What is harmony in music?
Harmony is the sound of notes played together: the chords under a melody and the way they move from one to the next. Melody is the line you follow; harmony is the colour and floor beneath it. In Veena, the free AI DAW in your browser, CoProducer writes the harmony as real chords on their own track and you edit them in the piano roll.
What harmony is made of
| Part | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Interval | The distance between two notes | A third: C and E |
| Chord | Three or more notes together | C, E, G |
| Progression | Chords in sequence | C, Am, F, G |
| Voicing | Which notes sit where, and in what octave | Close under middle C, or spread across two octaves |
| Key | The set of notes the harmony draws from | C major |
Harmony does two jobs: it sets the mood (major sounds bright, minor sounds dark) and it creates motion, tension that wants to resolve and release when it does.
Harmony versus melody
Melody moves across time, one note after another. Harmony stacks across pitch, several notes at once. A song needs both, and each one shapes the other: a melody implies certain chords, and chords make some melody notes sound right and others tense. Read more in what a melody is.
Harmony in Veena
Ask for it in the sentence you would say to a producer: "neo-soul chords in Eb major with 7ths and 9ths, lazy and late" or "sad chords in A minor, open voicings". CoProducer shows 3 options to hear and pick from, then writes the chords in your key and tempo. The bass and melody it writes next are built on the chords you kept, so the whole song agrees.
It works the other way too. Record or import a tune and ask for chords underneath: CoProducer reads the notes you placed before it writes. Every chord is MIDI, so you can re-voice one bar, swap the piano for a pad (the notes stay), or take the progression into any DAW with Download MIDI file.
See what a chord progression is, the types of chords, chords and harmony in Veena, the chord progression generator and the music production glossary. Write harmony free.
Try this in Veena
Make an 84 BPM neo-soul track in Eb major: Electric Piano chords Imaj9, vi9, ii9, V13 one per bar in soft spread voicings, a Soft Lead melody on top, a Warm Pad doubling the chord tops, an Acoustic Bass on the roots, and lazy swung drums with the snare on 2 and 4. Intro 4 bars, then 16 bars
Frequently asked questions
What is harmony in simple terms?
Harmony is what happens when notes sound at the same time. Melody is one note after another; harmony is the notes stacked underneath and around it, most often as chords. In Veena, you describe the mood and CoProducer writes the harmony as chords on their own track, free in your browser.
What is the difference between harmony and melody?
Melody is the line you sing, played horizontally in time. Harmony is the vertical support: the chords and second voices that give the melody a place to sit. In Veena, CoProducer writes both as separate MIDI tracks, so you can change the chords and keep the melody, or the other way round.
What is a harmony vocal?
A second or third vocal line sung at the same time as the lead, usually a third or a sixth above or below it. Veena is an AI DAW with a personal music producer built in. Record your own voice on a track, then ask CoProducer for chords, or layer your own takes in the multitrack timeline.
How do I write harmony for a melody?
Pick the key, then choose chords that contain the melody's strong notes. If the melody lands on E, a C major or A minor chord supports it. In Veena, hum or import your melody and ask CoProducer for chords underneath: it reads the notes you actually placed and writes a progression that fits them.
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