Basic Reharmonization Technique Examples Bijan Taghavi

1) Analyze The Melody

a. look for where the melody resolves so you can adjust your harmonic rhythm and harmonic cadences accordingly
(For Ex: In "If I Should Lose You," The Melody Doesn't Truly Resolve Until Beat 3 Of The 2nd Bar Of This Excerpt)
ORIGINAL:
b7 b
REHARM:
#7 b7 b
4 F F min7 B E maj7 E maj7
7 7
F min B E maj
&4 Œ bœ bœ #˙ ˙ &Œ bœ bœ #˙ ˙
bœ bœ
3
b. look for what options the melody gives you and most importantly, don t clash with the melody
(For Ex: No V7 Chords On A Maj7 Melody Note).

A min7 C min7 A min7 G7 C min7

&˙ #˙ w &˙ #˙ w
5 7

2) Before A V7 Chord, Add It's Related iimin7

G min7 b b
7 (b 9) G min7
œ
A min7 ( 5) D 7( 9)
D
œ œ &Œ œ ˙ b˙
&Œ œ
˙ b˙ œ
9 11

3) Chromatically Approach Chords From A Half-Step Above

A. The Half Step Above Chromatic Approaches Tend To Work Best As A Dom7
b b b7 b
A min7 ( 5) D 7( 9) G min7 B A min7 ( 5) D 7(b 9) G min7
œ œ œ œ
&Œ œ
˙ b˙ &Œ œ
˙ b˙
13 15

B. However, Depending On The Context And Whether It Works With The Melody
It Can Also Be A Maj7 Resolving To A Maj7 Or A min7 Resolving To A min7
(Ex: "If I Should Lose You") (Ex: "I Hear A Rhapsody")
#7 F min7 B b7 b #
œ œ b˙ ˙
F E maj7 E maj7 G7 C min7 F min7 F min7
&Œ bœ bœ #˙ ˙ &Œ œ œ œ
bœ 17
20

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2 Basic Reharmonization Technique Examples

C. You Can Even Insert A Chromatic 2-5 From A Half Step Above As Long As It Works With The Melody
(For Ex: At The End Of "Stella By Starlight")
b b b # # b b b
G7 C min7 ( 5) F 7( 9) B maj7 G7 C min7 F 7 C min7 ( 5) F 7( 9) B maj7
& Œ œ œ bœ #w œ #œ œ nœ w & Œ œ œ bœ #w œ #œ œ nœ w
22 26

4) Look For Any 5-1 Motion To Exploit Secondary Dominants And Altered Harmony
b b b
E maj7 G min7 ( 5) C 7( 9) F min7
œ bœ bœ œ
(For Ex: "Secret Love")
& b˙. œ w
b b
30
E maj7 G7 C 7( 9) F min7
œ
Secondary Dominant:
Any 5-1 Motion Can Become V7-1 & b˙. œ œ bœ bœ w
As Long As It Doesn't Clash With The Melody
b
33

Altered Harmony: E maj7 G 7 alt C 7 alt F min7

œ
Once The 5 Becomes A V7, You Can Incorporate Altered Harmony
( b9, #9, b5, #5) To Make It A V7Alt For A Richer Harmonization
& b˙. œ œ bœ bœ w
36

5) Rather Than Resolving To imin7 In A minor 2-5-1, Resolving To The imin(Maj7) Can Also Richen The Harmonization
(For Ex: "If I Should Lose You")

b7
D min7 G7 C min7 A7 A G 7 alt C min (maj7)
&Œ œ œ bœ
˙ &Œ œ œ bœ
˙
39 41