How to Forge a Strong Bond Between Melody and Chords (Composition Theory)
To bond a melody with its chords, land on a chord tone at each chord change and fill the space between with stepwise passing tones from the scale; to harmonise an existing melody, reverse the process by finding its landing notes and choosing chords that contain them.
Key points
- Cadences such as V-I, IV-I, V-vi and a half cadence ending on V are ideal seeds for linking melody and chords.
- Land on a chord tone at each chord change, when the listener is most attentive.
- Fill the space between landing notes with stepwise passing tones from the scale.
- Nominating one landing note per chord (e.g. B over G, D over D) gives your melody clear pillars.
- To harmonise a melody, find its landing notes and choose chords containing them; lyrically important words often mark these points.
This composition lesson from Jason Zac shows two organic ways to connect melody and harmony. In part one you start with chords and grow a melody from them. In part two you start with a melody and build chords around it. It is aimed at beginners, but songwriters and transcribers who already compose will find the ideas useful too. All examples use the key of D major (D E F# G A B C#), but you are encouraged to try them in as many keys as possible.
Start with cadences
Cadences are tiny two-chord progressions, and they make a perfect starting point for linking melody and harmony. In D major:
- Authentic cadence (V to I): A to D. You can play the V as a dominant seventh, A7 (A C# E G), to make the pull to D stronger.
- Plagal cadence (IV to I): G to D. In church music this is called the amen cadence.
- Deceptive cadence (V to vi): A to Bm. The listener expects D but hears another tonic-type chord instead. A IV going to vi (G to Bm) can give a similar deceptive effect.
- Half cadence (something to V): for example Em to A. Ending on the dominant sounds open-ended, which works well in a pre-chorus before landing on the I chord in the chorus.
Chord tones are your melodic landing points
Each chord offers at least three possible melody notes: its chord tones. Take the plagal cadence. G major is G B D and D major is D F# A. The way you voice the chord also influences you: our ears are drawn to the highest note, so if G major is played as B D G, the top G suggests a melody note, which can then settle onto a chord tone of D major.
Notice that D appears in both chords. If you invert G major to put D on top, you could sing D over both chords, but holding one note gets monotonous. Make it more interesting rhythmically, or decorate the journey from one chord to the next.
Landing tones versus passing tones
The landing note is the note that coincides with the chord change. If the chord changes every four beats, the landing happens on beat one of each change. That is when the listener is most attentive, so give them something important there: a chord tone. Everything in between is up to you. Use passing tones, moving stepwise through notes of the D major scale, so you never sing a wrong note.
Think of it like a map: the chord tones are your two destinations, and the route between them is your choice.
One landing note per chord
A focused exercise is to nominate one note for each chord. In the plagal cadence, choose B for G major and D for D major. Be aware of both the top note and the bass note of each voicing. Another natural choice is B moving to A, borrowed from good piano voice leading between inversions. Then improvise a melody that always reaches those two pillars on time. Once a phrase becomes catchy, repeat it, as many great songs do, shaped by lyrical forms such as AABC, AABB or ABAB.
You can also stretch this over four chords by joining two cadences, such as a plagal followed by a deceptive cadence (G D, then A Bm).
Part two: start with the melody
Reverse-engineer everything above. Write the melody down, circle its landing notes, and leave the passing notes alone. Then ask which chords in the key contain each landing note. For a landing note of A in D major, the options are D major, F#m or A major. Choosing A major makes the melody want D next (authentic), but you could go to Bm (deceptive) or stay on the V (half-cadence feel). Many cadences can work under the same melody.
The same method helps you find chords for existing songs. In the Beatles' Hey Jude, the melody lands on lyrically important words such as Jude, bad, sad and better. Let the lyrics guide you to the landing notes, then harmonise those notes.
How to practise
- Play each cadence in D major, then other keys.
- Sing or play chord tones over the chords and see where they lead.
- Nominate one landing note per chord and connect them with stepwise scale notes.
- Take a melody, mark its landing notes and test several chords under each.
Melodies need not be for voice; imagine a violin, trumpet, synth or cello playing them, and your ideas will change.
Questions about this lesson
What is a landing note in melody writing?
A landing note is the melody note that falls on a chord change, such as beat one when chords change every four beats. It should usually be a chord tone, because that is when the listener pays most attention.
What are passing tones?
Passing tones are the notes between landing notes. In this lesson they move stepwise through the scale, so in D major you stay within D E F# G A B C# while travelling to the next chord tone.
How do I find chords for a melody I already have?
Mark the notes the melody lands on, ignore the passing notes, and pick chords from the key that contain each landing note. For example, an A in D major can be harmonised with D major, F#m or A major.
Which cadence should I start composing with?
Any standard cadence works. The lesson begins with the plagal cadence G to D in D major, singing chord tones such as B moving to D or A over the two chords.
Practise it
- Cadence LibraryCompare piano cadences across keys and listen to how different chord movements create closure, suspense or a turn in a new direction.
- Melodic CurvesSketch a melodic contour, choose a scale and hear the line take shape.
- All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.
Related lessons
- How to Write a Melody on Piano Using Chord TonesTo write a melody over a chord progression, pick one chord tone from each chord (such as the third), play it in the right hand while the left hand plays the chords, then bring it to life with rhythm patterns that grow from semibreves to minims, crotchets and quavers.
- How to Write a Melody on Piano Using a Motif (Building Phrases)To write a melody from a motif, create a short melodic-rhythmic phrase over the chord tones, then keep it fresh across a progression by changing its landing note, transposing it to start from each chord's root, and adding or removing notes.
- Find Every Chord That Fits Any Melody NoteTo harmonise any melody note, list every chord that contains that note (for C: C major, C minor, A minor, Ab major, F major and F minor), then choose between them using diatonic, seventh, borrowed or fully chromatic options.
- 10 Instant Melody-Writing Strategies for Pianists and ProducersTo write a melody quickly, Jason Zac suggests starting from at least two chords, using chord tones and landing notes on strong beats, building rhythm first, displacing beats, using the pentatonic or a smaller subset scale, singing and transcribing, turning practice patterns into tunes, and borrowing ideas from favourite songs.