There is so much that can be done with reharmonisation...

...It's slightly intimidating.  BY looking at pages like THIS on the Berklee website (a place I've found myself visiting frequently since beginning my project) with it's detailed analysis of why certain chords were reharmonised has me scratching my head.

This page talks of "constant structure", specifically, reharmonising in such a way that a steady stream of minor chords replace the existing chord sequence.  It's an interesting topic, and one that I'd recommend having a read of.  

While this isn't strictly related to smooth jazz, it's a part of my ongoing study into reharmonisation techniques as a whole - as I've put in my dissertation, I'm studying general reharmonisation techniques and am simply applying the harmony lessons I'm gaining from studying smooth jazz tunes and artist to what I learn.  It seems to be working.  One thing on this page that sticks out is this:

"Sometimes the chords that you choose to reharmonize will not work with the melody. In such situations, you can either adjust the melody slightly to fit the new chord or use the new progression for the solo sections only."

When I'm creating reharmonisations just now I'm simply singing the melody as I create the chords.  It's leading me to believe that I'm subconsciously changing the melody as I sing it to fit my new chords, as when it comes to placing the bare melody down on the piano over my new chord sequence, I'm finding a lot of dissonance.  Do I change the melody then?  Or do I find another chord?

It's also made me think: Am I taking into account the fact that the new chord changes may be used to solo over? If so, it certainly gives me more freedom, but will be more difficult to show.  The purpose I have for this project just now is to create a ruleset that works with the melody.  Not because I want it to work with the melody, but because the project will be easier to showcase if I reharmonize chords over melodies that people know.  If I showcase the reharmonised chords over a solo, the song could be anything.  It won't show the effectiveness of my ruleset.

I've a lot to think about, and a lot to do.  I'm enjoying it though, and am certainly learning more than I thought I would.  At least I've stopped listening to jingle bells...