electric-guitar.co.uk Lesson: Harmonisation Part 1

Previous Lesson: Sweep Picking

This lesson was written by snadman

Harmonised leads were basically played to death during the 80's, but they are still fun, and the ability to harmonise is useful.

In fact, it gives you both better knowledge of the neck of the guitar, and if you play a lead thinking in terms of harmony rather than in that of scales, you will come up with different lead ideas than you might otherwise. So without further ado, here's a primer in harmonising single note lines into diads and triads.

First, let's start by harmonising scales into thirds. Play a C major scale on the B string of your guitar, like this:

C D E F G A B C
|-----------------------------------------------|
|----1----3----5----6----8----10----12----13----|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|

Now, what is the major third of C (or, in plain English, in a C major scale, what note is three pitches above the C)?

E, which is conveniently on the open string directly above the C we just played. So now play a C major scale from E to E along the top string of your guitar, like this:

E F G A B C D E
|----0----1----3----5----7----8----10----12----|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|

Now here's the tricky part. To harmonise the C scale into thirds, all you have to do is play the scale from C to C and from E to E simultaneously. But wait a second, you ask. There are four half steps between the C and the E, but there's only three between the D and F: what's with that? Well, you're harmonising the scale into "diatonic thirds", or thirds in relation to a given key center. In C major, the third degree (E) of a C chord is a "major third" interval, or 4 half steps. This is what makes the chord sound major. However, in the key of C the distance between the root and the third of the D chord (D to F) is only 3 half steps, or a "minor third". This is what makes the chord minor. Confused? Play them together, and listen to how they sound. (the letters in parenthesis are the names of the chords suggested by the harmony)

(C) (Dm) (Em) (F) (G) (Am) (Bm) (C)
|----0----1----3----5----7----8-----10----12----|
|----1----3----5----6----8----10----12----13----|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|

Now if you still don't see why you harmonise in relation to a set scale rather than a constant interval, play the example below, a C scale harmonised with a constant interval of four half steps between the two pitches.

|----0----2----4----5----7----9-----11----12----|
|----1----3----5----6----8----10----12----13----|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------|

Sounds kinda odd, doesn't it? That's because the major third of some of the pitches in the C major scale don't fall within the C major scale. It is possible to harmonise in "parallel thirds" like this, however you have to consciously be looking for dissonance to pull that off.

Of course, there are other positions on the neck you'll want to play harmonies in; take a look at these "diads" (or "double stops," as they're sometimes called- two notes played simultaneously). All are in the key of C containing a C note, some with the root above the third, and some with it below (although placing the root above the third has some interesting "side effects" that will come up in a later lesson, technically you're playing an interval of a 6th when you do this. But it is still musically "correct" to view it as an inversion of a C diad. If this doesn't make any sense to you, ignore it for now).

|--------------------------------8---0-------|
|-------5------------1---5-------------------|
|-------5-------9------------9---9-----------|
|---2-----------10---2-----------------------|
|---3-------7------------3-----------3---3---|
|-----------8----------------8-----------0---|

Some of those later ones get a bit stretchy as you go up the neck, but wide intervals like that sound really beautiful, so it's worth the effort. (check out Eric Johnson's melodies for examples of this type of stuff in use).

Now, hopefully you have some idea of the basics of harmonisation - let's apply it to a melody. This one is slightly complex, but it's memorable, which is helpful when learning new concepts: I'll use Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," transposed to the key of C.

"we're not gonna take it... No, We ain't gonna take it,
|---------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------|
|-5---5-------5---7-----------9-----9---7---9---10--------|
|---------5-----------5------------------------------10---|
|---------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------|

We're not gonna take it anymore......"
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|-10---9-9---7---9---10---10---10-9---7---5--------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|

Now let's start harmonising! The first two notes are C's - refer back to the harmonised scale above if you have to (or better yet, play it from memory while doing this to ingrain it into your subconscious), and note that the third of C in this key is major, giving us an E. The next note is a G. Once again, major third, giving us a B. Another C, then a D. The third this time is minor, as is the third of the E that follows shortly after it- this gives us an F and a G, respectively. continue throughout, and you should come up with something like this:

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-5--5-----5--6-------8--8--6--8--10-------10--8-8--6--8--10--10--10-8--6--5--|
|-5--5--4--5--7--4----9--9--7--9--10--9----10--9-9--7--9--10--10--10-9--7--5--|
|-------5--------5--------------------10--------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Some of the fingerings are a bit tricky, so don't try to play it faster than you can. As it turns out, you really don't have to - most of the fun with harmonised leads comes when you play them on two separate tracks, or with two guitarists. Try this; First, either grab a friend and teach him the melody, or record yourself playing it. Now, while either he or your computer/tape deck plays the melody, play the harmony along with it:

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-5--5-----5--6-------8--8--6--8--10-------10--8-8--6--8--10--10--10-8--6--5--|
|-------4--------4--------------------9---------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Sounds pretty dissonant on it's own, but when you put them together, you get this really cool almost "chorused" effect from the sound of the two guitars playing together.

Even if the sound of harmonised guitar doesn't appeal to you, being able to harmonise lines is a great improvising tool. For instance, if you were going to take a solo while your band was covering "We're Not Gonna Take It" and you wanted to do something a bit more complex than the version on the CD, you could play a line that starts off like this, based almost entirely around notes taken from the harmonised melody;

|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|------5--------------6p5----------------8p6\5--/10~-----------|
|--4h5----5--4h5p4--------5--5~----7/9~---------------9/10\9~--|
|------------------5-------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
(we're not gonna take it... No, we ain't gonna take it...)

Kinda cool, huh? Could I improvise a line like that off the top of my head? Probably not. Could Satriani or Vai? Wanna bet? The knowledge you'll gain from learning this technique will undoubtedly be invaluable, giving you many different ideas for lead playing.

Part 2 of this lesson will be up in the near future, check the front page for updates.

Thanks to Zarathustra, who helped with the creation of this lesson.

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