How melody fits over chords
See why some melody notes sit comfortably over a chord and others rub, tell a passing note from a real clash, and fix a sour bar in three different ways.
SAFE GROUND
Chord tones
When a chord and a melody sound together, the three notes of the chord are the melody's safe ground. A melody note that is also one of them is a chord tone. Land on a chord tone and the two layers simply agree; the note disappears into the chord. Everything else in the melody is travelling between chord tones.
An E over a C chord (C E G) is a chord tone and needs to do nothing. The same E over an F chord (F A C) is not in the chord, and now it has a job to do.
"Twinkle Twinkle" in C, with the chords from lesson 9.
words melody chord melody note in the chord?
Twin-kle C C C (CEG) yes, yes
twin-kle G G C (CEG) yes, yes
lit-tle A A F (FAC) yes, yes
star G C (CEG) yes
How I F F F (FAC) yes, yes
won-der E E C (CEG) yes, yes
what you D D G (GBD) yes, yes
are C C (CEG) yesEvery melody note belongs to the chord under it.That is not luck. Those chords were picked because they contain those notes. Turn it around and you have a way to harmonise any tune you know: bar by bar, choose the chord of the key that holds most of that bar's melody notes.
Check yourself
Nika's melody holds a long D through a whole bar. She is in the key of C and needs one chord underneath it. Which of these fits the D best?
- C (C E G)
- G (G B D)
- F (F A C)
- Am (A C E)
Show the answer
G (G B D)
Yes. D is one of G's three notes, so a long melody note becomes a chord tone and sits still. Dm (D F A) would work for the same reason.
Passing note
A melody note that is not in the chord, used to step from one chord tone to the next. A passing note moves by step, lands on a weak part of the beat and leaves straight away. The whole family is called non-chord tones, and they are not mistakes. A melody built only from chord tones sounds like an exercise.
Over a C chord, the run C D E. The D is not in C E G, but it is one step on the way from C to E, so your ear files it as movement rather than as a wrong note.
Stepping stones across a stream
The chord tones are the stones you can stand on. The notes in between are where your foot passes on the way to the next stone. You can rest on a stone as long as you like; you cannot stand in the water. Where the analogy breaks: songwriters stand in the water on purpose all the time. A held non-chord tone is one of the strongest effects in music, precisely because it makes everyone wait for the step onto the stone.
Check yourself
Any melody note that is not in the chord underneath is a mistake and should be changed.
Show the answer
False
Most melodies are full of notes that are not in the chord. They are fine when they move by step and pass quickly. What exposes a note is landing on a strong beat and staying there.
THREE QUESTIONS
Why a note sounds wrong
When a bar sounds sour, ask three things in this order. Is the note in the key? If not, that is the loudest kind of wrong. Is it in the chord playing right now? If not, it is a non-chord tone. Where does it sit and how long does it last? A non-chord tone on an offbeat is invisible; the same note on beat 1, held, is standing in the open.
Most sour bars fail the second and third question together, not the first. The note was in the key all along. The chord moved underneath it and the melody did not notice.
Key of C. Chord: C (C E G). The melody holds F for three beats.
count: 1 2 3 4
melody: F ------------------ E
chord: C E G (sounding underneath)
F against E is 1 half step: the tightest rub there is.
Three ways out:
move the note F -> E or G now it is a chord tone
move the moment F on the "&" gone before beat 2
move the chord C -> F or Dm both contain an FOne sour bar, three different cures.None of this is a rule about good and bad notes. It is a choice about which layer you are willing to move: the melody, the rhythm, or the chord.
Check yourself
Sara is writing in the key of C. On beat 1 her melody lands on F and holds it for three beats, over a C chord. The bar sounds sour. What is actually going on?
- F is in the key but not in the C chord, and it is held on a strong beat a half step above the chord's E
- F is not in the key of C, so it is simply the wrong note
- Three beats is too long for any single melody note
- C is the wrong chord to use in the key of C
Show the answer
F is in the key but not in the C chord, and it is held on a strong beat a half step above the chord's E
Exactly. F belongs to the C major scale, so the key is fine. The trouble is the job the note is doing: a non-chord tone, exposed on beat 1, rubbing a half step against the E underneath.
Check yourself
Each line is a long melody note over a chord. Can it stay, or does it need to move?
- E over a C chord (C E G)
- D over a C chord
- B over a G chord (G B D)
- C over a G chord
- A over an F chord (F A C)
- G over an F chord
Show the answer
Chord tone, safe to hold: E over a C chord (C E G), B over a G chord (G B D), A over an F chord (F A C)
Not in the chord, needs to move: D over a C chord, C over a G chord, G over an F chord
Write a melody over a chord loop
- Put the loop down first
Four bars, one chord per bar. I–V–vi–IV in C gives you C, G, Am, F.
- Land on a chord tone on beat 1
Choose one note of that bar's chord and aim at it: C from the C bar, B or D from the G bar, A or C from Am, F or A from F.
- Join the landings by step
Fill the space between them with notes of the key, mostly moving one step at a time. Those in-between notes are your passing notes and they look after themselves.
- Check every long note
Anywhere you hold a note for more than a beat, look at the chord under it. That one check fixes most sour bars before anyone hears them.
Check yourself
Match each melody problem to the fix that suits it
Show the answer
- A held note that is in the key but not in the chord → Move it one step to the nearest chord tone
- A quick note between two chord tones → Leave it alone, it is a passing note
- A note that is not in the key at all → Usually a wrong note, unless you put it there on purpose
- A long note you refuse to give up → Change the chord to one that contains it
Lesson recap
- A melody note that is also a note of the chord is a chord tone; it is the melody's safe ground.
- Non-chord tones like passing notes are normal and necessary. They move by step, sit on weak beats and leave quickly.
- A note is exposed when it is not in the chord, lands on a strong beat and is held.
- Being in the key is not enough. The key says what is available, the current chord says what is restful.
- Three cures for a sour bar: move the note, move the moment, or move the chord.