Forming Triads Below the Melody

Our next “melody treatment” technique will be to form triads below the melody in the right hand. These might be basic triads derived from the chord symbol, or they could be “upper structure” triads that work on the chord.

Think about what triad you would use if you were simply “comping” on the chord (as we did in the last chapter), then add two chord tones below the melody note. For example, if the melody note is E, and you have a C chord symbol, the two notes “missing” from the full C chord are C and G. Find the closest C and G below the melody note E, and play those two notes underneath the melody (see the next example of “Easy Going,” the first measure, beat 1).

In most cases, the melody notes at the points of chord change are within these triads, so it’s just a matter of adding the two missing notes. If the melody note is not part of the chord indicated, then we still just select two chord tones underneath the melody note. In the first measure of “Easy Going,” beat 3, the melody note is E, yet E is not part of a G/B chord. The G/B chord is made up of the notes G, B, and D, and so we must pick which two to be added underneath the melody. Part of choosing which notes to add will be considerations of voice leading. Since we have a G already in the bottom voice from the previous chord, why not keep that? The other voice from beat 1 is a C which could either go up to D or down to B. Since the melody eventually goes down to D on beat 4, B is the better choice for the other note to add.

Listen to track 51 to hear this melody treatment for “Easy Going” that forms triads along with the melody. The melody is now notated using “upward” stems, and the remaining triad tones added below the melody are notated with downward stems.

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You generally want to add the triads below the melody only at the point of chord change, which in this case is on beats 1 and 3 of each measure. Playing full chords on every melody note would be too “heavy” and a bit cumbersome to play. Also, as a variation, you do not have to complete full triads at every chord change point. Sometimes, for better flow, you may add just one note (like the adding of intervals we previously discussed) at the chord changes instead of completing the whole triad. In our most recent version of “Easy Going,” we’ve added just 3rds below the melody on beat 4 of measures 2 and 6.

The “oddball” chord in this tune is the G7sus. Though technically the notes of this chord are G, C, D, and F, a common way to voice this chord is by thinking of it as an “upper structure” triad—a major triad built from the seventh. This gives us the same pitches, but with an A put into the mix. As you can see, in measures 3 and 5, we’ve added the F and C below the melody notes under the G7sus chords.

The left hand is playing the same open triad patterns as before, but again, when you put the hands together for the first time, try just playing half notes in the left hand (the notes on beats 1 and 3) to start out.

Next, we’ll apply these new right-hand triad techniques to the theme song from the movie Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On.”

In this simple ballad style, we are completing basic major and minor triads below the melody at the points of chord change.

Notice that on the last eighth note of measures 3 and 11, the melody note A and the rest of the D major triad placed below it, are all anticipating (landing an eighth note earlier than) the following downbeats. This is an effective rhythmic variation, but don’t overdo it on slower-tempo ballads.

Most of the melody notes are part of the indicated chords, with the following exceptions:

• On the C chord in measures 3 and 11, the melody note is a D, which is not part the C major triad. Voice leading—where the melody is coming from and where it is going to—helps us decide to use the E and G from the C chord below the melody note.
• On the C chord in measure 15, the melody note is an F♯ , which is again not part of the C major triad.

So you know what comes next, right? You guessed it: try forming triads below the melody on your favorite fake book songs. This is a common technique that will work in a lot of situations—go for it!

The 1997 release of “My Heart Will Go On” was a huge smash hit for Celine Dion, who was already one of the biggest female pop singers of the 1990s. The popularity of the movie Titanic ensured that the song remained near the top of the charts for over a year.