What is musical harmony?
Harmony is a very important aspect, since it gives a solid and more understandable structure to the music. Also, most of the songs that we know belong to Western music, so they have a tonal base in which all the minor, major, seventh, diminished, etc. chords revolve.
Harmony as the basis of music
For many people not everything that sounds is music, since it requires rhythm, harmony and melody, so that it is pleasing to the ear. Also, the definition of music tells you that you can’t use messy sounds. In fact, to make a beautiful song you need to give it a well thought out musical structure (harmony, rhythm and melody).
But what is harmony in a short and easy definition? It is the base or structure of the music that we normally know in the western world. This structure revolves around the tonic, which is the central note according to the Western musical system. For example, we know the scale of C major, DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA, SI. If a song is in the key of C major, C would be the tonic, in D major, D, and so on. Seeing it this way, the topic we are talking about in this article is not complicated, but it becomes confusing when we add semitones, C sharp, D sharp, B flat, etc.
In order to correctly organize the chords of music, the tonal system calls each note according to Roman numerals. Next, we present a table with each chord, degree and tonal function. You will see that the degrees will be represented in Roman numerals.
Chord | Degree | tonal function |
Do | I | Tonic |
Re | II | supertonic |
Me | III | Through |
Fa | IV | subdominant |
Sun | v | Dominant |
The | SAW | super dominant |
Yes | 7th | Sensitive |
Themes like “Happy birthday” have a simple harmonic base, in this case, Do, Sol and Fa (tonic, dominant and subdominant). Basically, the latter is the harmony or musical base of “Happy Birthday” in English.
If the singer is a man, the key of C major is not comfortable for him. For him it may be better with the key of G major. That is why we will continue with the same base (harmony), but we only change the key. In this way, the song would look like this: Sol, C and D (tonic, dominant and subdominant) or degrees I, IV and V. This is how the previous table would look if the key was G major:
Chord | Degree | tonal function |
Sun | I | Tonic |
The | II | supertonic |
Yes | III | Through |
Do | IV | subdominant |
Re | v | Dominant |
Me | SAW | super dominant |
Fa | 7th | Sensitive |
What are chords?
The concept of chord is essential to really understand what harmony means. This term (chord) refers to a set of notes sounding at the same time. For example, the C major chord is made up of the notes C, E, and G (played at the same time). Here is a list of major and minor chords:
Chord | Higher | Less |
Do | Su – Mi – Sol | C – E flat – Sol |
Re | D – F sharp – A | Re-F-La |
Me | Mi – Si – G sharp | My – Yes – Sun |
Fa | Fa–La–C | Fa – A flat – C |
Sun | Sun – Si – Re | Sol – B flat – D |
The | A – C sharp – E | La – Su – Mi |
Yes | B – D sharp – F sharp | B – D – F sharp |
harmonic circles
If you study music theory, you must know this aspect, the harmonic circles, because all songs have one or more of them, as determined by the composer. One of the most basic harmonic circles is the one we mentioned earlier for the song “Happy birthday” (I, V and VI). In practical terms, the harmonic circle of a key refers to the family of chords that sound nice when you put them together.
Tonal music has different harmonic circles, but these are the most common and easiest, I, IV and V:
Major Harmonic Circles | Minor Harmonic Circles |
Do – Fa – Sun | C minor – F minor – G |
Re – Sol – La | D minor – G minor – A |
My – The – Yes | E minor – A minor – Si |
Fa – B flat – C | F minor – B flat minor – C |
Sol – C – D | G minor – C minor – D |
La – Re – Mi | A minor – D minor – E |
B – E – F sharp | B minor – E minor – F sharp |
How to compose songs with a basic harmony?
There are other more complex harmonic circles that incorporate the other degrees, Supertonic, Medium, Superdominant, Sensitive; but with the ones we have left you in the previous table you will be able to compose a few songs.
The better you organize the chords, the unreleased track will sound more harmonious and striking. However, so that you do not make complex or rare harmonies in your compositions, we will talk about the tonic, dominant and predominant chords.
1. Tonic chords (grades I, III and VI): These chords give the feeling of rest. Normally, the songs end in the tonic or grade I, but this can be replaced by grades III and VI, although it is not the most common in commercial music.
2. Dominant or subdominant chords (degrees II and IV): These chords give the feeling of moderate tension, that is, they are not intended to take you to a break (the tonic). Typically, a subdominant chord complements and nuances the dominant chord in a song. Also, it is very common for these chords to be used in the choruses of the songs.
3. Dominant chords (grades V and VII): These chords generate a concluding tension in the song, that is, they give you the idea that the tonic or rest chord (usually grade I) follows.
Now, you will be able to compose a song, making a simple basic harmony, for example, I, V, I, V, I, IV, V, I. You can decide the rhythm according to the lyrics and the musical genre of the song. To start with, we recommend the ballad genre, which is smooth and much easier to play. If you decide on a romantic ballad, the lyrics must fit it. You can play a ballad rhythm on the classical guitar and sing the lyrics at the same time, to test until you finish composing the song.
If you don’t have a musical instrument, you can install a music application like FL Studio on your computer, so you can turn your computer’s keyboard into a Grand Piano. Of course, we recommend you search the Internet for the best gaming keyboards, since these have a better response and, above all, less lag, to make music without problems.