How do you write a harmony for a melody?

Answer by  SMiller (79)

Match melody notes with the chord that corresponds to the scale the melody notes are derived from. If melody contains notes from C major scale, pair with C major chord.

Answer by  lonelywolf (2117)

A lot depends on the style of music you are writing in. A simple way is: figure out what the chords for the melody are, and then add chord tones.

Answer by  CarolynOsborne (2804)

A melody is like a sentence in English. Some words carry more emphasis; some notes carry more emphasis (longer notes, notes at the beginning of a measure, etc. ). You find a chord that fits the notes with emphasis. For example, if an important note is E, try out chords that contain E in any position in the chord.

Answer by  tblu (38)

Without taking an college level music theory class, your best bet is to experiment and find what sounds good to you. Thirds and fifths are usually reliably pretty intervals.

Answer by  Sonny (44)

It is easiest backwards: When you have the chords for your song, the melody can be made from notes that are used in the chords, but in a higher octave.

Answer by  Scott2436 (104)

Take the first note in your melody and use an interval from it (perhaps a major third or a fifth) and use this as the first note in your harmony. Repeat these steps with the other notes to create your harmony.

Answer by  technogeek (6640)

That would require an understanding of music theory and chord structure. Not for every note, but when important, you would add a chord to notes to create the harmony. Take a listen to some acapella singing groups and you will hear how they apply they apply harmony to the melody of the songs.

Answer by  Isli (145)

There are several ways. One way is to find the chords in the key that that the melody is in. Then take notes from those chords and use them for harmony. You could play a melody on something and see what sounds right with it. You could also use a computer music writing software to generate a harmony for you.

Answer by  sax (4)

While looking at the melody, determine a chord progression that makes sense with the melody notes. Then go about writing harmonizations to the melody that fit within the chord progression.