Workshop 83 — Voice-Leading Reharmonization: Building New Chords from Melodic Lines Instead of Substitution Lists
Workshop 82 explored symmetrical harmony and how diminished, augmented, whole-tone, and tritone structures can weaken ordinary tonal gravity.
Now we return to a more practical arranging problem:
How do you reharmonize a melody so the new harmony feels inevitable rather than merely clever?
The strongest answer is:
Do not begin with replacement chords. Begin with lines.
This means designing:
- melody
- bass
- one inner voice
- perhaps a second inner voice
and only then asking:
“What harmony do these voices create?”
This is one of the most important transitions from intermediate to advanced arranging.
The central lesson is:
The best reharmonizations often sound sophisticated vertically because they were designed simply and logically horizontally.
83.1The substitution-list problemSuppose the original progression is:83.2Start with the outer voicesUse:83.3ExampleSuppose melody holds:83.4Now ask what each interval suggestsG over C:83.5Level 1 — simplest harmonization of bass lineUse:83.6First principleA good bass line can generate a reharmonization automatically.83.7Level 2 — chromatic bass firstTake:83.8AnotherBass:83.9This changes how you should thinkInstead of memorizing:83.10Level 3 — inner line firstKeep bass:83.11Better exampleBass:83.12This is crucialThe reharm:83.13Level 4 — one chromatic line, several harmonizationsTake:83.14Level 5 — top-line reharmonizationSuppose melody itself moves:83.15This connects Workshop 78E over Dm:83.16Level 6 — guide-tone line firstProgression destination:83.17Make it richerKeep line:83.18One line does not dictate one chordThis is important.83.19Level 7 — two inner linesTake:83.20Avoid naming too earlyPlay the lines first.83.21Level 8 — structural beats versus passing verticalitiesIf inner voices move chromatically:83.22ExampleBass C held.83.23Level 9 — reharmonization by contrary motionMelody rises:83.24TryE/C: C major.83.25The puzzle is the pointDo not seek one “correct” answer.83.26Level 10 — oblique reharmonizationMelody holds:83.27Try a descending bass chainC:83.28Level 11 — harmonize one bass line in three stylesBass:83.29This separates structure from styleBass line:83.30Level 12 — melody note as constraintSuppose melody note is:83.31Destination legitimizes unusual verticalitiesD♭ bass + A melody may sound strange alone.83.32Level 13 — resolution-first reharmonizationChoose destination chord:83.33Backward design is powerfulInstead of asking:83.34Level 14 — semitone approach sonorityTarget Cmaj9:83.35This is not functional dominant harmonyThe logic is:83.36Level 15 — approach from belowTarget:83.37CompareG7→C:83.38Level 16 — combine functional and linearProgression:83.39Level 17 — multiple explanations are goodDo not seek a single theoretical label.83.40Level 18 — bass enclosureWant bass destination:83.41ExampleTarget:83.42Level 19 — melody enclosure generates harmonyTarget melody:83.43Level 20 — contrary chromatic linesBass rises:83.44Level 21 — chromatic wedgeOuter voices:83.45Level 22 — line cliché reharmonizationC minor.83.46ExampleInner:83.47Level 23 — tonic line cliché into dominantCm:83.48Level 24 — keep melody fixed over line clichéHigh E♭.83.49Level 25 — reharmonize phrase ending onlyDo not rewrite the entire tune.83.50Reharmonization hierarchyBest places:83.51Level 26 — first pass plain, second pass linear reharmPhrase 1:83.52Level 27 — same bass, new inner lineFirst pass:83.53Level 28 — same melody and bass, different middleThis is a critical arranging exercise.83.54Example outer voicesBass C.83.55Level 29 — middle-voice substitutionThis is often safer than root substitution.83.56Level 30 — reharmonization by suspensionOriginal:83.57Level 31 — reharmonization by pedalOriginal:83.58Level 32 — reharmonization by moving bass under same chordOpposite.83.59Level 33 — reharmonization by top pedalMelody/top note G held.83.60Level 34 — common-tone reharmonizationChoose one melody note and find several chords containing it.83.61Common-tone lists are not enoughA chord containing the melody note is only possible.83.62Level 35 — reharmonize with bass target, not chord targetSuppose next phrase begins on:83.63Level 36 — chromatic descending bass paletteTry:83.64This bass line contains a whole reharmonization vocabularyNotice it naturally produced:83.65Level 37 — chromatic ascending bass paletteC-C♯-D-D♯-E.83.66Level 38 — avoid excessive every-semitone harmonyA chromatic bass note does not always require a full new chord.83.67This is subtleThere is a continuum:83.68Level 39 — harmonize rhythmically important bass notes onlyBass eighth-note walk:83.69Level 40 — reharmonization by rhythmic placementSame chord sequence.83.70Level 41 — reharmonize a cadence in stagesOriginal:83.71Level 42 — write the lines separatelyFor each reharmonized cadence, literally write:83.72Level 43 — use contrary motion at climaxAt phrase peak:83.73Level 44 — use parallel motion for special effectMove all upper voices:83.74Level 45 — use oblique motion for stabilityMelody holds.83.75Level 46 — avoid reharmonizing active melody too aggressivelyBusy melody + busy bass + moving inner harmony:83.76Level 47 — melody extension rather than new chordSuppose melody D over C.83.77Level 48 — bass non-root interpretationSuppose bass E under C melody/harmony.83.78Root line versus bass lineThey are not the same.83.79Level 49 — design bass contour, then decide root statusFor each bass note, ask:83.80Level 50 — reharmonization with deceptive bassExpect C.83.81Level 51 — delayed true tonicCadence:83.82Level 52 — bass as narrativeThink of bass not only as chord roots but as:83.83Level 53 — inner voice as narrativeSame for inner line.83.84Level 54 — chromatic brighteningMinor-to-major line:83.85Level 55 — chromatic darkeningMajor:83.86Practice Loop A — bass firstTake a four-bar melody.83.87Practice Loop B — inner line firstKeep original roots.83.88Practice Loop C — two outer voicesFix melody and bass.83.89Practice Loop D — cadence backwardChoose final tonic voicing.83.90Practice Loop E — phrase ending onlyTake any tune.83.91Practice Loop F — same bass, three stylesUse:83.92Practice Loop G — same inner line, three bassesInner:83.93Improvisation Challenge 1 — no substitution namesReharmonize eight bars.83.94Challenge 2 — one chromatic inner lineOriginal chords remain mostly intact.83.95Challenge 3 — one chromatic bass lineNo extra inner complexity.83.96Challenge 4 — two voices only firstCreate full reharm using only:83.97Challenge 5 — parallel semitone approachApproach tonic from:83.98Challenge 6 — functional vs linearCreate two reharmonizations of same cadence.83.99Ear Drill — chord trick or line?Play:83.100Ear Drill — root versus bassPlay:83.101Ear Drill — linear approach versus dominantCompare:83.102Ear Drill — passing sonority durationPlay D♭7 for:83.103Mini-composition exerciseWrite a 32-bar reharmonization étude generated primarily from voice leading.83.104Apply it to “Happy Birthday”Use the public-domain melody exactly first.83.105Apply it to “Mack the Knife”For a later chorus:83.106Apply it to “The Bare Necessities”Use reharmonization more sparingly.83.107The larger theoretical lessonEarlier we learned chords as:83.108Why this matters for transcribing by earWhen you cannot identify a complex chord:83.109Why this matters for compositionA chord substitution list gives you:83.110The mature reharmonization questionNot:•Workshop 83 mini-test1. What is the main weakness of substitution-list reharmonization?
← PreviousWorkshop 82 — Symmetrical Harmony and Harmonic Geometry: Diminished Cycles, Augmented Triads, Whole-Tone Motion, Major-Third Systems, and Escaping Ordinary Tonal GravityNext →Workshop 84 — Modulation Architecture: Pivot Chords, Direct Modulation, Common-Tone Modulation, Sequential Modulation, and Making Key Changes Feel Inevitable