A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of performing a show in NYC with the amazing vocalist Jackie Evancho. Among the new songs we added to our setlist was the timeless Disney classic, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” It’s a beautiful song with a lovely melody, and I loved creating a piano arrangement for it. I thought I’d share with you how I approached harmonizing it for our performance. Here’s a brief overview of the process I used, broken down into three simple steps:
Step 1: play the melody with basic chords and voicings
The first step in harmonizing any melody is to start by playing the melody with simple, basic chord voicings on the piano. Below is the opening melody of “When You Wish Upon a Star” using standard chords, keeping the voicings straightforward and clear:
Step 2: add in embedded diminished chords
To add some harmonic interest, I introduced embedded diminished chords. This technique involves harmonizing non-chord tones with a diminished chord while keeping the bass note the same. Although this creates dissonance between the bass and the harmony, it resolves beautifully on the next melodic note when you return to the original chord. This step adds a layer of complexity and richness to the arrangement.
Step 3: add melodic movement by using inner voices
The final step is to enhance the harmonic texture by incorporating melodic movement through inner voices. This means adding subtle, secondary melodies within the chord voicings that move independently of the main melody. These inner voices can create a sense of movement and progression, making the harmonization more dynamic and interesting.
Conclusion and video
Just using these three simple steps will help you transform a simple melody into a rich and complex sounding piano arrangement. Whether you’re performing for an audience or just exploring new techniques at the piano, I hope you found these tips helpful. Let me know what you think of them in the comments below!
If you haven’t yet, make sure to download my free Reharmonization Quick Guide for the 5 essential steps to reharmonize any song.
Below is the video of the three steps:
6 Responses
Hello Master, I would like to know how to orchest this melody for wind band. Thank you!
Hi Santiago! You could partly use this same method, except you have to convert the piano chords to individual voices of each instrument. What is the instrumentation exactly?
Beautiful!
Thanks, Susan!
Excelente querido Jorn, me ha servido muchísimo…. Un millón de gracias te envío por este valiosímo aporte…
Thanks for your kind words, Orlando! Glad you found it helpful.