On the Reharmonization Finder, maintain an intact melody and rotate the harmony that supports it. Clicking on each control with your mouse makes it playable; using your computer’s keyboard allow quicker navigation. By keeping melody distinct from chord options, you’ll be able to try various harmonic colors against a given line of music.
First up is the control row at the top that set the context. From here you select your tonal center via the key selector (all twelve notes). Next choose whether you want to work in major or natural minor mode to establish the scale. Then choose the chord density, which can be either just triads for simplicity or more richly colored seventh chords. Finally, the pulse slider allow you to increase or decrease the tempo of the playback. For overall volume, the master level slider keeps things comfortabley.
How to Use the Reharmonization Finder
To concentrate on individual notes just click on the melody ribbon. There are two slots per chord that support the melody note. When you select one of the notes it will highlight both of the notes it’s paired with in the neighboring slot.
To tweak the melody, use the phrase tools beneath the ribbon. These allow you to move the note up or down a step using the raise and lower buttons. Flatten and sharpen add accidentals to alter the pitch in a more chromatic way. Alternatively, select a ready-made shape such as a suspension or arch, then put this into the phrase.
Now that you’ve chosen a note of your melody, check out the compatibility matrix. It shows the ranks in order of how well the chord matches the melody note. Clicking the category buttons filters the options. The functional core indicate diatonic chords. Borrowed colors derive from the parallel mode. More distant harmonic relationships are shown under applied pulls and tritone mirrors. Smooth voice leading approaches comes through chromatic slides.
Select a chord from the candidates to fill the active slot in your current chord progression. You can see how well the selected chord fits with the melody note. The higher the ‘fit score‘, the more naturaly the melody sits within that chord structure. Perhaps there is some kind of intentional clash, or even a color tone. The voice cost figure represent how many voice moves are needed by the inner and bass voices. Aim to keep this as low as possible for smooth chord connections.
The bottom section has a progression rack where you can arrange chord progressions. Original diatonic harmony sits in the reference row. Your fresh substitutions goes into the lens row. Hit any of the slots in the lens row and that will be the edited bar. Play just the reference harmony, or press the button for your reharmonised version and hear what’s different. There’s an A/B swap button that switches between them, allowing you to judge the result.
Editing is much faster with the keyboard shortcuts. Arrow keys advance focus left-right around racks of slots, or up-down along the melody ribbon. The Space/Enter key sounds the selected note in focus. Number keys 1-8 take you straight to a given step in the melody. A plays your lens harmony; B plays the reference harmony. X runs the A/B comparison automatically. If you change your mind and wish to try again, U will undo your previous chord substitution.
Take a look through the category filters and experiment with some of these sound ideas. You’ll be surprised how much borrowed chords can add color while never quite breaking the tonal center. The pull of a tritone substitute can be strong, but it resolves in an interesting way. Check out the voice-leading lens on the right-hand side. This is what it looks like when each chord move to the next. That will help you understand where something might clash or work as a substitution.
Don’t hesitate to bend the rules with the color tools. Sharpening, or flattening a melodic note will radically alter the harmonies. This changes the pattern of notes, requiring new chords to fit the change in pitch. Occasionally you may stumble across some interesting tensions, or even accidently change things; both add character to what could of been a straightforward progression. Step back (use the undo button) and take another route.
So, what can you do with it? The interface is designed for you to read relationships, but even more importantly, to hear them. As you swap out chords focus on the way the bass line moves. Listen closely; notice the connection between the sound and the fit score. Use the A/B comparison to check your choices against the standard harmony. With this tool, you are training your ear. You will be able to recognize real-time, functional shifts and color changes.
Start slowly, if you’re new to this. That allows you more time to take in each voice movement and change of chords. Add some more complex chords such as seventh chords and pull from further away harmonic sources. Write down the chord symbols in the rack so that you have your favourite progressions saved for future reference. Match up the category filters and symbols again and re-create those lines.
This is a Reharmonization Finder. It is a harmonic playground where the friction of having to write out your notation are removed, leaving you free to concentrate on the music. It is an instant feedback tool whether you’re studying theory or composing a song. Begin by inputting a simple melody then explore as many harmonies under that melody as you like. Hit any note and go exploring.