Harmony Pro’s Locked Note control can force a selected pitch into the top voice while the engine searches for supporting chords. That constraint turns Harmony Pro’s locked-melody workflow into a practical way to test harmonizations without rewriting the tune. It does not identify one correct chord, because a single pitch can belong to several convincing harmonies.
Control-clicking a note is the documented gesture for forcing that melody pitch into the highest voice. The surrounding progression still matters, since Harmony Pro analyzes musical context rather than treating every note as an isolated request.
This exposes the central limitation of any find-chords-for-a-melody feature, because pitch membership proves that a chord can contain the note, not that it fits the phrase. Harmony Pro’s context engine supplies alternatives, but your ear still decides whether the result continues, delays, or redirects the progression.
The interface exposes relation choices labeled Soft and Strict, plus placement choices labeled Free, Present, Top, and Bass. Since the interface displays no weighting formula for those modes, treat them as audition controls whose results must survive comparison inside the full passage.
Begin with the chords that already establish the musical setting, then lock the target melody note where the harmony genuinely needs to change. Compare candidates without moving the tune, and listen to the bass as carefully as the top line. A chord that preserves the melody but creates an unwanted bass leap has solved only half the job.
Harmonic rhythm helps separate structural melody notes from decoration. A longer or accented pitch often deserves closer harmonic attention, while a quick step between two stable notes may work over the existing chord. The distinction depends on the phrase, meter, and surrounding motion rather than duration alone.
Suppose a melody moves C, D, E over a sustained C major harmony. The D is not part of the C major triad, but it can function naturally as a passing tone between two chord tones. Locking D and demanding a new harmony may produce a technically compatible chord while weakening the simple line that made the passage work.
Locked Note makes compliance easy to mistake for quality because the engine can honor the selected top pitch without knowing which moment you intended as structural. Lock strong arrival notes first, then leave brief connecting notes unlocked until the underlying harmonic rhythm feels settled.
The fixed melody note already gives one voice a clear instruction. You still need to manage the inner notes and bass, and chord inversions can reduce their travel without changing chord identity. Harmony Pro’s voicing choices let the same suggested chord behave as a compact continuation or a dramatic register change.
With E held on top, C major can move to A minor while retaining both E and C as common tones. G can rise one step to A as the harmony changes, producing a compact connection even though the bass may move from C to A. Another voicing of the same two chords could scatter those notes across registers and sound needlessly detached.
Melody notes can also act as deliberate dissonances. A suspension has force because the held pitch temporarily conflicts with the new harmony before resolving by step. If you force that pitch to become a chord member immediately, you may erase the tension the melody was designed to create.
Listen to at least one chord before and after each candidate instead of judging it alone. Keep the melody fixed, then compare bass contour, common tones, and the smallest available inner-voice moves. A chord that sounds impressive in isolation may expose a clumsy jump as soon as the progression resumes.
Control-clicking a note is the documented gesture for forcing that melody pitch into the highest voice. The surrounding progression still matters, since Harmony Pro analyzes musical context rather than treating every note as an isolated request.
A locked note narrows the search without choosing the chord
In C major, E can be the root of E minor, the third of C major, the fifth of A minor, or the major seventh of F major seven. Every option contains the requested pitch, yet each creates a different bass note, degree of stability, and direction for the next chord.This exposes the central limitation of any find-chords-for-a-melody feature, because pitch membership proves that a chord can contain the note, not that it fits the phrase. Harmony Pro’s context engine supplies alternatives, but your ear still decides whether the result continues, delays, or redirects the progression.
The interface exposes relation choices labeled Soft and Strict, plus placement choices labeled Free, Present, Top, and Bass. Since the interface displays no weighting formula for those modes, treat them as audition controls whose results must survive comparison inside the full passage.
Begin with the chords that already establish the musical setting, then lock the target melody note where the harmony genuinely needs to change. Compare candidates without moving the tune, and listen to the bass as carefully as the top line. A chord that preserves the melody but creates an unwanted bass leap has solved only half the job.
Harmonic rhythm decides which notes deserve a chord
A melody note need not belong to the sounding chord at every instant, since passing tones, neighbor tones, and suspensions gain character from how they enter and leave. Forcing a fresh chord beneath each of them can flatten that motion into a nervous sequence of unnecessary changes.Harmonic rhythm helps separate structural melody notes from decoration. A longer or accented pitch often deserves closer harmonic attention, while a quick step between two stable notes may work over the existing chord. The distinction depends on the phrase, meter, and surrounding motion rather than duration alone.
Suppose a melody moves C, D, E over a sustained C major harmony. The D is not part of the C major triad, but it can function naturally as a passing tone between two chord tones. Locking D and demanding a new harmony may produce a technically compatible chord while weakening the simple line that made the passage work.
Locked Note makes compliance easy to mistake for quality because the engine can honor the selected top pitch without knowing which moment you intended as structural. Lock strong arrival notes first, then leave brief connecting notes unlocked until the underlying harmonic rhythm feels settled.
Voice leading turns compatibility into a playable result
After choosing a harmonic function, inspect how every voice reaches it. Established voice-leading practice favors keeping shared notes in the same part and moving the remaining voices by small steps where possible. That smooth common-tone movement between chords often matters more than selecting the most colorful candidate.The fixed melody note already gives one voice a clear instruction. You still need to manage the inner notes and bass, and chord inversions can reduce their travel without changing chord identity. Harmony Pro’s voicing choices let the same suggested chord behave as a compact continuation or a dramatic register change.
With E held on top, C major can move to A minor while retaining both E and C as common tones. G can rise one step to A as the harmony changes, producing a compact connection even though the bass may move from C to A. Another voicing of the same two chords could scatter those notes across registers and sound needlessly detached.
Melody notes can also act as deliberate dissonances. A suspension has force because the held pitch temporarily conflicts with the new harmony before resolving by step. If you force that pitch to become a chord member immediately, you may erase the tension the melody was designed to create.
Listen to at least one chord before and after each candidate instead of judging it alone. Keep the melody fixed, then compare bass contour, common tones, and the smallest available inner-voice moves. A chord that sounds impressive in isolation may expose a clumsy jump as soon as the progression resumes.
