Iron Maiden Type Harmonization - Help!

[Eddie Von Stef]

Hello,

I've been trying to do harmonizing lines a la Iron Maiden. You know what I'm talking about, the twin guitar melodies that they do in Aces High, and pretty much every other song. I can't seem to get it though. I thought you were suposed to figure out the third of every note you want to harmonize.

So if I want to get the harmony of a C#, I would figure out the major scale in C# (C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#, C, C#), and then take the 3rd, (in this case, F) and that would be that. In other words, if I wanted to get the Iron Maiden kind of harmony, and started off with C# then the coresponding harmony line would start off with F. But it sounds less like Maiden and more like ass.

Can someone help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? Cause it's driving me crazy! Thanks!

[baileyk85]

I'm sure you're already on the right track. Just take the third and that's that.

Look at this example from Phantom Of The Opera. This is the first two lines of the main guitar harmony. It's simple but very rockin'.

Guitar 1
E|------------------------------------------7---
B|-------------------8-----8-7-8--8-7-8-7-8---8~
G|--9-7-9--9-7-9-7-9---9~--g-f-g--g-f-g-f-g-b-g-
D|--e-d-e--e-d-e-d-e-g-e-----#------#---#-------
A|----------------------------------------------
E|----------------------------------------------

Guitar 2
E|-----------------------------------------------------------10--
B|---------------------------12-----12-10-12--12-10-12-10-12----12~
G|--12-11-12--12-11-12-11-12----12~-b--a--b---b--a--b--a--b--d--b
D|--g--f#-g---g--f#-g--f#-g--b--g--------------------------------
A|---------------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, it's taken the third. However the trick is that guitar two plays the line in bar 1 which guitar 2 plays in bar two note wise. I just realise the bars aren't there but I'm sure you know the song and know the tune.

It should sound pretty awesome.[/code]

[JESTER700]

Not to be obvious, but...

You're using major and minor 3rds as appropriate for the key, right? You wouldn't have a harmony line that was all just major 3rds, for instance.

[Eddie Von Stef]

Can you elaborate on what you are talking about Jester? How do I figure out exactly what key I'm in? I know what you mean by 3rd's. I guess I was just taking the major 3rd of every note, which come to think of, makes no sense at all. How would I figure out what key I'm in, and then how would I figure out what scale I need in order to harmonize the line?

[JESTER700]

Originally Posted by Eddie Von Stef

Can you elaborate on what you are talking about Jester? How do I figure out exactly what key I'm in? I know what you mean by 3rd's. I guess I was just taking the major 3rd of every note, which come to think of, makes no sense at all. How would I figure out what key I'm in, and then how would I figure out what scale I need in order to harmonize the line?

For review...
In the key of C major, some chords will be major and some will be minor. If I use the convention of m for minor and nothing for major, you have:
C Dm Em F G Am Bdim (the B is a diminished chord, with a flatted 5th as well as a minor 3rd). Some more can be found at
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~d...hords/keys.htm

OK. So as long as you're staying within the key, whenever you play an E, you'd harmonize with a G (minor 3rd), not a G# (major 3rd).

How to tell what key you're in? Well, most metal tunes are pretty simple chordally (distortion makes 13th chords sound crappy ;-) So figure out the chord that's played at the end of phrases - where does it "come to rest". That's probably the key. Then you can figure out from there whether it's major or minor based on what other chords are there. Much metal is minor. You see Am-G-F or Em-D-C all over the place. Or go look for the tab on the internet.

Note: this doesn't count for weirdos like Vai, Satch, most progressive metal, or any player who also plays jazz. They will mess you up, so stick to the "basic" bands for now. and start reading as much as you can on music theory. It'll help a lot once you understand more.

[Eddie Von Stef]

Thanks a lot Jester! That link you provided me with helped out a lot. Sorry it takes me so long to reply, I keep going in and out of town so I usually need a couple of days to post. Thanks again.