Composition 107: How To Harmonize 

Forget about people saying your videos are too simplistic. I am going on 80 years old, am trying to compose and arrange. I find you videos very helpful. Keep it up!

I’m a classical musician and have always felt like the theory that we’ve been taught has been a way to gatekeep us away from being composers ourselves. I know it’s not intentional per se, but your channel is golden in helping understand a much more intuitive approach to composition.

Having started playing piano at age 7, and now being 76, I can affirm that your method for creating new music works very well. And I can also confirm that having a good grasp of 'traditional' theory can help understand why some things work better than others. But I have to add that having a good grasp of 'the rules' can also suggest ways to 'break' them, which can save some time when you're using the 'every note can be any chord tone' approach. The essential lesson I've learned is that all approaches are good, and can contribute to a successful piece, but in the end, it is your ear that makes the final decisions. Writing music is exploring all the options, and even when you have a 'preferred method', not forgetting to explore a bit more. Nearly seventy years since I began, I'm still learning new things about the old things i began back then. And your videos, with their cheerful iconoclastic approach, add delight to my continuing education. Thanks, and best wishes for much success.

This is harmonic ASMR. That sequence of chords is hypnotising. Thanks Anne-Kathrin.

Harmonization: Each note of the melody is part of a chord. Simple, open to creation, works in practice. It's BRILLIANT! Well done Anna!

Most "higher learning" teachers don't like simplification bc if it's simple, how are you going to keep the tuition fees coming in? You're a great teacher. Please keep doing it your way

Didn't expect the "concept demonstration" to have such an emotional impact. Fantastic work!

Forget the haters! You do incredible work giving so much to the composition community here on RU-vid. Your channel is such a fantastic resource. Please keep going!

I sincerely appreciate the quiet/slow pace of these examples. It helps students to really hear (or even ‘pre-auralise’) what is going on. All too often teachers just hurry through a bunch of attractive sounding stuff. The used quiet method here also leaves more suggestive space for possible context, the optional coherence of chords, or even silence

Like most people have written here, I find your lessons very clear and helpful. And they give me tips to make structures for my compositions. You're a good teacher!!! And very generous to pass on all this knowledge to people.

This might be the most practical approach of harmonizing melodies I have ever seen! It's more or less how I approach it myself, but you make it so clear and simple, that it actually ís simple, and why not? Composing can be complicated enough, so it's really great to have some tricks up your sleeve. Very well done, indeed!

I graduated Classical Harmony in conservatory, and no, you're not over simplifying. You're great. Being able to see your content for free is a blessing. I'm so greatful I discovered your channel.

Priceless. Love the way you started this one. The level you explain things is pitched just right, and I imagine, at the right level for many others. Please keep them coming

This is crazy! Every time I would try to write music as Anne suggests here, I would feel like I'm doing something wrong because I'm not using my 6 semesters of music theory to create my chord progressions! Thank you, Anne, for allowing me to put to rest my concerns about how I'm creating my music! You have a marvelous gift for presenting all things music in an easy to understand way.

I’m also 80. Love your videos. Child is father .. er mother of the man .. thanks 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 lesson in overcoming doubt in one’s intuition ❤️ from 🇿🇦

Thank you for expressing in the first 2.5 minutes what I've always felt since being ostracized and berated by my freshman Music Theory 101 prof ... 54 years ago. ❤

I love this recommendation. It is along the lines of how I have been writing recently and I find it leads to significantly better harmonies and I get there a lot quicker

Thank you! You just unlocked harmony for me! I was instantly able to apply your tip of making the note the 1, 3 or 5. Great starting point. I always thought one had to “know” all the chords by ear to “know” what chord would work all the time - or use theory like “5 can go to 1” etc.

The way this vid builds to round 19:00 to showcase the compositional tool is amazing! Thanks. Another fun tool for any creative block. Limitless fun

Hungarian here haha. Thank you for your videos. You really inspire me. Guys, appreciate the fact that we have people like Anne-Kathrin making content like this for free.

Expressing complex ideas in simple terms is one of the hallmarks of genius. Good work here. I really like that explanation of music theory you start with. It took me a few years to reach that point myself. One thing that a teacher helped me with was understanding that most people really can't hear more that two pitches at once, and one great compositional skill is to write in duets and then fill in harmony (if you want) after the music sounds complete in two voices.

Thank you so much for everything you share, despite the haters. As someone trying to learn more music theory, I appreciate info like this being presented in a straightforward, understandable way. Please keep the content coming!

It is much more challenging to explain complex issues in a simple way than to make already complex theories even more incomprehensible. You prove once again that you really are a great teacher of the first. Many thanks for this and a happy new year to everyone.

Anne-Kathrin this is great and we should teach this way. Your approach opens up to experimentation and to a greater extent improvisation, which really what music is about. When I left Berklee in '90, someone told me it will take 10+ years to forget all the technical stuff and start creating using what you choose to retain. It's really true. Music Theory is about understanding what was done and to give you tools to figure out "why something isn't working," but more importantly give you options to get you out of a jam. >90% trial and error

As always, so much practical knowledge and wisdom that comes from experience translated into a 22 min video! Bravisimo Anne, we can’t say thank you enough for your excellent explanation but mostly for your generosity. ❤️ When I started in music some decades ago I couldn’t understand why people with limited musical knowledge composed so easily and people like me trying to study music the “right” way were so blocked and frustrated, you are absolutely right, we have to leave the theory aside initially when composing and use it as a resource to develop the theme, motif, etc, but nobody teaches you that or encourages you to that workflow and for this reason people keep believing that you have to study years to be able to compose something, so many years lost for so many lives. Hope you have a 2024 full of successes, you deserve it!!

I absolutely love your Composition series. Such a good material. And the way you present it is adorable

This video, needs to be saved, and played in every single Harmony’s classroom. ❤. Insbesondere in jedem deutschen Konservatorium.

Hello ! I subscribed instantly, I am a self made musician and even though I can find dozens of videos on how to write a bassline or chord progressions, I always felt like I didn't know if it was right or not and eventually, I always believed that it could be done much better but I couldn't grasp it... and then you appeared on my algorithm today and really talked about the core problem I was facing, thank you very much, good luck !!!

You just inadvertently (or on purpose idk bro) created a whole bunch of really cool atmospheres and textures. This was amazing!

This is so inspiring! For the last few years, I've been following the usual advice floating arround, writting chord progressions and then coming up with melodies, countermelodies, etc... Since I always had a difficult making melodies that "would go somewhere", so it's been great, but seeing you do this makes me wanna try something different! Thanks for that! Also, I always thought I had to use a pencil tool to write realistic MIDI CCs. Watching your videos and seeing you use broader curves that are not nearly as difficult to write also made me wanna try them. I've been doing lots of fast progress with this approach using modeled virtual libraries! My mock ups never sounded better! You are doing wonders for me!

Thanks so much for the video, really opened a new door for me. Your videos are immensely helpful to composers at any level and have tremendous clarity. They also help bring new confidence.

Thank you so much for this. It’s been 5 years since I set out to try to find which emotions come from which chords. This clearly demonstrates the harmony theory that I thought existed but was so sadly mistaken to see that it didn’t. Like I cannot express my gratitude enough. It finally makes sense in the way it’s supposed to 🥲😭

This was such a great video! Please keep “oversimplifying” as this is so vital to us hobbyists who want to improve on our art. Just having the right mindset (not over thinking it) in approaching this craft helps tremendously!

Holy shit, Anne. That might be the most useful thing I've ever seen on the subject. I'm already writing cool stuff using this method. Thank you so much! The way you described it couldn't be more simple and pragmatic. Being a victim of music theory myself, I tend to block and second guess myself. And your lessons are just so down to Earth and simple to apply. Thanks!

I've been writing songs for decades and harmonising by ear and guesswork. Finally decided to learn about it. This was really helpful, thanks!

That was both very helpful and entertaining and delivered in fine style. You had me creased up laughing more than once! You're a gem, Anne-Kathrin Dern, a real gem!

I'm used to classic harmony education, I mean how chords are formed, how they relate, preparation and resolving dissonances, chords functions and so on (still struggling with minor mode functions) but hearing your examples was so nice and enchanting, each of them a different emotion. Thank you so much, it was a catchy different approach!

Thank a lot for sharing your experience.This is soooo precious

Oversimplifying things is a great and unique talent, only marvellous teachers have. Thank you for your videos!!

More of this plz. Stumbled on your channel and this video has helped MASSIVELY. This is a topic I’ve always understood the theory of but never been shown examples in such a simple and effective way.

As always, you have managed to pierce the sometimes forbidding walls of theory and reveal something fundamental and so very useful. And for me in this case it may be even more than what you intended. While I’d known I could construct chords like this, I’ve seldom ended up doing it because I didn’t want my chords frantically jumping all over the place. But in listening to the lovely little snippets in the last part of your video, I suddenly realized that I’ve invariably been rushing through the notes of my melodies, with seldom anything longer than a quarter note to be heard. Hearing how the languid dotted half notes of your example melody allowed you to use this approach to building chords that move naturally with each note … well, that was an eye opener for me personally. So, time to get to the keyboard again! Thanks so much.

Thank you for this, Anne-Kathrin. You have stated what I have thought for a very long time about theory. By the way, on a lighter note, I LOVE that voice that you used at the beginning. I almost fell off my chair, I was laughing so hard. I listened to your score of "The Claus Family 3" seven times tonight. I think I might be addicted. :) Again...thank you for this video. Very informative!

Thank you ! I watched it all the way through. Thank you for all the golden knowledge you are sharing. Greetings from a pianist in Norway

Great approach…creativity without boundaries. I enjoy your humor and honesty as well. 👌

Music educator here - I teach harmony in the UK gospel scene. I loved this approach. Spot on. I think you’re so right that lots of harmony theory is retrospective and many people are desperate for ways to harmonise on the go.

I always felt like music theory was more of an analysis thing then helpful writing anything. Thanks for this technique.

Just wonderful Anne-Kathrin! As a theory freak myself, but struggling finding spontaneity and originality in my composition, I found your approach to think forward instead of backward very refreshing and helpful. Now I just want to sit and try this out. Thank you very much for all the incredible useful and inspiring videos and your generous contribution to the world of composing! Danke sehr!!!

Best video of the year so far - thank you very much!

This was an excellent explanation and demonstration, and the resulting music was quite moving. I especially enjoyed the A♭-starting version of your fragment.

This was beautifully done. Loved the interesting chord progressions.

Another fantastic composition process that we can use. Brilliant, really. Thanks so much for taking the time to share how you do your work. Much appreciated.

"Every note can be the root 3rd or 5th..." this made the sun come out, and the sky cleared for me! Thanx 😁 as just being an amateur tinkering at home, I got stuck in theory just as you explained, the more I tried to apply it, the more boring the piece sounded. No I'm eager to apply this to pieces that I've dropped earlier 👍

I like to think of music-making as a process that uses both the right and left brain, falling somewhere in the middle. I couldn't agree more that while theory can be helpful, it can also limit creativity, especially at the beginning. I believe that having a curious mindset and trying out different things is not only essential but also fun! (don't they call it "playing" music)? This was a great video! Thank you for sharing your approach. 🙏🏼

Again, a very nice video and explanation. I've learned a lot on this channel, and often even more than paid courses. Waiting for Composition 108 😀

Wow, this video is incredibly informative! Thank you for breaking down complex concepts in such a clear and understandable way. I learned a lot!

Vielen Dank, das ist hilfreich und beeindruckend, wie klar und verständlich alles erklärt wird!

Great and at the same time simple approach, Anne! Thanks for posting!

That’s great… this is exactly what I was looking for to learn! Great job! 😊

I didn’t quite understand from your explanation, but it became clear what you meant through the examples. What a great way to harmonize. I will absolutely apply this.

absolutely love your way of explaining! I love how you can simplify those complicated things

Beautiful and refreshing! Thanks Anne-Kathrin!

I love your videos, Anne! I learned so much from this one. Keep up the great work.

Great work! This is the greatest video on harmonization I have ever seen!❤😊

There's so much to writing a good song. Harmony/harmonizing is just one aspect. I'm trying to figure it out myself.. After understanding simple harmonization, there's the voicing of those chords and how to work them into your song. You can have a chord progression that works, but without the right voicings they might not sound so good in the song. Then there's the idea of how to play those progressions - adding rhythm, etc. Playing block chords - each spanning one bar can get boring. Even just playing the chords out in any sort of way can get boring. Instead, you can have different rhythmic riffs in different instruments playing together that imply a chord progression when combined, but none actually playing out the full chord. I think there's a lot to learn from studying other compositions.

Excellent. Thank you so much. Only half way through your basic but profound demonstration I gained such insight beyond what I only had rudimentarily garnered from music theory and my ear studying film composition. Elements of the sophisticated compositions by Hans Zimmer jumped out at me from the essentially practical fundamentals you presented. Genius tutorial on the intrinsic nature of harmonization in composition. Thanks Again!

Anne-Kathrin I happened upon this video and your channel by chance and what a lucky find. I love your refreshing approach, learned a lot and my inspiration tank is filled.

In my opinion this video should be the first stop in anyone’s journey towards understanding harmony. It is so helpful, thank you. 🙏

You are amazing. This exactly what I've been looking for.❤

Thanks for making the harmonizing simple & sweet ❤

Excellent video. Thanks for your time doing this❤

The Maj7th and Maj9th - wonderful. That's a whole ambient track / pad right there.

Who would have figured your examples would be so beautiful and emotional. Damn.

Loved that. Thank you for your great work!

It is noticed: when you look at the work of a master, it seems that it is very easy. Thanks for your clarity of presentation! I'll show your video to my students.

Thank you for sharing Anne-Kathrin, there are some beautiful chords in there! Inspiring.

fantastic as always. thank you

It's really pretty awesome! ❤Thank you, Anne-Kathrin!🙏

LOL... just a minute into the video and I knew I was gonna love this. Just love it when you speak your mind.

First time watching you… wow! You’re so smooth! I love this kind of content. Will watch more for sure.

Once again, thank you for the video!

Really enjoyed this one. Somehow inspirational as well. Thanks for sharing your talent and expertise. Don't ever change! 🤟

Lady, I just loved the harmonizations you've come up with. ❤

I think you can go both ways, melody first or chords first, both are fun to do. Your demonstration with all the chords on C was perfect, thanks for taking the time to put this together and sharing. I got goosebumps on the C as the 9th, going major to minor, so nice :)

This series is so helpful, thank you! I haven't felt like I've struggled with harmony in composition before but I'm sure this will help me get out of some old habits :D Happy New Year!

I think I love you hahaha. I love that simplicity that you've started with. I'd love to see the same type of video about your thoughts about forms. Cheers! Happy New Year!!! This was really interesting and informative! I appreciate your work!

Very nice video. I tried a similar approach on some of my tracks. What I also found: the bass can have a very strong impact on the harmony even if the chords are the same. As shown, writing an ascending or descending bass already incorporates the usage of thirds and fifths.

Another great video, as someone self-taught it’s always refreshing to see videos like this. Coming up with a melody and then applying “Trial and error to harmonization is pretty much the only thing I know as I don’t have any theory to lean on. As someone that only “dabbles” with orchestration, know that your videos are perfect for anyone working with melodic pads, leads and arpeggios in electronic music as well. All the best in 2024.

What a great video! I knew from your opening that we feel about music theory similarly. You example hearing the sounds of the possibilities teaches more than a book ever could. Music is sound and needs to be heard to learn. Theory is just labels to make discussing commonly used sounds easier. Thank you for your videos.

The way I understood my composition lessons vs theory lessons was the goal of composing vs the goal of theory. Theory is vital when trying to understand what you hear in your head and analyze what you put on paper in terms of function. Compositions is unique as it’s what’s in your mind as an emotion and one’s goal is an attempt to put into writing that emotion as a noise. I was taught certain rules when composing to think about: avoid voice leading that sound contrived, smooth is better than leaping, and tonality/tessitura/timber and overall texture is more important than breaking rules such as parallel 5ths and conventional voice leading. Oh, and oblique motion sounds wonderful. I was told to practice two part, three part, and so on species writing to practice creating smooth voice leading.

This was great. Thanks Anne.

👀💥‼️ ...With your PREVIOUS videos you had my Curiosity, but with THIS one you have my ATTENTION 🤩👍 I absolutely LOVED the MAJOR 3RD VARIATION‼️🥳🎉✨️ THANK YOU for this 💞🎶🥰🎵💞

Excellent demonstration, thank you so much

Just found your channel. Super interesting series here, gives an easy on ramp for learning some of this. Really valuable to the self guided amateur. Keep up the great work!

Ms. Dern, wonderful explanation on how to apply harmony. As a composer with similar melodic taste to yours, this video was a revelatory moment for me. When your teacher gave you this framework, you were smart enough to recognize it for what it was: a way to distill a complicated process into an easily graspable form for harmonization. Thanks so much for passing it on.

i love your common sense approach and attitude. you are a genius and thank you for everything!

Yes! Very yes! Thank you!

Anne, can't even thank you enough for all your videos!! I have an undergrad music degree and, honestly, music theory NEVER made sense to me enough to apply it irl because of how complicated they made it sound. Please don't stop making these videos, you're such an inspiration! Every time I try to compose and feel stuck on something, I'm running to you immediately!😆 Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you are greatly appreciated!

❤❤❤ fantastic teaching of harmony. Really loved it.

Such an interesting video, thank you Anne!

Your videos are very inspiring, love all of them.