• Top Secret: How Advanced Players Reharmonize The Major Scale Using Seventh Chords

    in Piano

    In today’s lesson, I’ll be sharing some advanced ideas on the reharmonization of the major scale with you.

    If you’re an intermediate player who has learned and mastered several harmonization techniques, but is interested in going beyond the traditional harmonization principles into learning how to spice up songs with sophisticated chords and creative substitutions, then this lesson is for you.

    I’ll be taking you completely out of the traditional guidelines, into some out-of-the-box ideas that only advanced players are privileged to know.

    Therefore, if you give me your undivided attention for the next 20 minutes or so, you’ll be able to effortlessly reharmonize the major scale in any key using the unconventional guidelines I’ll show you.

    “What Is Reharmonization?”

    Before we go into reharmonization, which is a deeper aspect of harmonization, let’s quickly review the concept of harmonization.

    A Quick Review On The Harmonization Of The Major Scale

    There are twelve musical notes:

    …and the relationship between these notes can either be melodic or harmonic.

    The relationship between notes is said to be melodic when the notes are heard separately (one at a time), while the relationship between notes that are heard simultaneously (at the same time) is said to be harmonic.

    Harmonization in music is the process of providing accompaniment to a melody by adding notes to it.

    “Here’s An Illustration On The Harmonization Of Kum Ba Yah In The Key Of C…”

    The melody:

    Kum:

    …ba:

    …yah:

    Can be harmonized by adding a note to each note in the melody:

    Kum:

    …ba:

    …yah:

    The addition of two or more notes to each note in the melody produces a full-sounding harmonization:

    Kum:

    …ba:

    …yah:

    The most reliable way to learn harmonization is by learning how to harmonize the notes of the major scale and this is because the notes of most of the melodies we sing are in the major scale.

    The major scale can be harmonized using primary chords in the key:

    • Chord 1
    • Chord 4
    • Chord 5

    For example, the C major scale:

    …can be harmonized thus:

    C:

    …using the first inversion of chord 1:

    D:

    …using chord 5 in root position:

    E:

    …using the second inversion of chord 1:

    F:

    …using the first inversion of chord 4:

    G:

    …using chord 1 in root position:

    A:

    …using the second inversion of chord 4:

    B:

    …using the second inversion of chord 5:

    C:

    …using the first inversion of chord 1:

    Following the same procedure, the major scale can be harmonized in all twelve keys.

    A Note On The Concept Of Reharmonization

    Although there are so many ways to define the concept of reharmonization, this is one definition you can pull up anytime, anywhere:

    Reharmonization is the modification of the basic harmonic structure of a song.

    There are chords that are commonly used in the harmonization of songs and substituting these regular chords with other advanced and chromatic chords that are either borrowed from a foreign or related key produces reharmonization.

    Through the agency of reharmonization, the basic harmonization of a song can be enhanced and that’s what so many top players are doing. They take regular songs everyone is familiar with, and flip them around into something exciting.

    In the final segment of this lesson, you’ll be learning step-by-step, how every tone in the major scale can be harmonized using scale degree seventh chords.

    Scale Degree Seventh Chords – Explored

    Before going any further, let’s quickly breakdown the two words in the term seventh chord.

    A chord is a collection of three or more related notes that are played or heard together.

    Seventh is used to quantify an interval or chord that encompasses seven letter names or notes.

    In a nutshell, a seventh chord is a chord that encompasses seven degrees of a given scale when played in root position. The average seventh chord has four notes, with third intervals between successive chord tones.

    Seventh chords can be formed in every degree of the scale, and these seventh chords are known as scale degree seventh chords.

    “Here Are Scale Degree Seventh Chords In Every Degree In The Key Of C…”

    On the first degree (C):

    …is the C major seventh chord:

    On the second degree (D):

    …is the D minor seventh chord:

    On the third degree (E):

    …is the E minor seventh chord:

    On the fourth degree (F):

    …is the F major seventh chord:

    On the fifth degree (G):

    …is the G dominant seventh chord:

    On the sixth degree (A):

    …is the A minor seventh chord:

    On the seventh degree (B):

    …is the B half-diminished seventh chord:

    At this point, I want to assume that you’re ready to learn an advanced reharmonization concept that will sophisticate your playing.

    So, let’s go into the final segment.

    How Advanced Players Reharmonize The Tones Of The Major Scale Using Seventh Chords

    There are seven unique scale degree and each has a seventh chord that harmonizes it. Let’s go beyond these regular diatonic seventh chords into some spicier seventh chords from foreign and related keys.

    Attention: This reharmonization is illustrated in the key of C major.

    Reharmonization Of The First Tone

    The first tone of the scale (which is C):

    …can be harmonized using the D minor seventh chord:

    In addition to the D minor seventh chord, there are other minor seventh chords that can harmonize C (the first tone):

    “Check Them Out…”

    The C minor seventh chord:

    …where C is the root.

    The A minor seventh chord:

    …where C is the third tone.

    The F minor seventh chord:

    …where C is the fifth tone.

    The D minor seventh chord:

    …where C is the seventh tone.

    “In A Nutshell…”

    We’re harmonizing C with minor seventh chords where C is the root, third, fifth, and seventh tone respectively.

    Reharmonization Of The Second Tone

    The second tone of the scale (which is D):

    …can be harmonized using minor seventh chords where D is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively

    “Check Them Out…”

    The D minor seventh chord:

    …where D is the root.

    The B minor seventh chord:

    …where D is the third tone.

    The G minor seventh chord:

    …where D is the fifth tone.

    The E minor seventh chord:

    …where D is the seventh tone.

    Reharmonization Of The Third Tone

    The third tone of the scale (which is E):

    …can be harmonized using major seventh chords where E is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively.

    “Check Them Out…”

    The E major seventh chord:

    …where E is the root.

    The C major seventh chord:

    …where E is the third tone.

    The A major seventh chord:

    …where E is the fifth tone.

    The F major seventh chord:

    …where E is the seventh tone.

    Reharmonization Of The Fourth Tone

    The fourth tone of the scale (which is F):

    …can be harmonized using dominant seventh chords where F is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively.

    “Check Them Out…”

    The F dominant seventh chord:

    …where F is the root.

    The Db dominant seventh chord:

    …where F is the third tone.

    The Bb dominant seventh chord:

    …where F is the fifth tone.

    The G dominant seventh chord:

    …where F is the seventh tone.

    Reharmonization Of The Fifth Tone

    The fifth tone of the scale (which is G):

    …can be harmonized using minor seventh chords where G is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively.

    “Check Them Out…”

    The G minor seventh chord:
    …where G is the root.

    The E minor seventh chord:

    …where G is the third tone.

    The C minor seventh chord:

    …where G is the fifth tone.

    The A minor seventh chord:

    …where G is the seventh tone.

    Reharmonization Of The Sixth Tone

    The sixth tone of the scale (which is A):

    …can be harmonized using half-diminished seventh chords where A is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively.

    “Check Them Out…”

    The A half-diminished seventh chord:

    …where A is the root.

    The F# half-diminished seventh chord:

    …where A is the third tone.

    The D# half-diminished seventh chord:

    …where A is the fifth tone.

    The B half-diminished seventh chord:

    …where A is the seventh tone.

    Reharmonization Of The Seventh Tone

    The seventh tone of the scale (which is B):

    …can be harmonized using major seventh chords where B is the root, third, and fifth tone respectively.

    “Check Them Out…”

    The B major seventh chord:

    …where B is the root.

    The G major seventh chord:

    …where B is the third tone.

    The E major seventh chord:

    …where B is the fifth tone.

    The C major seventh chord:

    …where B is the seventh tone.

    Final Words

    From what we’ve learned so far in this lesson, I’m doubly sure that you’ve seen how the knowledge of the quality of a scale degree seventh chord can lead you to a variety of other scale degree seventh chords that can be borrowed from foreign and related keys.

    I really hope that we’ll take our discussion to the next level in a subsequent lesson. Meanwhile, I sincerely want to thank you for investing time in reading this blog.

    See you then!

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    Chuku Onyemachi

    Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group
    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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