Back to worksheetsChords & Harmony · Music Theory
Choosing chords for a melody
To harmonize a melody, you choose the chords to play under it. Three questions do the work: which chords own the important notes, how often to change, and where each phrase ends.
Plain prints every note in black, without the color coding.
Listen
Play each example here, or download it as an MP3 (audio) or a MIDI file.
How often? Harmonic rhythm
- Line A: one chord a bar (C, F, C, G)0:14
- Line B: faster into the cadence (C, F, C–Am, Dm–G)0:14
Plan the ending first
- Bars 5–8, I, IV and V7 only (C, F, G7, C)0:14
- Bars 5–8 with color (C–Am, Dm, G7, C)0:14
- The whole period: line B, then the answer with color0:24
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Free to use in your own lessons and practice. Made by the teachers at Tissimo.