Amazing Grace

6 Step by step Harmonizations

Nick Homes
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 “Grass Roots “

Here is Amazing Grace in Bb harmonised with the I, IV +V chords of Bb major:

Bb, Eb +F

Why these chords you may ask?

Simply, because
1) these are the 3 triads used in the most traditional versions
2) these chords support the melody so well, as they CONTAIN most of the melody notes
3) The I, IV +V chords are the fundamental chords of music to love and know.

Here below is the number relationship of each melody note to the chord it is sounding with.

When a note is heard at the same time as a chord, it produces an emotion. Numbering the melody
notes helps us to categorise and associate these emotions.

Being aware of what relationship a note has to a chord will help us when harmonising a melody or
improvising to choose notes that correspond with the emotions we are looking to express.

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 Adding Soul

How can we add soul? of course this is subjective BUT without leaving the diatonic notes
of Bb major the following modifications can colour the harmony in a soulful way:

1) adding the 9th in to the mix .This has been notated as 2 . The number 2 has been used as the second
degree is right in there with the other notes of the triad 1,3 and 5. It is not above as the add 9 suggests.
It is interesting that these 4 notes together do not produce an unpleasant dissonance.
The sound feeling is soulful.
There are other ways ways to voice, (distribute) the notes of these chords with
the second/ninth added.

2) the second thing to do to add soul is to invert some of the chords.

Inverting changes the bass note , and feeling of the chord.
In bars 6+10 the Bb chord has been inverted, the D is in the bass.
This is known as first inversion.
At bar 8 here the F triad is in first inversion with the A in the bass.
At bar 15 the Eb chord is now over a Bb bass
(2nd inversion in classical speak) which delays the last chord delightfully.

Note the Bb bass is held over to the last chord. This evokes a sensation of unity

3) Another possible thing to do, to add more soul , melody permitting of course is to
add in some suspended chords. These add some ambiguity
At bar 7 the first F chord is suspended . The 4th of F , Bb is the suspended note. In the next bar
this 4th resolves down to A, the 3rd of F.
The suspended 4th is more homogenous and soulful than the regular 3rd
as the 4th (Bb) is also the tonic of the key (Bb) , whereas the regular 3rd A is unstable pulling up to the
tonic.

BTW. Another plus of using the suspended chord is that it breaks up the previous 2 bars of F major.

The second F triad in bar 8 is in first inversion, which increases the emotional charge
of the chord somehow. Would you agree?

The last change that was effected in this soul version was in bar 13. In the original version the harmony
stays on the tonic Bb. Whilst that is fine, changing the chord apart from changing the emotion helps
to create movement and interest.

So in bar 13 a G minor, the VI- minor substitutes for the Tonic Bb chord suprising the sensibilities some-
what. We have not heard a minor chord so far in the piece so this change also serves to touch the emo-
tions. The harmonic change as well from G- down a tone to Fsus is a humbling sound.
The melody note over this F suspended in bar 14 is D , the 6th which is a beautiful colour,
making the chord an Ebmajor 7 over F.

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 Adding 7ths
In this step non diatonic colours are added in to the mix, specifically the flat 7 and #4.
In B flat major the flat 7 is Ab and the #4 is E.
The presence of the non diatonic Ab opens up the possibility of Bb7 chords being the flat 7th of Bb7.
The non diatonic E natural opens the possibility to add C7 dominant chords. ( C7 is the secondary
dominant being the dominant of F7). The non- diatonic note E is the major 3rd of the C7.
Remember these colours are not found in the diatonic chords/scale of Bb major

Question. Why these notes, the # 4 and flattened 7th?

Answer.
Well because these notes add colour, sound good and are logical, theoretically speaking.

In bar 3 there is an Eb chord , chord IV in Bb major.

In many cases (melody and taste permitting) any chord can be preceded by its dominant chord
built a perfect 5th above its root. And in this case we can!
To find a perfect 5th above Eb we count up the Eb scale 5 steps and arrive at Bb, so the chord is Bb7
which contains Ab the flattened 7th.

Bb7 to Eb is a V to I chord movement in Eb major. So this is like a modulation to Eb major.

However , it is not a modulation, as it is too short, and Eb major does not become the new
home, root, tonic chord.

In bars 9 to 11 this V7 to I progression is repeated. However, this time with an important ear catching
difference. This time the flat 7th , Ab is in the the bass, which leads down to G in the next chord ,
the 3rd of E b major. This is a sound and progression to know and cherish.

In bar 7 there is an F chord. This chord can be preceded by its dominant 7th chord , the chord built on
the 5th degree of F major (C7)
This C7 ( II7) chord produces an uplifting sensation.
The melody note in bar 6 on this C7 is D, the natural 9.
Although this note is not in a regular C7 chord, it is a very agreeable sound.
So it will be included in the chord, so the piano/guitar player can support if you like this
melody note.
Remember always that these chord symbols are a short hand, its not obligatory to play every note!!!
The 9th label here btw of the C7 does include the dominant 7th Bb

At bar 13 , there is an E-7b5. This name sounds already painful and complicated. But the sound is not
painful at all. (Perhaps it is isolation as it is quite an unstable chord). This chord is infact acting as a
substitution for C7. These 2 chords share quite a few notes. (E, G and Bb)
A C7 chord could have been played here but the E-7b5 was chosen partly because the bass line has
been descending since bar bar 9. (Bb Ab G F then E)
And the E-7b5 was chosen as the sound is subtly different from a regular C7 chord and we have already
heard an used a regular C7 in bar 6.

In this version at bar 4 there is also an added passing chord C-7 add4 which links the Bb root chord to
the Bb over D chord.
The last new thing in this version occurs in bar 15. Instead of 2 bars of Bb these descending chords
have been added , which provide soul, and movement! This delightful little progression is heard in Bill
Withers’ classic ‘Lean on me’

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 Adding b6/#5

In this step we add in to the mix perhaps one of the most emotive notes in music the b6/#5.
This all important note the b6/#5 in Bb major is Gb also spelt as F#.

Gb suggests more than anything else the IV- chord Eb-

and the F# suggests the III7 D7 chord. (or D triad)

So lets see where we can we fit these chords in!

In bar 2 we can use the D7 as it

1) sounds soulful,
2) works with the melody+
3) this chord moves beautifully up to the IV chord Eb. (especially the bass movement from to Eb)

In bar 10 we can again use this chord, but this time spiced up with the augmented 5th A#
and sharp 9 (E#) . Very interestingly these 2 tensions are Diatonic to Bb major!

Now lets slot in this beautiful IV- chord , Eb minor at bar 7. This will replace the original F chord.
The melody note here is F, the 9th of the Eb minor. This is a deeply emotional sound.
So this Eb- over F bass can is like dark, sombre F suspended chord .

You may have noticed at bar 5 the previous Bb chord has been replaced by a G-. This chord is chord
VI- in Bb major. Apart from changing the mood slightly , this chord is agreeable to the music theory buff
who is looking for logic as it relates well to the next chord as C7 is the relative II-7 to C7 (in a II-7 V7 I
progression)

The last new chord in this version is in bar 11. It is the Eo7 chord.
This is a very common gospel sound that links the IV chord back to Chord I
in its second inversion.

BTW, at the end of bars 4 and 12 there is a D chord over F# bass. This chord is the V7 of the VI minor.
Technically this note does not work with the original melody not F natural. HOWEVER, and this is a big
however, it is acceptable in the context as
1) the duration is short
2) the dissonance produced is the #9 which is commonly heard in Jazz so quite accepted
3) a singer may also change /adapt a melody if inspired by the harmony.

In bar 4 there is a suspension on beat one Bb sus to Bb. which provides more soul and movement.

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 Adding b6/#5

What is modal interchange?

1) Modal Interchange is a quick harmonic switch, outside the key of the piece.
2) the duration is short of this harmonic switch. Not long enough to be called a modulation
3) the modal interchange chord(s) come form a parallel tonality
4) You can hear it, feel it! - You know when it has happened.

In bar 8 this Eb-7 (IV-7) is not in the key of Bb major, but it is found in the Bb natural minor scale.
It is chord IV-7 of Bb natural Minor. This is a Modal Interchange chord.

We can borrow chords from this scale and use them

1) if the melody works with the new chord
2) if our judgement and our taste agrees!

The next instance of modal interchange is in bar 15.

Gb major to Abadd9. This a very emotional sound.
Notice the Bb melody works with each chord.
On the Gb major 7th it is the 3rd, on the Abadd9, The Bb is the 9th and then
on the last chord of the piece the Bb it is the root of the Bb triad.
This sequenece of chords has been used in many soul, pop songs.
You probably have heard the sound before right?

The next big harmonic change to highlight in this version is bar 10 , the E7b5.
The E7 is the tritone substitute for Bb7 and works as both chords contain the same 3rd and flat7ths .
The 3rd of Bb7 D natural becomes the flat7 of E7 and the third of E7 G# becomes the flat 7 of Bb7 (Ab)

This tritone substitute is a common jazzy harmonic device which is very effective when used sparingly
in soul music. The flat 5 (Bb) has been added because it sounds more in keeping with the tonality of the
piece (Bbmajor) than the regular B natural , and also because the Bb is the melody note at this point.

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 More Colours

This version was inspired by a live Whitney Houston version that is very powerful.

In bar 2 the III7 D7 chord is preceded by its relative II-7(A-7). D7 is the V7 of G. II-7 V7 to I in
G is A-7 D7 to G. This ‘relative’ II-7 to a dominant V7th is very common in Jazz.
In bar 4 the D-7 is substituting for Bb major. The previous A7+5#9 is the dominant of this D-7,
so nothing out of the ordinary here.
At the end of bar 4 there is a Gb over Ab bass. This chord has been borrowed from Stevie Wonder.
It can infact be thought of as a modal interchange chord coming from a parallel tonality to Bb major.
In this case Bb natural minor.
Bar 7, Gb major Dbmajor Ab6/9. These chords work as 1) the melody F is in each chord 2)
the chords follow a pattern of 4ths. Gb down a fourth to Db down a fourth to Ab which pleases.

Bar9. G-7 Gb9+5 F-13 Bb9+5 . The Gb is the tritone substitute for a C7. Normally the following chord
progression would be expected G-7 C7 F- Bb7. 2 pairs of II-7 V7.
The F-13 is voiced like an F-7 with the 13 note on top which is not so common but a very striking
sound.
In bar 9 the Gb9 contains the + 5, D which is in the melody and also as it fits with the flavour of the
chord at this moment.

In bar 11 the A7#9 would normally be expected resolve to D-, however at bar 12 there is a Bbmaj7
which is similar to D- as it shares 3 common notes.

Bar 13 the C-7 replaces the original Bb tonic chord. But this is not a substitution.
The C-7 works as the Bb melody note is the flat 7 of C-7.
This chord fulfills a different function to the sturdy, homely Bb tonic.
It suggests there will be further movement, and there is!
Bar 12, the G11 is short hand for F over G bass. This is like a suspended G7 chord.

Note. Another chord choice for the A-7 add4 chord in bar 2 could be A-11. This symbol (-11) would
suggest the presence of B natural the 9th in the chord- a bright Jazz sound.

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©DogsDinnerMusic 2018