Reharmonization Techniques for Songs: A Seven-Level Guide

This section covers diatonic chords and seventh chord construction. Diatonic chords are chords built exclusively from the notes of a specific scale. In C major, the diatonic chords are C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B minor flat 5. Seventh chords are built by adding a fourth note to a triad, creating a four-note chord. The instructor demonstrates building C major 7 (C-E-G-B), D minor 7 (D-F-A-C), E minor 7 (E-G-B-D), F major 7 (F-A-C-E), G 7 (G-B-D-F), A minor 7 (A-C-E-G), and B minor 7 flat 5 (B-D-F-A). The pattern shows that major chords become major 7, minor chords become minor 7, and the dominant chord (G) becomes G 7.

This comprehensive section establishes the theoretical and practical foundations for understanding diatonic chords and their applications. The chord quality pattern in major keys follows Major, Minor, Minor, Major, Major, Minor, Diminished. The relative minor begins on the sixth scale degree, and the relative major begins on the third scale degree of the minor key. The diatonic tonality cycle provides a circular visualization of chord relationships. Each chord corresponds to a specific mode: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. The A major triad shape (root, third, fifth) serves as the foundation for all diatonic triads when moved up the fretboard. Seventh chords are created by adding the appropriate seventh note: major seventh (one half-step below the octave) for major triads, and minor seventh (one whole step below the octave) for minor triads. Extended harmonies are explored by adding the sixth and ninth degrees to create voicings like Cmaj13. The concept of 'not notes' - chromatic notes outside the current chord or scale used as approach notes rather than landing notes - is introduced to create stylish, jazzy phrasing. The 212 picking pattern (two notes on one string, one note on the next, two notes on the next) provides a systematic approach to organizing arpeggios and flashy guitar phrases.

Triads are built using interval stacking: major triads have M3+m3=P5, minor triads have m3+M3=P5, augmented triads have two M3s=A5, and diminished triads have two m3s=d5. Proper spelling requires skipping letter names (C-E-G, not C-Eb-F#). Seventh chords extend triads by adding sevenths: major 7 (1-3-5-7), dominant 7 (1-3-5-b7), minor 7 (1-b3-5-b7), half-diminished (1-b3-b5-b7), diminished 7 (1-b3-b5-bb7), and augmented 7 (1-3-#5-b7). Understanding both numerical and intervallic notation is essential for chord construction.

To build triads from a scale, take every other note (1-3-5). Major triads use: Root + 2 + 1/2. Minor triads use: Root + 1/2 + 2. For C major: C-E-G (major), D-F-A (minor), E-G-B (minor), F-A-C (major), G-B-D (major), A-C-E (minor), B-D-F (diminished). Seventh chords add tension: Major seventh (1-3-5-7), Minor seventh (1-Flat3-5-Flat7), Dominant seventh (1-3-5-Flat7), Half-diminished seventh (1-Flat3-Flat5-Flat7). The dominant chord (5th degree) creates tension that resolves to the tonic.

Diatonic seventh chords are all the seventh chords that come from a major scale. To construct them, take any major scale and build a seventh chord on each note by skipping every other note. For example, in C major: C-E-G-B = Cmaj7 (one chord), D-F-A-C = Dm7 (two chord), E-G-B-D = Em7 (three chord), F-A-C-E = Fmaj7 (four chord), G-B-D-F = G7 (five chord), A-C-E-G = Am7 (six chord), B-D-F-A = Bm7♭5 (seven chord).

Roman numerals indicate chord degrees within a key, with uppercase for major chords and lowercase for minor chords. In A major: I (A major), ii (B minor), iii (C# minor), IV (D major), V (E major), vi (F# minor), vii° (G# diminished). Tonal functions describe the tension-rest relationship between chords based on their position in the key. The three functions are: tonic (stability), dominant (maximum tension requiring resolution), and subdominant (ambiguity between the two). These correspond to scale degrees: tonic function to the first degree, subdominant to the fourth, and dominant to the fifth. The fifth and fourth degrees are a perfect fifth apart from the tonic.

The three main harmonic functions are: Tonic (stable, degrees 1, 4, 5), Subdominant (movement away from tonic, even degrees 2, 4, 6), and Dominant (tension, odd degrees 3, 5, 7). The tonic is the most stable chord. The diminished chord on the 7th degree creates tension that resolves to the tonic. These functions form the basis of all chord progressions.

Roman numeral chord analysis is a systematic method for identifying and labeling chords in a musical piece by first determining the key, then identifying each chord based on its position in the scale (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII), checking for extended chords (seventh, ninth, etc.) by continuing to build in thirds, and noting chord inversions (root position = a, first inversion = b, second inversion = c, third inversion = d) based on which note appears in the bass; this analytical approach helps musicians understand harmonic structure, identify key changes, and interpret compositional choices.

Tonic, subdominant, and dominant are the three primary chord types in Western music harmony. The tonic (built on scale degree 1) serves as the home base and strongest chord, to which all other chords gravitate. The subdominant (scale degree 4) creates departure from the tonic. The dominant (scale degree 5) creates the strongest tension and resolves most powerfully to the tonic. These three chords form the foundation of most song progressions. A useful guitar fretboard pattern shows these chords on the same fret: tonic on 5th string, subdominant on 6th string, dominant on 3rd string. Understanding these relationships is essential for analyzing and playing songs by ear.

Voice leading is how notes of one chord lead into the notes of the next chord. A chord consists of multiple notes, with some notes potentially duplicated. Good voice leading occurs when notes move minimally between chords—for example, when transitioning from D to G, notes may stay the same or move by small intervals like half steps or whole steps. Poor voice leading happens when notes move significantly, creating a disjointed sound. While both types are technically correct chord changes, better voice leading produces smoother, more connected transitions. This concept is most practical for piano and singing where each voice has a distinct part, but guitar voicings often have built-in voice leading properties.

Voice leading is the art of smoothly connecting chords through careful note movement. The three core principles are: (1) use common tones whenever possible between consecutive chords, (2) move notes by half or whole step when needed, and (3) avoid leaps greater than a third. Closed position voice leading uses three voices within an octave range, treating the bass as an independent voice with the root in the bass clef. To begin, spell out each chord's notes (C-E-G, G-B-D, A-C-E, F-A-C) and place bass notes separately. Common tones are retained to create smooth transitions, while other notes move stepwise. Chord inversions (first, second, third) help achieve smooth voice leading, though the bass note always determines the perceived chord position.

Voice leading is the concept of how individual notes move between chords, treating each note as an independent voice. Rather than viewing chords as static finger shapes, voice leading focuses on the smoothest possible movement of each note from one chord to the next. The key principles include identifying common tones that should remain stationary, finding the shortest path for voices to reach target chords, and understanding that voice leading creates resolution when notes move toward their target destinations. This technique transforms chord progressions from disconnected shapes into fluid, connected musical phrases.

Voice leading is the technique of creating smooth transitions between chords by keeping common notes stationary, moving other voices in step-wise motion (avoiding intervals larger than a third), and changing register only at phrase endings; this involves three types of voice motion—contrary, oblique, and parallel—and can be applied to both open and closed chord voicings to make chord progressions more cohesive and coherent.

Voice leading is the art of creating smooth melodic motion between chord changes. The fundamental principle is minimal movement: only move notes that must change while keeping others stable. When transitioning from B flat major (B, D, F) to E flat major (E, G, B), B flat serves as an anchor note; D moves to E and F moves to G. Similarly, when moving to F major, F becomes the anchor. This creates connected, flowing lines rather than disconnected melodic fragments.