How to Choose Chords for a Melody Part 1

[@MrDynamite110]

As someone who always feels like my harmonizations are too basic I'd love for this series to continue and get into advanced concepts like using secondary dominants, augmented sixths, neapolitan chords, tritone subs etc. Really looking forward to it!

[@nathan8941]

as someone who often comes up with melodies first and then try to figure everything else out around it. I find this very helpful and would love to see you continue this series.

[@CodyHazelleMusic]

if you often do melody first, the next step is to write a contrapuntal bass line with a clear sense of direction, then the rest of the harmony will pretty much fill out on its own.

[@austinfaces1490]

Being self taught I have a weird amalgamation of beginner and intermediate theory, with some big gaps. So I'd definitely appreciate more of these

[@jake.walker.official]

PLEASE continue this serious and i want to see how in-depth it can get. Such a perfect and straightforward presentation. Beautifully executed. 😊

[@damaljinev]

If you continue this series, it might be nice to continue using this same melody to demonstrate progressively fancier chord choices.

[@dakotaphillips6853]

I need this series to be 3 years old and bingeable so bad. Fantastic ep 1!

[@alberi-verdi]

Please continue this series, I study clarinet and piano and I had alredy quite figured till this point. I really need more advanced explanation.

[@AndrianaDavidson-p7z]

Thank you for this video. I feel I need to watch this again I struggle with chords

[@jagorjurekovic1697]

as someone who doesn't know shit about music theory it's nice to see someone explain everything in detail, please keep it going 👍

[@jameslabs1]

Thanks

[@ShaharHarshuv]

I always feels like I find the good tutorials years after I learn the materials and don't actually need them. But I'm glad people are working on them for future generations and I'm all in to support that

[@Alfura11]

I would very much like to see the continuation of this series.

[@astrognash.]

Thanks for this video, I definitely want to see this series continue! I feel like the more advanced levels of harmonization are where I struggle, it's so easy to get into the rut of just using I, IV, and V for everything and harder to feel confident about knowing when is the right time to break from that pattern.

[@antomcmanus1775]

This is basically 145 though ..... F=1 Bb=4 and C is five Anyways there's a thousand ways you could change the rhythm and way you notate the chords to create different vibes for genres eg arpeggio classical , bouncing 8ths for jazz etc I think what might help you more is chord functions eg why pick a c7 chord or a C Sus 4 Or borrowing chords from other keys and modes

[@astrognash.]

@@antomcmanus1775 yeah that's exactly what I just said, that's why I said I wanted the more advanced videos

[@GuillermoJuarezS]

Hello! If you want more advanced videos, just look for "chromatic harmony" on youtube and there's a channel called "composing music" and you'll be on your way :)

[@GuillermoJuarezS]

@@astrognash. Just look for chromatic harmony and you'll be on your way to something more advanced...

[@mal3498]

Please continue the series, that was a nice down to earth description.

[@Roescoe]

This is super nice for getting simple melodies harmonized. It's like the step that allows almost anyone to make piano music.

[@quintongordon6024]

This series is perfect for me. This has been a pain point for me. Excited for more.

[@corrosive135]

Yes. Please continue this series. This channel and your tutorials hav been a great help to me.

[@lordwillibur438]

I would love to see more of this series!

[@ironman987654]

Please take this further into advanced harmony if possible. This was a helpful video and cant wait for more 😊

[@richardsargent4444]

Please keep this up. I appreciate your willingness to share your skills with us.

[@munkyman33]

Definitely continue this series, please. Hearing the thought process is worth a million! Thanks

[@eivore5081]

This was a very well structured way of explaining basic harmonization. I'm really looking forward to the more advanced videoes!

[@JAPeterson25]

Yes. Please continue this series.

[@quietdeep8663]

This came at the right time as i just started to learn music theory. Breaks down a part with which i struggle the most - Harmonizing melodies. I'd greatly appreciate if you continue this series :)

[@mikegonzalez3079]

Please continue with this series... your explanations are so easy to follow that I have to thank you so much. Very useful.

[@d4rw897]

I would love for this to continue

[@joeldcanfield_spinhead]

Please please dive deep into this. Coming from a country rock songwriting background I fall into the habit of the 12-bar blues pattern, and mods thereof. Since I discovered your channel a year or so ago I've been working on orchestration (classical and jazz are my two other musical loves, except also old metal and electroswing and fine I love all music, but, I digress) leaning toward string or horn quartets, and I always end up with either random-sounding mixups, or a string of major triads in root position, with a few inversions because at least I know what those are.

[@leonardsantoslaurio4877]

Continue this seriesss plssss

[@dylanduke1075]

Yeah this is a great idea for a series. Thanks Ryan. Really hope you go very deep on this like examining Quartal and Quintal harmony and hisaishi stuff !

[@KM-tv5km]

Harmonizing melodies is by far my weakest skill so I’m excited for this series. As someone that grew up listening to metal, rap, pop, etc. I’ve always been used to harmony first with a melody written on top, so doing it the opposite is a huge struggle for me

[@captainskylight942]

This is great. I know some pretty advanced harmonisation coming from a semi jazz background but as I’m self taught I’ve often missed the basics. Your highly structured approach that really drives home “why” we choose a certain chord is just exactly what I need. In terms of composition/orchestration you just might be my favourite content creator ever. So thank you ❤

[@pedrosabia6069]

thank you for one more class. waiting for more!

[@mr1880]

Great video, I would definitely be interested in seeing more videos like this.

[@correametal]

Amazing!!! Thank you so much!!! Can't wait for the rest of the series!!

[@FranciscoMunozCastro]

Really useful series, with great explanations and an excellent approach! I can't wait for the next video!

[@Qermaq]

Yeah man, this is the way to do it. Every musician needs to start right here. I IV V and that's it, plug and play. Even after decades of harmonizing melodies, I often start *just like this* because it solidifies my understanding of how the tune's harmonic rhythm and contour needs to work. Then you just need to tweak it with more colorful chords and idiomatic voice leading.

[@dgbmusic1199]

Would love to see this series continue!!

[@sabershenanigans]

Definitely would like to see more of this series!

[@Purpleninja7707]

Please make a part 2 of this!!!

[@RyanLeach]

taking longer than expected but I'm working on it!

[@orpheus2644]

Yes, continue it please. Harmonization has always been a weak point of my compositions and I would like to improve that.

[@LouisLJG]

I think itd be awesome to keep going this route in a series!!

[@ElizaMaxwell347]

This was so helpful! Can’t wait for the rest of the series!

[@Redant1Redant]

this was great. Especially the strong beat to weak beat patterns. Please continue this seriesl

[@chasingreasons1224]

This was great! I've watched other videos that teach you how to use chords but this is the best one. It all made sense and it's a great stepping stone. I hope you do a part 2!

[@bagfacedog]

This is very helpful. Thank you! Looking forward to the coming installments in this series.

[@kierenmoore3236]

A nice start! Looking forward to the rest of this series. 😎👍🏼🙏🏼

[@TristanStoutenburg]

I would like to see more of this. There is a lot of music that we use at Church where the melody is the only thing that is written, and it’s assumed that you’ll be able to figure out a harmony part on the fly, and it would be super cool to play around with harmonizing these melodies. Looking up other videos online, it seems like others just say pick triads on the scale that have a common tone notes, but don’t go into depth as to how to use chord extensions and passing tones and inversions

[@Handlerhandlerhand]

I wish to see more videos on this series. Funny thing is that youtube has not shown me this video on my feed. I have too many problems and challenges for a short comment. Having too much to say is the same as having nothing to say. Anyway, many of your videos motivated me to try to do as much as I can with just the basics. They showcase that basic chords, basic melodic ideas and common intervals are already enough to get the job done. And getting the job done even if it's a bit boring right now is what I should aim for.

[@sathyadevan4590]

@RyanLeach I never got any greater explaination on this topic, thanks for this tutorial. Looking forward to your second part.

[@Overcaffinated]

Yes please continue.

[@Purpleninja7707]

Great tutorial and nice and easy to understand! Would love to see more!

[@andrewmclean1333]

Great starting point. To remove boredom(in my music) I wish to learn how to use extended chords and slash chords, however I dont know how these are applied to drive the melody forward. Cant wait for this series to continue.

[@fattynorman]

Loved the video thanks so much for this great explanation. I've seen lots of videos about writing music but never seen this method discussed. Great jumping off point, I'm excited to see how it evolves, please continue the series!

[@johnmac8084]

Yes Ryan, more please 🙏

[@annahcreates]

I'd love another video in this series! Another would be very helpful as I get to this point in my songs and not any further. Maybe I sprinkle in some chord substitutions, but I always keep it diatonic and I want to explore other avenues. Thanks so much!

[@igordrm]

This was great, Ryan! Please keep it up!

[@orchestralstorytelling]

This series is exactly what I needed! It's tough as a beginner to find teachers that show "WHY" something is done. I like to understand what I am doing rather than just following theory. Does this mean that starting with a melody is easier than starting with a chord progression? I have been told both methods work and perhaps its just a matter of preference. My understanding is that if you do a chord progression first, you choose notes from your chord progression to make the melody as a basic start. So just reverse of this then I suppose. Love to hear your thought! Thanks again!

[@michaelmcgrathbouldercityh3738]

I like the step by step process. I am very interested in how you will make this evolve!! Thank you!!

[@escapegoat573]

Your videos helped me get into writing music, thanks so much I would love to see a short video explaining other melodic structures aside from basic period and sentence

[@SaxrebelHD]

Yes do more of these! A really nice start!

[@Benheartsart]

Thank you for this one!!! Super helpful!!

[@henryauden618]

Hey Ryan, I missed the tutorial contents on your channel very much! Thank you for doing this.

[@jamescb]

Would love to see more!

[@autistikicecream]

Thank you Ryan! It is such an awesome video! I'd love to see the rest of the series! ✨✨✨✨

[@mikhakulikov]

Love this! ❤️ Please, continue 🙏🤗

[@AlexAllin1]

Helpful to understand chord melody

[@hopebutler2996]

Thank you for the video! I would love to see the series continue as it is one of the things I struggle with the most. I'm about to start college for composition next month so I've given myself a 60-day challenge to compose every day before then. I feel like my knowledge of melody harmonization is lacking, so my chords end up being very vanilla, or I do the opposite and put complex chords that I don't know how to handle in my music. Your videos are my go-to source to info because of the way you can take a complex topic and explain it for every skill level.

[@RobinLop]

Great vidéo !! Yes please more vidéo !!!

[@immyradcliffe6062]

I always struggle with making my harmony less diatonic and more chromatic so I'd love to see you talking about how to effectively use unrelated chords, and augmented/diminished/neopolitan 6th chords

[@thenewgumby1665]

Please continue. I really want to see how it works with other chords.

[@uffevonlauterbach]

I enjoyed this, and I hope to see more in the future. I've never really put any of this into consideration, except when it comes to repeating chords and using a chord in the bass that has the same note in the melody ( C, E, G chord in bass with C note in treble). That does come off as pretty lifeless like you said. xD

[@Doc2rjae07]

Great lesson on to the next.. 🙏🏽

[@jonwatte4293]

This is awesome. Keep it up!

[@feraste]

Great vidéo please continue this videos it will be very helpful !

[@delko000]

Your lesson is so good, suscribed and liked

[@avs_lr]

pls continue this series, we want to see how you progress with this

[@RyanLeach]

New one coming Wednesday!

[@exquisiteoath]

As a chords first guy I'm actually really intrigued about what thinking meloy first could do for my process and am very interested with where this goes.

[@theodorekorbos2804]

Mr. Ryan Thank you for your tutorial looking forward to other video's😊

[@braydenjones6561]

What a wonderful video!! 🎶 Also, I love the Breath of the Wild sound effects!! 😊

[@michaelstreck0925]

Subscribed for Part II 😁

[@jerchristensen7833]

Continue the series? Yes, please. To quote the great philosopher, Sheev Palpatine, “Do it!"

[@mattleach958]

Thank you Ryan! This really helps. It's always good to go back to the simple basics. Yes please do continue with this series, but could you please do it in the key of C? I just like to learn and teach in the key of C, as it is the easiest on keyboards. - from Matt Leach in Mendocino, California (not to be confused with your cousin, Matt)

[@CalebePriester]

Good video. I liked it.

[@СашаКаратов]

Thank you for the video. I hope you will get to voice-leading someday and cover the topic of harmonization from this side

[@wwinger1]

Hey first of all thanks so much for your videos, please keep up the series! i'm having problems deciding back and forth between: do i start with the harmony or the melody... i have the feeling that both methods will lead me to my goal it's also difficult to write a melody that ends with a cadence (as in the sentence form) if I only add the harmony at the end, so a video where you apply the method to the melody you've just created would be very helpful.

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks 'melodic cadence' is a good idea for a video. Basically it's about "does it feel resolved or unresolved?". If you end on a the first or third scale degree of the key (eg. C or E in C major) it will more likely feel resolved. I don't think there's a correct answer for harmony or melody first. It's a few steps forward and back with each, but in general I try for melody first because I think the horizontal line is more important than the vertical coloring that goes with it.

[@carlosguimaraes4866]

please keep going! I still feel all my harmonizations are way too basic

[@irish28410]

That will be a great serie for me as I’m often struggling to find interesting chord progression, not too basic and easy listening … When will the next video be online ? Thanks

[@Felven]

great idea for a video

[@eleanortoms4245]

I would find this series helpful. It's good to have it broken down, instead of someone just saying a variety of options and not knowing where to start.

[@strawberry_cereal]

Very neat

[@Crab_Masher]

Fantastic explanations! Thank you for not making it convoluted.

[@Redeam.]

I like to follow the movement of a melody to build chords, which doesn't always give me tension and release. Also, the rhythm of the chords is a big mystery to me. Sometimes chords speed up or slow down depending on the part of the music. I would like that explained.

[@timeless9517]

Oh this is very good

[@CalebePriester]

If you have a strong bar followed by a weak bar then it makes more sense to use a 6/8 time signature and keep everything in just one bar instead of having to use two bars.

[@olqb9532]

YES

[@mr1880]

yo dude nice Yoasobi shirt, I love it.

[@lebossss9870]

I would love to learn when and how to add upper chord extensions

[@tobiasschwab3613]

Thank you so much. I am still struggling to get a good melody.

[@kimdavis2433]

Yoasobi shirt :) I love chord usage in J-pop

[@Gallardin222]

Fantástic. How many types of rearmonizations you can do with this melody?