Fill in the Chords

Have you ever wondered how your favourite musicians or lounge pianists can cook up a song so easily without much of a practice? All they need to know is the melody and they will be able to figure out the rest.

The answer is simple! They have been trained in harmony along with other aspects and disciplines of music. Where harmony is concerned, chords play a very important role.

Steps:

(1) Find the key.
~Work Out Which Key You’re In, for example, C major or D flat minor. (It helps if you have a basic understanding of chords and music.)

~Once you find the key,  find all the Diatonic Chords. Among all Diatonic Chords, specially take note on  Chord I, Chord IV and Chord IV (Primary chords). Write these down somewhere, because they will come up a lot!

(2)Figure out the Chords by listening.
~You have to make the chords fit the melody. Not the other way around. There are several ways to do this. If the song has a "left hand" look in it, and if the structure isn’t too complicated, listen to the section you’re putting a chord into and decide if it is major or minor.

~By simply analyzing the section you’re placing a chord at, the chord will usually be in the strong beats of the song!

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Lets come back to our song – Over The Rainbow ( Lesson 5)

I’m sure that you can play Right hand smoothly now!

Now, place a chord in every “Clap Hand” sign!

Suggest to try with Primary Chords first, then other Diatonic Chords!

Be patient on the first few tries! ~~Happy playing~~