Harmonizing Your Leads

Harmonies can make a riff sound huge. They can do even more for your leads. Harmonizing a melody can add a different feel to it. You can make note more prominent, or you can change the overall feel of the notes. It all comes down to usage.

In this article, we will discuss different ways to harmonize your leads.

The first thing that you will need in order to harmonize your leads is a full understanding of intervals and their relationships.

Intervals are the spaces between notes. Take for instance the minor third; this interval is three half steps from the root note. Harmonies rely on intervals as they are built of intervals. You can’t create a good harmony without understanding how it will come out. If you try, you will wind up playing a guessing game and trying note after note after note to achieve the desired sound.

While it isn’t necessary to understand all intervals (there are twelve total up to a perfect octave, with even more following that) it is necessary to have a basic understanding of them. Take for instance the major seventh. We know that major seventh chords contain dissonance.

Thus, a major seventh interval is a dissonant interval. How do we know this? Take away the seventh from a major seventh chord and you have a major triad. No dissonance. The seventh is what created the dissonance.

If you want to build a great harmony for your lead, you will need to understand these relationships.

One thing you should consider before creating a harmony is the lead itself. Is it linear? Is it a descending lick? Is it ascending? Do you want the harmony to match the lick or outline another structure beneath?

These are just a few of the things that you need to consider. One of the most important things is whether or not a harmony is necessary. Remember that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should. This is the same with harmonies; not every lick and lead needs a harmony.

Some are best left on their own. If you choose to do a nonlinear harmony, you need to make sure that the harmonies actually fit together. You don’t want one harmony to be extreme in one sense and the other extreme in a different sense. You want the harmonies to somewhat match, even if the idea behind the piece is to make them different.

This means that if you have a fast solo, it is best to consider a fast harmony, not a slow one.

Why?

It will keep your like from seeming jumbled.

If you want to familiarize yourself with different types of harmonies, try listening to some music. If you enjoy metal, and if it is the style you will be playing, listen to some metal. The goal is to study how the harmonies work and relate.

Once you find a harmony that you like, try creating your own similar harmony. Practice changing notes; never become too partial to a lead. Things may need to change. Have fun, and keep an open mind.