Re: [Harp-L] Determining the "Right" Chord(s)?



I don't claim to be a whiz-bang theorist, but I do a lot of arranging for chromatic harmonica and guitar from piano source material.

I depend on my "ear" a great deal, but that isn't going to help you much via email.

I know of no hard and fast rules, only clues. In music, there are exceptions to everything! However, the statistically probable constructions can give you a lot of guidance.

Arrange the chord in "snowman" form with all notes on lines or spaces to find the root of a triad.
anticipation of a chord change"
When the bass changes to a note not in the current chord, then it is a good bet that the chord changes.
Chord changes frequently occur on accented beats, #1 in 3/4 time and #1 & #3 in 4/4 time, etc.
Chords rarely change on unaccented beats.
Unaccented beats will frequently have non-chord notes, especially in the melody.
Chord changes occur frequently at the beginning of measures.
Print out the chord progression diagrams in http://www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn/ to see what the most likely next chord will be. (On the left, find "theory", "chords", and click on "sequence" and scroll down a ways.)


Hope this helps.

Vern

Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com
Vern


----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Coble" <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 9:00 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Determining the "Right" Chord(s)?




Here's something a little different for the music theorists.

Given a hymn book containing four-part harmony on the
grand staff, how does one determine the appropriate chords
to be played and how long to stay on a particular chord?

I know how chords are constructed, and I can construct a
chord to fit every note combination at each point in the song.
However, I don't know how to choose a chord that will be
played over several notes (for instance, over a measure or
more), even as the individual notes in the four parts are
changing from note to note. Is the "clue" to be found in the
bass notes?

My older brother (who is an excellent pianist) used to refer to
playing the exact four notes given in the hymnal as in "Sarah
style." ("Sarah" would be our mother, who played the exact four
notes given in the hymnal, with no deviations, embellishments,
fills, etc. at all.) I asked him and he stated that it was "obvious."
Maybe to a keyboardist, but not to this harmonica player! And
the really weird thing is: I know more music theory than he
does!!

BTW, he suggested sight reading training by taking each "voice"
on every song in the hymnal and playing it as a single line. He
opines that it will not take too long to become really proficient
in sight reading different keys. Any thoughts on his suggestion?

Thanks,
Crazy Bob


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