Throwing away the rule book – harmonising in 4ths not 3rds
Everything we’ve looked at so far in the Harmony corner of the lab has been based on the idea of layering harmonies in 3rds – the root, the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th and so on up to a possible 13th. But there is an alternative and that is to layer in fourths. Yes, it sounds a bit weird and yes, it’s therefore primarily a tool for harmonisation in jazz, but it’s also edgy and unsettling which means it can be a useful tool if you have the right application.
If you harmonise the C major scale in fourths, you get these chords:
C F B E
D G C F
E A D G
F B E A
G C F B
A D G C
B E A D
If you wanted to play these chords on a guitar, you only need a few shapes played on the middle four strings:
So, here is my own example based on quartal harmony:
Instruments on Quartaliser:
Electric Piano: Vintage Keys from Native Instruments
Drums: Studio Drummer from Native Instruments
Bass: Substance from Output
Vocal samples: Exhale from Output
Strings: Action Strings from Native Instruments
Effects: Sheperd Risers from 8Dio
And that’s all for the harmony project. Onwards and upwards.