Mary Had A Little Lamb: Harmonizing A Melody

Description

In this lesson we'll harmonize measures 5 through 8 by figuring out which chords work with each melody note.

m.5: E (3) - D (2) - C (1) - D (2)
m.6: E (3) - E (3) - E (3)
m.7: D (2) - D (2) - E (3) - D (2)
m.8: C (1)

Measures 5-6 are the same as 1-2, so we can use the same chords. Measures 7-8 are different. But we can use the same chords again, the dominant (V) G major & tonic (I) C major chords.

The results in ending the first half of the melody with a dominant chord (V), called a half-cadence, then the second half with a tonic chord (I), called a full cadence. This is an important concept in functional harmony.