How to Add Piano Chords to a Melody

Adding chords to a melody is part of learning to be a song writer. Writers get better at matching chords to other music over time. However, it can be tough at first to choose a chord progression for a song that only has a melody line. These tips will help song writers plan for good chord changes when none are written yet.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Listen to the song a few times to get familiar with the melodies, how many times each repeats, and what order they are in.

2. Try to identify the primary notes. Primary notes can be what a melody begins or ends on. The primary note is basically a note that could harmonize with all of the notes in the melody. It is also often what the bass guitar plays during a song.

3. Add the major and minor chords of these notes according to how the melody sounds after you have your primary notes picked out. For example, for a song that sounds "minor" or melancholy, where you hear A as the primary note, play an A minor chord.

4. Practice playing the chords along with your melody line and hear how they sound. If something sounds discordant, you'll want to change it.

5. Sift out chords from your progressions to get down to the basics. Lots of beginners make the mistake of trying to follow a melody too closely. Theoretically, every note could have its own chord, but that would sound horrible. The piano chords that go along with a song should just be the basic ones that change only once or twice per bar, when the melody line really changes key. Try to eliminate any chord changes you don't need. The finished product will sound better.

Tips & Warnings

• Listen to the bass player or make up a bass line. The chords will generally be the same as a bass line, just the basic notes that make up the key of the song.