Vocal harmony and independent voices
When a choir harmonises a melody, two things happen at once: voices form chords vertically and each voice travels through time. Good harmony therefore needs to work both as a set of chords and as singable lines.
Start with a settled melody note
If the melody holds E over a C chord, other voices can sing C and G below it. Over Am they can sing A and C. The upper E stays the same but takes on a different role. You do not need four voices; two or three are enough to hear the principle.
Why not just move everything four semitones?
Parallel thirds within a scale change size. Above C, D, E in C major sit E, F, G: first four, then three, then three semitones. A fixed transposition of four semitones would give E, F♯, G♯. That can be a deliberate effect, but it is different from following scale thirds. Even scale thirds do not automatically fit every underlying chord.
Follow each individual voice
Keep common tones and try small movements to the next chord. From C–E–G to C–F–A the lowest voice can stay on C. Then check each line on its own: is it singable, in a comfortable range and given natural places to breathe? Classical choral writing has additional conventions; other styles favour other approaches.
The melody does not have to be on top
In a simple demonstration it is easy to hear the top voice as the melody. In actual music the melody can be in the middle or bass. Doubling, register and loudness also influence what listeners follow. A harmony part can have passing notes of its own and need not land on a triad tone on every beat.
Try it at the piano
Listen to the short phrase alone and with harmony below. Sing the melody, then try the lowest line by itself: C3–C3–C3–A2–D3–G2–C3. Listen to how it moves against the melody.
E F G E F D C
Synthesized sound.
Check your understanding
Check your understanding
Which notes are a scale third above C–D–E in C major?
You can now listen to both the harmony and the movement of the voices. Blues uses the tension between melody and chord as part of its expression.
← Find chords for a melody