J3PO Teaches Reharmonization

This opening module lays out the philosophy and goals of the course. Along with some backstory, it also outlines the main concepts and practical exercises you’ll explore throughout the course.

We begin with the basics: how to reimagine chords using simple, functional substitutions like relative minors and other diatonic substituions. You’ll see how small changes can create fresh harmonic colors while staying connected to the music’s original structure.

This chapter focuses on the power of the bass note to reshape harmony. By changing only the root motion—while leaving the upper structure intact—you can discover entirely new harmonic directions and textures. It can also dictate harmonic changes without affecting the melody note.

Here we explore borrowing chords from parallel modes to add emotional nuance and color. You’ll learn how modal mixture expands your palette without breaking the underlying key center, and how it’s used by artists from classical composers to modern jazz players.

This creative exercise challenges you to reharmonize a melody while keeping one note constant. It’s a powerful way to explore voice-leading, harmonic variety, and tension–release relationships in a controlled and musical way. This exercise provides the fundamentals for J3PO’s concept of reharmonization, so mastering this one is essential!

Contrary motion between the bass and upper voices can instantly add sophistication to your progressions. In this module, we’ll look at how to craft harmonizations with lines that move in opposite directions for a more interesting, dynamic harmonic feel.

This chapter dives into the subtle art of inner-voice movement—those small shifts inside a chord that create depth and motion. You’ll learn how to think orchestrally at the keyboard, letting your harmony “breathe” between melody and bass, and let the alto and tenor voices shine.

We take an exercise to explore how moving chord shapes or voicings in parallel can create lush, modern textures often heard in contemporary jazz and R&B. If you can harmonize a melody with one interesting voicing using parallel motion, you may be surprised by how cool the results sound. It’s also great for providing a “lift” in your chord progressions if you’ve been using a lot of traditional sounding harmonic maneuvers.

Before heading into more advanced examples, this chapter reconnects you with the classic arranging tools—pedal points, diminished passing chords, rhythmic hits, and more. You’ll see how these simple concepts can add texture and interest to your reharm arrangements.

Here we apply everything learned so far by reharmonizing a classic, simple tune—Twinkle Twinkle Little Star—in three levels: simple, intermediate, and advanced. This exercise highlights how even the most familiar melodies can be transformed through creative harmonic thinking.

In this section, we take a well-known traditional tune and rebuild it harmonically from the ground up. The goal is to balance sophistication with taste, showing how to inject your personal sound into classic material.

This module brings reharmonization into the present day. We explore how to reinterpret a modern pop song through a modern jazz/gospel lens—rethinking harmony, texture, and groove to create something fresh, soulful, and unique.

The course wraps up with reflections on using reharmonization musically and tastefully. The emphasis is on developing your own voice through harmony.