AboutPhil Kelly Expertise I`m a semi-retired professional music arranger with over thirty five years in all phases of the commercial music production business. I can try to answer questions regarding music arranging, theory, orchestration , and/or composition for most acoustic ensembles .( jazz band or orchestral ) I can try to offer suggestions about studio music recording procedures and some basic MIDI applications , too. In the course of my career I`ve worked with such artists as Doc Severinsen and the old Tonight Show Band, Bill Watrous, Buddy Greco, John Gary, Mel Torme, Julius LaRosa, as well as the Pop programs of the Fort Worth, Dallas, North Carolina, and Houston Symphonies, as well as library music material for ABC, ESPN, and NFL Films.
I've been composing electronicly for about six months, and studying theory for about four.
Was hoping you could answer a basic question for me, or point me in the right direction.
I will word it the best I can...
Should melody lines strictly follow whatever chord proggresion that is being played on a backround instrument? (only playing notes found in those chords)
Or does it matter? as long as it's in the same key, or can a melody be in a completly different key then the rest of the song?
Thank you for your answer and your time.
Answer Hi Anthony:
As you get further into the study of harmony, you'll discover many instances where notes outside a chord are perfectly acceptable and in many cases desirable. Nothing can get more boring quickly that melodies constructed of ONLY chord tones because all you would be doing is playing predictable arpeggios.
Lets assume an ascending melody of : CDEF/G ..A /ABBC /C ..B
over a harmony of ( 2 beats each ) C Emi over B / A mi C over G / F Emi /
D mi7 G sus7 G7 /
in the first phrase , the D and F would be scalar passing tones ..
in the second phrase, the first A and B would be Anticipations of the chord to come. the following C held over the G chord would be a suspension which resolved to the B ..
AS you get further into the study of harmony you'll find many other acceptable devices to deal with non chordal tones in melodies. This is why a thorough understanding of basic harmony is so necessary to a composer because it opens a series of doors for you as you get into more advanced formations.
