Using Intervals Below the Melody

So far we’ve been playing only the melody in the right hand, which is a great way to get started. Now we’re going to add some more notes in the right-hand part, which will help to create a “fuller” arrangement. If we add just one note below the melody in the right hand, we create an interval below the melody. The most common intervals used for this in popular styles are 6ths and 3rds, due to their warm consonant characteristics.

With the exception of some country and rock ’n’ roll styles, any notes added in the right hand will be below (not above) the melody. This is because the ear will tend to be “attracted” to the highest pitch being played, so we may obscure the melody if we put extra notes above it.

Sometimes, when you play a 6th below the melody, it may sound a bit too “tense” with the chord, or with the bass note in the left hand. In this case, reducing the interval to a 5th can often solve the problem. Similarly, 3rds can be increased to 4ths if these problems occur. Let your ears be the judge!

When adding notes below the melody, we will normally stay within the key of the song, except in cases where the chord symbol is not contained within the key. For example, the tune “Easy Going” is in the key of C, yet we have an E/G♯ chord on beat 1 of measure 4 in the following example. When creating the interval below the melody, the chord “wins out” over the key, so the note G♯ has been added below the E. G♯ is the 3rd of an E major triad, and yet is chromatic (i.e., is not contained within) to the key of C.

Listen to track 50 to hear a melody treatment for “Easy Going” using intervals below the melody. The initial approach would be to add 6ths below all of the melody notes, and this could work in this tune. However, in this example we reduced some of the 6ths to 5ths (indicated with a double-asterisk in the music) to reduce the tension on the chord, creating a simpler harmonic sound. For variety, we even have a 4th below the D in the melody on beat 4 of measure 4. This sets up a nice contrary motion effect with the following 6th interval. The left hand is playing the same open triad patterns as in our earlier example of this tune.

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All of the notes added below the melody are within the key of C major, except the G♯ below the E in measure 4, beat 1. We can check some of the places where 5ths were used instead of 6ths (indicated by the double-asterisk) to hear what difference this made to the sound. For example, in Yesterday measure 1, we used a C (the root of the C major chord) below the G in the melody on the “and” of 2, rather than the B (which would have been the 7th of the chord). Although 7ths are commonly used on major chords, this sound can still be too dissonant (an unresolved sound, sometimes “clashing”) for simpler pop styles. Similarly, on beat 4 we used a G below the D in the melody, rather than the F (which would have been the 7th of the chord). Adding the F would have implied a G7/B, which again imparts a more sophisticated sound. These are judgment calls which you can make by ear as you become more experienced. If your choice sounds “funny,” go with a note that is part of the chord.

Next, we’ll apply these new right-hand interval techniques to the classic 1960s Beatles’ ballad, “Yesterday.”

In the right hand, we added 6ths below the melody within the key of F major, with the following exceptions:

• As a variation we did not place any notes below the A and B in the melody in measure 2 (beat 2).
• We “reduced” the 6th to a 5th on the C/E chord in measure 5 (beat 4). This C is, of course, a member of the C chord, and sounds “better” than playing a B.
• As another variation, we placed 3rds below the melody (again within the key of F), from measure 6 (beat 4) until measure 7 (beat 2). Meanwhile, the left hand is playing root–5th–3rd on all of the chords, except:

• On the A7 in measure 2 (beats 3–4), we have a root–7th–3rd pattern.
• In measure 5 beat 4, the left hand plays an E to support the C/E chord falling on beat 4.
• In measures 6 and 7, we are using a root-5th-root pattern (no 3rds of the chords) on the G and B♭ chords, so that the left hand pattern does not collide with the right hand.

Get out your fake book and try this melody technique on some pop ballads. You can mix 6ths and 3rds together in the right hand (as we did in “Yesterday”), and don’t forget to adjust the intervals (i.e., reducing 6ths to 5ths, and increasing 3rds to 4ths) as needed to work with the chords. Trust your ears, and have fun!

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About “Yesterday”…

“Yesterday” has become one of the most frequently performed pop standards of the 20th century, and has been covered by more artists than any other Beatles’ song. When the song was released in 1965, it had a wholly fresh and original sound, with a timeless melody, a poignant lyric, and a very imaginative arrangement from producer George Martin. Although it was put out as a Beatles’ record, it was in fact a Paul McCartney solo recording: his vocal and guitar was augmented by a sparse string quartet. The understated elegance of Martin’s string arrangement was in stark contrast to the heavy-handed string parts which Phil Spector added to McCartney’s “The Long and Winding Road,” five years later on the Let It Be album.

In the U.K., the song was not even released as a single. It was just an album track on the Help! album, and wasn’t even on the Help! movie soundtrack. However, in the U.S., it was released as a single by Capitol Records in late 1965, and immediately topped the charts, remaining there for a month. One reason why so many cover versions were recorded (apart from the fact that it was such a great song) is that it was suitable for a lot of pop and “easy listening”-type artists, perhaps more so than most other Beatles’ songs. For example, the British middle-of-the-road ballad singer Matt Munro released a rather forgettable rendition of the song in late 1965, which became a Top Ten hit. A more interesting “soul” version was put out by Ray Charles in 1967, which got into the Top 30 in the U.S. However, it was reported that John Lennon did not care for Ray Charles’ version of the song.

“Yesterday” (along with another Paul McCartney classic, “Michelle”) even made it into The Real Book, the best-known and most widely used fake book in working musician circles.