You've been in music for years. You know how to play, but you're ready for more. Getting Inside Harmony 1 will help you with the next step: learning harmony so that you hear and recognize chord progressions and use them creatively in your playing and writing. Through a combination of activities—listening, thinking, visualizing, vocalizing, writing, and playing—you'll open your ears and deepen your understanding of the inner workings of harmony in a broad range of contemporary styles. You'll find that you learn songs more easily and can transpose them on sight. And you'll be able to equip yourself with the best chord scale choices for arranging and improvising. Mastering the mechanics of harmony's chord progression patterns is an indispensable tool for both players and writers, and will help improvisers, composers, and arrangers deepen their understanding of the inner workings of a broad range of contemporary styles including standard tunes, popular music and jazz.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Recognize different chord types and standard chord progression patterns
- Find the notes that work best (as melody and as harmony) with each chord in the progression
- Create keyboard accompaniment voicings that will allow you to learn and experiment with any chord progression.
- Improvise effectively from chord to chord
- Spot and repair faulty or incomplete chord progressions often found on many lead sheets
- Modify the chord progression in a way that will enhance the character of the music and reflect your own musical expression
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Foundation 1: Building Major Scales
- Introduction
- The Major Scale
- Intervals
- Constructing the Major Scale by Scale Formula
- Assignment 1: Build the Major Scales
- Discussion
- Recap
Lesson 2: Foundation 2: Exploring the Scale Neighborhood
- Introduction
- Exploring the Scale Neighborhood
- Workshop: Experiencing Scale Degree Personalities
- Find Your Personal Range
- Assignment 2: Scale Visualization
- Recap
Lesson 3: Diatonic Triads
- Introduction
- Standard Chord Symbols
- Interval Formulas for Triads
- Workshop: Identifying the Triads
- Building Triads on Random Roots
- Assignment 3: Building Diatonic Triads in Seven KeysDiscussion
- Recap
Lesson 4: Triads: Open vs. Closed
- Introduction
- Recognizing Triads in Various Positions
- Workshop: Visually Identify Triads in Various Positions
- Roman Numeral Nomenclature
- Workshop: Identify Chord Key--RN With One Unknown
- Assignment 4: Triads
- Recap
Lesson 5: Building Seventh Chords
- Introduction
- Seventh Chords
- Workshop: Seventh Chord Identification on All Scale Degrees
- Build Seventh Chords on Random Roots
- Assignment 5: Build Diatonic Sevenths on All Scale Degrees in Keys to 3b and 3#
- Discussion
- Recap
Lesson 6: Seventh Chords: Open vs. Closed
- Introduction
- Recognizing Sevenths in Various Positions
- Workshop: Visually Identify Seventh Chords in Various Positions
- Roman Numeral Nomenclature
- Workshop: Identify Chord Key--RN With One Unknown
- Assignment 6: Sevenths
- Discussion
- Recap
Lesson 7: Building Altered Chords
- Introduction
- Chord Construction Using the Major Scale
- Workshop: Chord Spelling Using Alteration Formulas
- Standard Chord Symbol Chart
- Workshop: Chord Spelling on Non-Major Scale Roots
- Assignment: Chord Spelling
- Recap
Lesson 8: Working from the Ribs: Building Diatonic Chord Scales
- Introduction
- Note Tendencies in Diatonic Chord Scales
- Workshop: Experiencing Fa ->Mi
- Workshop: Experiencing Ti -> Do
- Note Tendencies Involving Major Seconds and Minor Seconds
- Assignment: Note Tendencies
- Recap
Lesson 9: Exploring Relative Do, Part 1
- Introduction
- Relative Do
- Lead Sheet Analysis Procedure
- Assignment: Analyze Two Given Lead Sheets
- Recap
Lesson 10: Exploring Relative Do, Part 2
- Introduction
- Relative Do
- Assignment: Find Relative Do in Examples
- Assignment: Find Relative Do in Audio
- Assignment: Transcribe a Favorite song
- Recap
Lesson 11: Recognizing Diatonic Chords
- Introduction
- Aural Recognition of Diatonic Chords
- Workshop: Analysis
- Melody/Harmony Relationship
- Assignment: Recognize Diatonic Chords
- Recap
Lesson 12: Keyboard Voicing and Voice Leading
- Introduction
- Keyboard Voicing (Basic)
- Workshop: Analyze Form KBD Voicings
- Voice Leading: Guide Tone Lines
- Assignment: Voicing
- Recap
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Students should have:
- the ability to match and hold pitch with their voice
- the ability to read music in treble and bass clefs
- understanding of all intervals within two octaves
- knowledge of all key signatures
Textbook(s)
- No textbooks required
Recording
- Students are required to record themselves and save the recording in MP3 format. You will have a tool to use for this purpose inside the learning environment. Alternatively, you can use software such as GarageBand (Mac), Audacity (PC), or any DAW.
Software
Instrument
- A piano or keyboard instrument
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author
Michael Rendish (1942-2025) was the Assistant Chair of Berklee College of Music's Film Scoring Department. A gifted performer and award-winning writer, he composed, orchestrated, and conducted some 30 film scores, including Faces of Freedom, A Place of Dreams, and Yorktown, as well as the five-part PBS series America by Design. He was the composer for Oscar-nominated film, The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America, and arranger and guest conductor of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra of the 50th Jubilee Concert in honor of the King of Thailand. In his more than 35 years at Berklee, he was continually active in developing much of the world's finest talent in contemporary popular music. He was the founding chair of Berklee's Harmony department and authored and taught courses at all levels of traditional, contemporary, and jazz arranging/composition. He was also the founding chair of the electronic music program, the major that introduced music synthesis to Berklee. Michael's passion for harmony in contemporary music was the driving force behind Getting Inside Harmony 1 and 2.
Instructor
Rich Greenblatt is a vibraphonist with "dazzling speed and a truly magical touch" writes John Blenn in 'Good Times Magazine'. He has recorded three CDs as a leader, ‘Hat Trick’(2009), ‘Hot and Dry’ (2003) and ‘Mooin’ (1998). Rich has performed and recorded with such great artists as Kurt Elling, Billy Mitchell, Dennis Irwin, Oscar Castro-Neves, Garrison Fewell, Kevin Hayes, Greg Hopkins, Winard Harper, Joe Hunt, Yoron Israel, The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and The English Chamber Orchestra.
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Getting Inside Harmony 1 can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Majors
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
