Read the book: «Chords. Golden steps of harmony. Part 3 of 3. Self-study guide to music theory for all instruments»

© Sergei Alekseevich Mikheyev, 2025

ISBN 978-5-0068-6007-0 (т. 3)

ISBN 978-5-0068-5053-8

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Machine translation from Russian

Mikheyev Sergei Alekseevich

Chords. Golden steps of harmony

Part 3 of 3

Self-study Guide to Music Theory for all instruments

End

(The author has the right to all materials in the book.)

Table of Contents for Part 3 of 3

SECTION 5. COMPOSITION

 
Chapter 1. Composition.
Notes: Learn to compose.
Chapter 2. Improvisation.
Pentatonic scale.
Notes: Improvisation exercises.
Duet on Spanish motives.
Flight over the mountains.
Sea (song).
Fourth satellite.
Letter.
Chapter 3. Arrangement.
Notes: Guitar ringing.
Recollection.
Arrangement for a group:
Notes: Electronic aquarium.
Spring.
Another world.
Comet flight (with Mechanical improvisation)
 
 
Working with the Colored insert.
 

COLORED INSERT

I. Universal Quart table of chords and keys.

Three quart chord tables for G//Em, C//Am, F//Dm.

II. Quart chord table with notes for the keys of C//Am.

Harmony moves in C//Am.

III. Quart chord table with notes for the keys of F//Dm.

Harmony moves in symbols.

IV. Quart chord table with notes for the keys of G//Em.

Harmony moves in G//Em.

This is where part 3 ends.

Section 5. Composition

Chapter 1. Essay
MELODY

Let’s try to compose a small simple musical piece. There will be a melody and harmony. Let’s imagine the notes of the «Am» scale as numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Let’s try to draw patterns from numbers, using numbers for a simplified scheme. This is our first experience in composing. There will be nothing strange in the fact that this will be a very simple melody. Let’s take the first step on a long path and come up with such a pattern:

1) 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 2

Ordinary people try to sound each invented part on some instrument. To hear if it sounds nice. But great musicians can do with notes alone without sound. Today we will allow ourselves to be great musicians. – Composing without sound.

So, we got a small piece of melody. We will add to it piece by piece. Each time we will add one to each digit of the previous piece.

Let’s make the pattern repeat four times. This is all optional. But here we will make sure that to begin with, the last note in the fourth pattern would fall on one of the notes of the tonic chords. Mainly minor Am. Then you can major C.

2) 2 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3,

3) 3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 4,

4) 4 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5.

5) 5 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 6,

We went up – now we go down the ready steps.

6) 4 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5,

7) 3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 4,

8) 2 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3.

The repeating pattern gave our music integrity. But you can’t repeat the same thing for too long. It will be boring, dull, uninteresting. Therefore, «expectancy» must be combined with surprise. To make a melody unexpected, new, interesting – you need to come up with something bold and original. Well, at least a little. Leaving the same pattern for now, let’s shift it sharply up. Then another step down.

9) 7 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 8,

10) 6 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 7

We are approaching the end. We will not repeat the same thing. But we will not stray far from the original pattern. Let’s go further down – but we’ll mirror the pattern horizontally.

11) 5 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 4,

12) 4 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 3

Let’s make it so that everyone has less work to do and the music lasts longer. Everyone does it. Let’s repeat the last eight bars because of the bar. But the previous ending was (and intentionally) made with a feeling of incompleteness and readiness to continue. Simply put, the ending did not bring the melody to the tonic. After the repetition, instead of the pattern 12, we’ll make a new pattern ending on the minor tonic. (-1) here means a note lower than 1.

13) 2 – 2 – 1 – (-1) – 1.

HARMONY

To begin with, let’s roughly, not exactly, imagine what chords we’ll have. Let’s take move 2 from the Table of Harmony Moves: Т – С – Д – Т. Mainly adhering to this move, somewhere we will partially take move 3: Т – С – Д – Т. In black text they look the same. And in color move 2 consists only of blue chords of the minor series. Move 3 only of red, from the major series. Now we have approximately, not exactly, imagined what the harmony will be.

RHYTHM

We won’t complicate things now. We’ll just take the 4/4 time signature. Of course, you can take any other. For example, 12/8 is a good time signature. We’ll try to make sure that one chord falls on one bar. We’ll come up with a rhythmic pattern for the melody. Something like Tam tapa – tam, Tatam tapa – tam. We’ll see it in the notes in the future. And for simplicity, we’ll repeat this rhythmic pattern.

ADDING LOCAL SIGNS

When composing, we look for a beautiful harmony, then a melody. In some places we do it this way, in others – that way. If we like the melody more, we adjust the harmony to it. That is, we look for moves and chords that would suit the strong notes of the melody. And if we like the harmony more, we adjust the melody to it.

This is where local (non-key) signs appear. But here we have talked about strong notes included in chords. As for weak notes not included in chords – this is already the composer’s business. If we like, we can put them wherever we want.

Note that there are two notes here that are outside the scale. These are 9 and (– 1). The minus one will have to be brought closer to the scale with a sharp – it is as if attracted by 1, the tonic. And so in the future we will have to do this often, adjusting the minus one to the chord E. (This is not necessary.)

We pulled the only note that went down, with a sharp close to the scale. Well, from a sense of symmetry and for originality, we will pull the nine close to the scale with a flat. This is B – flat. This is rarely done – but it sounds impressive. The melody here is as if attracted by the keys from the lower band «F» // «Dm».

COMPLETION OF THE COMPOSITION

It remains to put the finishing touches on our musical picture. To make it a little more original and interesting. At the beginning of the fourth line of notes, we will change the chord Am to F. This is move 7 in the Table. The note c sounds rhythmically strong there. It can be included in the chord Am and F, so F will easily fit.