Part 2 – adding chords
If you have composed a melody using the steps in Part 1, let’s now add some chords for a friend or your teacher to accompany you.
To see some examples of how chords fit with melody notes, you can always refer back to the examples on the previous page.
Step 5:
Using the chords from the accompanying ‘scale and chord’ images on this page:
- Add chords on Beat 1, the strongest beat of the bar.
- To do this, look at the pitch of the note on beat 1 of the bar and see which chord it fits in (they may fit more than one chord so you can choose e.g. the note E is in chords C, Em and Am).
- You can also add chords to Beat 3 as well if you like.
- Tip: If your melody has two minims in a bar at any point it’s a good idea to check the chord for both minims.
If you are on ‘Guitarist’s Way Book 2’ or above you will be used to playing bass notes to accompany melodies. For an extra challenge try adding these to your own song. Here is how to do it.
Step 6:
- As in step 5, work out which chords fit the note on beat 1 (and beat 3 if you like) of the bar. Then, take the lowest note of that chord and put that on the stave underneath your melody.
- The lowest note should match the name of the chord. For example, if the chord is A minor, the lowest note will be A. If the chord is C major the lowest note will be C
Once you have composed a piece of music in the key of C, why not try the key of G or D? These will have some different chords to use – just watch out for the Sharp notes!
Now you’ve got started, enjoy composing!
Tom Lintell (guitar teacher)
