This lesson is an analysis of my chord melody arrangement of Over the Rainbow in Eb Major.

I often found when trying to learn about chord melody, that nobody was really explaining what they were doing or why they were making the choices that they made. Here I endeavour to do just that. Watch & listen to the arrangement below.

Just to quickly explain the analysis method, I will first refer to a melody note by its relationship to the key (G: 3rd) then state how I’ve harmonised this note relative to the chord below it (5th of Cm7) and then state how that chord functions harmonically (VI). Should the chord be of special interest then I’ll also talk a little about the characteristics that I believe make it interesting.

One more quick note, when analysing Diminished 7th chords that are acting as disguised 7b9 chords, I’ll refer to them as 7b9 chords. For example if Adim7 (A,Eb,Gb,C) is actually functioning as D7b9 no root (A,Eb,F#,C) then I’ll label & discuss it referring to it as D7b9. I find this helpful when trying to see why they’ve been chosen.

I’ll analyse 4 bars at a time. Let’s get stuck in.

Bar 1 (this starts at 0:32 in the video)

1. The root (Eb) in the lower register as the I of the I chord. I chose Ebsus2 as a nice chord to establish the key.

2. The root (Eb) in the higher register is then harmonised as the 5th of Ab9 acting as the IV9 chord.

I made this choice not to sound bluesy but as a tritone sub of D7 which would act as V7/III as such resolving nicely to Gm7 in bar 2.

Bar 2:

1. I first harmonise the 7(D) as the 5th of Gm7 which is acting as the III chord in the key.

2. I then harmonise the 5(Bb) as the b3 of Gm11 (still acting as the III chord).

3. The 6(C) is harmonised as the b7 in D7b9 acting as VII7 (V7/III).

4. Next the 7(D) is harmonised as the 5th of G7b9 which sets up an expected resolution to Cm via III7 (V7/VI)

5. However instead of playing Cm I instead harmonise the root (Eb) as the I of Eb7#5 (I7#5) acting as V7/IV, setting up the resolution to Ab in bar 3.

As a note #5 technically makes this Eb7#5 an altered dominant. As often as possible I like to include extensions or alterations to spice up the flavour of the chords in my arrangements. In this case the 5th is the only interval up for alteration as 3 & b7 are required to satisfy the dominant chord and the root is required as the melody note. I could also have chosen b5 but I like to reserve that interval for tritone subs.

Bar 3:

1. I first harmonise the root (Eb) as the 5th of Abmaj7 acting as IV.

2. Maintaining this function (IV) I harmonise the 6 (C) as the 3rd of Abmaj7#11. I can add the #11 as it’s an available extension to the IV chord.

3. I then reharmonise the 6(C) as the b7 of D7b9 acting as VII7 (V7/III) to pull to Gm7 more strongly.

Bar 4:

1. I next harmonise the 5 (Bb) as the b3 of Gm7, again acting as the III chord.

2. I then reharmonise the 5(Bb) as the 5th of Eb7b9 acting as I7 (V7/IV).

Bar 5:

1. 6 (C) is harmonised as the 3rd of Abmaj7 acting as IV,

2. 4(Ab) is harmonised as the 5th of Db9 acting as bVII9.

bVII9 is just an extended variant of bVII7 which is a non functioning (doesn’t resolve) dominant chord. It’s a modal interchange chord from the key of Gb major/Eb minor.

Bar 6:

This bar is very similar to bar 2 regarding most of its harmonisation choices.

1. 3(G) is harmonised as the 3rd of Ebmaj7 acting as I,

2. 1(Eb) is harmonised as b3 of Cm7 acting as VI,

3. 2(F) is harmonised as b7 of G7b9 acting as III7 (V7/VI),

4. 3(G) is then harmonised as the 5th of C7b9 acting as VI7 (V7/II) and lastly

5. 4(Ab) is harmonised as the #5 (G#) of C9#5 also acting as VI7 (V7/II).

I like the 9#5 chord as it’s kind of half altered. Usually altered chords have b9 or #9 so using the diatonic unaltered 9th and the #5 sounds kind of hip to me. It also creates semitone motion for the b9 and 5th in the previous chord which sounds strong.

Bar 7:

1. 2(F) is harmonised as the root of F7#5 acting as II7 (V7/V),

2. 7(D) is then harmonised as the 13th of F13 still acting as II7 (V7/V),

3. 2(F) is next harmonised as the 5th of Bb6/9 acting as V,

4. 3(G) is harmonised as the 13th of Bb13 acting as V.

Bar 8:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the root of Ebsus2 acting as I.

2. The next two chords are just a little II-V I’ve added as otherwise there’s nothing else left in the bar.

Bar 9:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the root of Ebdim7 acting as Idim7.

2. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the b9 of D7b9 acting as VII7 (V7/VI).

I dim7 usually wants to resolve up to I but given the enharmonic nature of dim7 chords I take advantage of Eb also being the b9 of D7b9 and harmonise it as such leading to the Gm7 in bar 10.

Bar 10:

1. 7(D) is harmonised as the 5th of Gm7 acting as III.

2. 5 (Bb) 6 (C) and 7 (D) are all harmonised as Quartal Voicings from G Phrygian - Not Aeolian as stated on my transcription.

3. Again as in bar 2, 1 (Eb) is harmonised as the I of Eb7#5 (I7#5) acting as V7/IV, setting up the resolution to Abmaj7 in bar 11. I like this harmonisation!

Quartal Voicings are a fantastic harmonisation option for chord melody arranging and they sound very ‘jazzy’.

Bar 11:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the 5th of Abmaj7 acting as IV

2. 6 (C) is harmonised as the b3 of Am7 acting as #IVm7 (II/III) and then again as the b7 of D7#5 acting as VII7 (V7/III)

This II-V7 to Gm7 (III) is typical of many non-diatonic II-Vs in that we have a diatonic melody note that can be harmonised as a chord tone of a non-diatonic II-V that resolves back to a diatonic chord.

Bar 12:

1. 5 (Bb) is harmonised as the b3 of Gm7 acting as III

2. It is then harmonised again as the b7 of C7#5 acting as VI7 (V7/II) leading to Fm7.

We’re essentially II-V’ing into II here.

Bar 13:

1. 6 (C) is harmonised as the 5th of Fm7 acting as II

2. 4 (Ab) is harmonised as the root of Abm7 acting as IVm

3. Then again as the 5th of Db9 acting as bVII7

IVm is a very common modal interchange chord. You can hear it in Blackbird by the Beatles (Cm) or in Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis (Fm) amongst many others.

You could see the Db9 (which resolves to Gm7 in bar 14) as G7alt resolving to Gm7. Db9 is also G7b5#5b9. Dominant chords can resolve to themselves as minor chords. You can hear this in Take the A Train when D7 resolves to Dm7.

Bar 14:

1. 3 (G) is harmonised as the root of Gm7 acting as III

2. 1 (Eb) 2 (F) & 3 (G) are all harmonised here as roots of 1st inversion add9 chords.

3. 4 (Ab) is harmonised as the #9 of F7#9/C acting as II7

Add9 chords are also inversions of sus chords: Ebadd9 - Eb G Bb F / Fsus - F Eb G Bb.

Sus chords (due to their ambiguous nature) take very well to being moved around in parallel motion. Listen to the intro of Never Too Much by Luthor Vandross - Asus, Absus, Asus, Bbsus, Bsus. As such you can do the same thing with add9 chords. This is what I’m doing in Bar 14. The fact that the top note of the voicing is also the root of the chord makes this ‘move’ very strong & sounds very modern.

The F7#9 resolves back to Fm7 in bar 15 which is another example of a dominant chord resolving back to a minor chord. Interestingly I view 7#9 chords as both dominant and minor chords as they have both a major 3rd and a minor 3rd (#9). What’s interesting about this is that both F Mixolydian and F Dorian are acceptable scales to use when playing over 7#9 chords.

Bar 15:

1. 2(F) is harmonised as the root of Fm7/C acting as II

2. 7 (D) & 1 (Eb) are then harmonised as Quartal Voicings from F Mixoldyian.

3. 2 (F) is then harmonised as the 5th of Bb9 acting as V7

4. 3 (G) is harmonised as the 13 of Bb13b9 acting as V7

The Quartal Voicings from F Mixolydian imply F7 which acts as the V7 of Bb - V7/V.

The Bb13b9 chord can be viewed as G/Bb. This chord comes from Bb Half Whole Diminished scale and is a very hip altered dominant voicing.

Bar 16:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the root of Ebsus2 acting as I

2. 5 (Bb) is harmonised as the root of Bb7#5 acting as V7 - I use this chord a lot, don’t I?

Bar 17:

This entire bar features an oscillation between 3(G) and 5 (Bb). So I decided to change the harmonic rhythm and harmonise these two notes differently each time:

1. 3rd and 5th of Ebmaj7 acting as I

2. Root and #9 of G7#9 acting as III7 (V7/VI)

3. 5th and b7 of Cm7 acting as VI

4. 5th and b7 of C7b9 acting as VI7 (V7/II)

Bar 18:

This entire bar features an oscillation between 4(Ab) and 5 (Bb). Again I decided to harmonise these two notes differently each time:

1. b3 and 11th of Fm7 acting as II

2. b3 and 11th of Fm7/Eb acting as II

3. b7 and Root of Bb9/D acting as V

4. b5 & #5 of D7 acting as VII7 (V7/III)

Bar 19:

1. 6 (C) is harmonised as the 11th of Gm7 acting as VI

2. Then again as the root of C7#5/Bb acting as VI7 (V7/II)

Bar 20:

This bar harmonises a short melodic phrase which isn’t taken from the main melody and acts almost as a turnaround back to the I.

1. 5(Bb) & 4 (Ab) are harmonised as the 11th and b3 of Fm7sus4 to Fm7 acting as II

2. 3(G) & 2(F) are harmonised as the 9th and the Root of F9 acting as II7 (static)

3. 6(C) & 3(G) are harmonised as the 3rd and the 7th of Abmaj7 acting as IV

4. 2(F) is harmonised as the 5th of Bb9 acting as V

5. 5(Bb) is harmonised as the Root of Bb7#7 acting as V - this note returns to the main melody.

Bar 21 is the same as bar 17.

Bar 22:

This bar also features an oscillation between #4(A) and 6(C). Ostensibly I’ve harmonised these two notes differently each time. However this entire bar is basically D7b9 (disguised by descending root notes) functioning as VII7 (V7/III)

1. Root and b3 of Adim acting as D7b9(no3rd)

2. Root and b3 of Am7b5/G acting as D7b9sus4

3. 5th and b7 of D7b9

4. 3rd of F7 acting as D-7b9

5. b7 of D7b9

The Am7b5/G and F7 are basically an Adim triad (from D7b9) with G & F in the bass respectively. The whole bar is essentially D7b9 waiting to resolve to Gm7.

Bar 23:

1. 7(D) is harmonised as the 5th of Gm7 acting as III

2. Then again as the 9th of C9#5 acting as VI7 (V7/II)

Bar 24:

1. 2(F) is harmonised as the root of F13 acting as II7 (V7/V)

2. 6(C) is harmonised as the 9th of Bb13 acting as V.

Bar 25

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the Root in Eb/Bb acting as I

2. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the b3 in Cm acting as VI

These are both nice open triad voicings, as are the first 2 chords in the next bar.

Bar 26:

1. 7(D) is harmonised as the 5th in Gm/Bb acting as III

2. 5(Bb) is harmonised as the b3 of Gm acting as III

3. 6(C) is harmonised as the b7 in D7b9 acting as VII7 (V7/III)

4. 7(D) is harmonised as the 5th in G7b9 acting as III7 (V7/VI)

5. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the Root in Eb7#5 acting as I7 (V7/IV)

G7b9 expects to resolve to Cm here but resolves deceptively to Eb. This is because Cm and Eb are both Tonic sounds in Eb major (VI & I).

Bar 27:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the 5th in Ab6/9 acting as IV

2. 6(C) is harmonised as the 3rd in Ab7#11 acting as IV7 (subV/III)

Ab7#11 is a tritone sub for D7. It’s essentially D7alt/Ab.

Bar 28

1. 5(Bb) is harmonised as the b3 of Gm7 acting as III

2. I then use a little chromatic walk down from Bb-A-

3. 4(Ab) is harmonised as the #5 of C7#5 acting as VI7 (although enharmonically this should be seen as G#)

Bar 29:

1. 6(C) is harmonised as the 3rd in Ab acting as IV

2. 4(Ab) is harmonised as the Root in Abm6 acting as IVm

Bar 30:

1. 3(G) is harmonised as the 3rd in Ebmaj7 acting as I

2. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the 9 in Db9 acting as bVII7 (subV/VI)

3. 2(F) is harmonised as the 3rd in Db9 acting as bVII7 (subV/VI)

4. 3(G) is harmonised as the 5th in Cm7 acting as VI

5. 4(Ab) is harmonised as the #5 of C7#5 acting as VI7 (although enharmonically this should be seen as G#)

Bar 31:

1. 2(F) is harmonised as the #11 in B7#11 acting as #V7 (subV/VI)

2. 7(D) is harmonised as the 13 in F13 acting as II7 (V7/VI)

3. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the b7 in F7 acting as II7 (V7/VI)

4. 2(F) is harmonised as the 5th in Bb6/9 acting as V

5. 3(G) is harmonised as the 13 in Bb13b9 acting as V

Bar 32:

This bar and half of the next is all a delayed resolution back to I. I use Abm6 through 4 different inversions (lastly with a #11) before resolving to Eb. Abm6 is acting as IVm6 and is seen as the Negative Harmony substitute of V7. Wherever you would use V7 you can use IVm6 (melody permitting).

Bar 33:

1. 1(Eb) is harmonised as the Root of Eb acting as I.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this analysis and found it to be useful in the study of chord melody arranging. I realised that nobody really breaks down arrangements in this way & that this sort of material would have been hugely beneficial to me when I was trying to learn this stuff.

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Thanks so much, James.