Reharmonising - how I do it.

Every reharmonisation I undertake begins at a piano with a piece of paper and a pen.  I write out the original sequence, play the melody along with it, then sit with my iPad (which has all of the rules on it) and work through the piece using a process of trial and error.  I try to create several versions of each verse/chorus so that 

1) The utility and diversity of the ruleset can be shown off and 

2) To make it so that each verse and chorus isn't simply the same as the previous one.  This allows more fluid movement in the piece.  

Often once I've written a handful of versions (3-4 verses, which can take any time up to four hours) I record them at home.  When recording, I usually keep the simpler, more "vanilla" reharmonisations at the start, and put the more complex and dissonant ones later on in order to build harmonic tension.  As the harmony moves, it feels like the piece is moving too.

In the coming weeks I will be posting up photos of these initial worksheets as evidence.  I'll followup by posting a brief sound recording of each one, showing how each one sounds as opposed to what it looks like.

J