Five EASY

Harmony Hacks
To HELP YOU Write
Great Music

Five EASY Harmony Hacks To HELP YOU Write Great Music

1 / Inversion s

4 / D ev il in Mus ic

Still stuck in root position? The easiest and quickest way to

break out of boring chord progressions is to use inversions. For
example, in a chord of C major, try the E or G in the bass rather
than the normal C.

Thats what they used to call the augmented 4th that means
the interval between C and F sharp for example, or Ab and D.
That might have put the willies up medieval clerics, but it has
done wonders for Danny Elfman. That umpah bass line in the
Simpsons and lots of his other scores of that era, uses the Aug
4th all the time. Chord progressions of D to Ab are also useful,
particularly in comedy.

2 / Bi-Ch ord s
Sticking two chords together one on top of the other. Play a
chord of C major with the left hand and a chord of D maj with
the right. Throw them together however you like and hear the
weird and wonderful chromatic effects you can create.

3 / Progr ess ions by 3 r d s

A very filmy thing to do is the move by 3rds. So from a chord
of C, move to a chord of Eb or C to Ab, D to F. Mix that up
with normal diatonic chord movements I IV-V (C F G) and
youre in business.

5 / P edals
Play C with your left hand and now start putting all kinds of
other chords in the right. C bass with a D maj, C bass with
a Bb. Keeping a low constant note going under a chord
progression is called a pedal in harmony and it works great.
Give it a go.

These are all quick and dirty fixes that shows you the real
potential of harmony to change your music. Harmony is an
essential part of your personality as a composer. This is the
musical equivalent of Star Trek, to boldly go etc. The more you
learn about this the more options there are open to you.