How to assign chords to melody?

[movilogo]

Is there any generic rule for assigning chords to a piece of melody?

Suppose I am playing a song and the sheet music has melody part only (right hand keys). Now I want to assign some left hand chords myself.

What rule shall I follow?

If the melody in say C major, can I randomly assign chords say C F G?

[visitor]

Not if you want it to sound like the original piece or how the composer intended.
Harmony cam be impiled by a melody but you have to know the key it is in, they style or idiom of the work and at the very least a bass line. From there you can apply basic theory to derive likely chords or if you are simply improvising and would like to add a unique harmonic progression then you can compose your own appropriate bass-root line to underpin the melody then add filler as needed to give you the texture you want.

There are basic western classical music tonal harmony conventios that can be used, ie you need to be very solid w what triad each tone of a major or minor scale created the build on it using one of the flow charts, ie knowing ii can go to IV or V. Or that ii dim goes to iv or V or that vii dim goes to i or I. Or that iv can go to ii dim or IV can lead to ii, and V can lead to vi or back to i or I and you can alter abd borrow chords such as seconday dominats from other keys like in doing
I->ii->V/IV->IV

Basically you shold have a firm grasp of basic common
Practice period theory.

I would reccommend this as a good start amd reference, it is a basic required book for most std music theory sequences at the university and conservatory level


Also get the workbook if you are serious. Music Theory is like like learning chemistry and math. You have to practice problems, a lot before it starts to click.

[adodd81802]

No. Not really.

Do you know what chord C-F-G even is? (politely asking not being sarcastic)

I would learn a lot about chords before trying to put them together with melodies, there's quite some theory behind it.

A C Major chord is effectively a combination of C-E-G, that can be as E-G-C, C-G-E, G-C-E or even omit some notes if you just have C-G-C, G-C-G it's still a C major chord. (note these are not random combinations they have names, they have theories, they have proper uses)

The key is not necessarily the same thing as the chord. for example you could be playing your melody in C major as you mentioned and you could press the G as part of your melody, and it will sound good with the G major chord in the left hand which is a combination of G-B-D.

Now when I say sound good, i am not suggesting any key can have any chord, again there is theory behind this and it's what makes the difference between a random composition and then a composition with full structure.

My best advice, is walk before you can run, do some research on chords and practice music with the chords rather than trying to work them out with nothing but guess work, especially if you don't fully grasp the concept of what a chord is just yet.

[timothy42b]

If the melody in say C major, can I randomly assign chords say C F G?

Yes.  Guitar players do it all the time, they play lots of songs in 3 chords, the I, IV, and V7. 

It won't sound authentic, if anybody knows the real chord progression.  But it will work, and it can be an entry into playing by ear.  Just don't stop there.

When I first started playing in church that's what I did, the real SATB parts were far too hard for me.  (I did get better eventually) 

Also add playing from lead sheets, because it will give you more ideas what chords will fit.

To start, play a C major scale.  Add the left hand chords to each scale note, trying all 3 to see which will harmonize and which won't.  Sometimes you have more than one choice.  Sometimes you're better off with a moment of silence. 

There are lots of ways to make the simple chords more interesting. 

[pianoplunker]

Is there any generic rule for assigning chords to a piece of melody?

Suppose I am playing a song and the sheet music has melody part only (right hand keys). Now I want to assign some left hand chords myself.

What rule shall I follow?

If the melody in say C major, can I randomly assign chords say C F G?

Yes but no. You need to listen to it. Sometimes Cmaj7, Dmin7 and G7, or just C7, F7, G7. I would not call it random assignment but I IV and V is a good bet. Alot of it has to do with the Bass line

[timothy42b]

This is very instructive: