn't counterpoint, in the sense that in cp one part moves while the others stay still; here all voices move homorhythmically (as you were saying), but at the right time (by the way, which one is it?) isn't it too heavy?

For example, that non-chordal Bb is an appoggiatura to me, so it shouldn't be harmonized but savored for what it truly and melodically is.

I am asking, above all to understand better.

It is common practice in Jazz; counterpoint is used less often also because it does not highlight the accents of the melody, and if it is not written with good mastery, it risks making the piece lose its swing.

Certainly, some notes may not be harmonized, but the robustness of the sound could suffer.

Besides, these are basic notions; then surely it is possible to do much more complex things.

JamSession wrote:

For example, that non-chordal sib for me is an appoggiatura, so it should not be harmonized but savored for what it truly and melodically is.

In reality, this type of writing serves to emphasize the melody, so in theory the appoggiatura would be highlighted.

Hi DrJellyFish, I participated in the choral music workshop that expires at the end of the month (the ones following Frank). My piece won't be excellent (first experience with a choir) but I would like your opinion because I tried to use a bit of counterpoint.

Be patient and compliments on the initiative!

hi, I tried to analyze and harmonize it with the little knowledge I have; there are some truly difficult points, especially the Bb between 4 and 5, and the last 2 bars.

ps

i imagine that an important step in an arrangement is reharmonizing/altering the original chords of the piece .... were you thinking of dealing with this too, perhaps later on?

Hey Ale!!! I see you're a bit rusty :-) :-) :-)

Anyway, you already know how to write, but the analysis always leaves me perplexed: as I was saying before, all notes can be marked as tensions, but in fact only some are considered as such, not for example a perfect fourth on a major and so on. I would consider them directly non-chord tones (and indeed you then harmonized them as such). There are some strange notes in the chromatics and then I'm not convinced by the dominant harmonization on the 13th and 9th of the G7. The resolution seems a bit too distant to me. Why not simply treat them as tensions? (which are the most delightful notes to harmonize). Bye, see you soon and thanks for the contribution.

Eh eh first of all I am very rusty, second I left your notes at home

In fact, I don't remember how to differentiate between tensions and non-chord tones in analysis and harmonization....

Afrom what I read in the posts, it seems like a scheme of tensions and basic methods for harmonizing t and nc would be useful to everyone.

You've gotten yourself into quite a mess haha

In effect, I would start from the basics

My initial idea was more of an exchange of views, because a little refresher wouldn't hurt me either... anyway, I can make what I know available, which I don't mind because it keeps me practicing and gives me the opportunity to test my preparation and adjust my aim on a few things.

For that reason, feel (almost) obligated to offer constructive criticism.

Chordal notes are those that compose the (seventh) chord present in the notation below.

In a jazz context, the pure triad is not used much (however, Bill Russo examines the major triad, the minor triad, and four types of seventh chords, omitting the maj7, as he considers the major seventh to be a tension;

in this way, he can justify replacing the latter with the sixth).

For the moment, I would take into consideration the following seventh chords:

∆ (or ∆7, maj7, M7) [major (with major seventh)]

7 [seventh]

-7 (or min7 or m7) [minor seventh]

Ø (or Ø7, -7b5, m7b5, min7b5…) [half-diminished]

O (or O7, dim, dim7) [diminished]

When the note to be harmonized is among those that form the indicated chord, it is sufficient to add the remaining notes of the chord beneath it.

I am attaching a few lines formed only by chordal notes that you should be able to harmonize without problems (do not expect to hear a celestial sound,

some important refinements are still missing and a melody composed solely of chordal notes is not the height of life…).

P.S. for pianists, this can be a starting point for the study of block chords. (always play all the harmonizations...)

DrJellyfish wrote:

When the note to be harmonized is between those that form the chord indicated, it is sufficient to add the remaining notes of the chord below it.

I noticed that you indicated inversions in very few places; was this intentional or does everyone just do whatever they want?

Do you mean the chords written with slashes? I put those in just for a bass movement that is more the responsibility of the rhythm section; in this case, they are irrelevant to the harmonization because, since this involves tight voicings, most of the chords will result in inversions. Is this what you meant?

In the exercise you proposed, I see that there are chords with an added 6th (triad + 6th); for those who might not know, the 6th is always major, even with a minor triad.

Ps

Thanks a million for your willingness to take a good step back