Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

In a earlier article we looked at how 6ths make your melodies sound great.  If you’ll remember, we simply took our melody notes and added tones that were a 6th interval underneath them.  As you may already know, an interval is the distance between two notes.

The interval at hand is of course that of a sixth interval.Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Just to recap our earlier article, here are the sixth intervals of a Major key.  This just means that each melody note is harmonized by a sixth underneath it.   I’ll use C Major to illustrate.

Key of C MajorHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Sixths in the key of C MajorBut what about 6ths in a minor key?  Let’s say that instead of C Major, the song is in the key of C minor.

As you can see, the key of C minor may have the same tonic (first note of the key), but has some different tones from C Major.  To be specific, C Major and C minor are parallel keys.Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsIt’s for this reason that you would use different tones to harmonize the melody with sixths.  

These different tones would be the 3rd, 6th and 7th which are lowered a half step compared to their Major counterparts.

Sixths in the key of C minorThe same concept applies to the key of F Major and F minor.The sixth intervals also have different 3rd, 6th and 7th tones. 

A simpler way to look at sixth intervals would be to view them in the context of the relative minor key.  You may know that the Major key and relative minor key have the same tones but in a different order.  

For example, the key of C Major and the key of A minor are relative keys.  

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing the melody of either key with sixths is the same.  But, to hear how different they can sound, play each key in sixths starting on the tonic and ascend the key.

In C Major...Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsIn A minor...Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

They both sound different don’t they?  Even though it’s the same tones, starting on a different tonic makes one sound Major and the other minor.

Try F Major and D minor.Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsHarmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6thsAgain, two relative keys that sound different by starting on a different tone.  

So how do you find the relative minor key of the Major key?

You can simply move down a minor 3rd tone from the tonic or move up a 6th tone from the tonic and you have your relative minor key.  It’s the reverse to find the relative Major key from the minor key.Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

Harmonizing a Melody | Minor key 6ths

When you have an understanding of sixth intervals from Major and minor key perspectives, it makes them easier to learn and utilize as a harmonic device for your melodies.  

Until next time, Go Play.

The following two tabs change content below.

Greg Lee

Hi, my name is Greg Lee. I'm the creator of the Color Score Professional/Visual Chord Learning System. I love to share ideas and concepts about piano and keyboard playing in all styles of music. I believe the key to learning is having fun and making complicated things simple with visual tools and illustrations.

Latest posts by Greg Lee (see all)