Relating melody to harmony

I have not talked about the relationship between the melody and the harmony before.  I will admit that the clip below is a bit dense, but it will give you some things to think about.

Here is a summary of what I am demonstrating in the video.  If you have control over what the melody is, try to choose a melody that stays away from the primary chord tones (1, 3, and 5) of the chords you are using.

For example, if you are playing a C7 chord, try using melody notes besides C, E, and G.  On a dominant chord, Db, D, D#, F#, Ab, and A will all work.

If you can’t see the video below, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Pe84XfaNQ