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Glite Dictionary
to reharmonize

to reharmonize

8.8
To give a tune new chords so it sounds different
  • verb
  • /ˌriːˈhɑːrmənaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : reharmonizar
  • In class, we learned how to reharmonize existing chord progressions to make them more engaging.

Examples

  • OK, now we're going to talk about how jazz players reharmonize Blues here.

  • The composer decided to reharmonize the melody to give it a fresh sound for the new album.

  • Yeah, we don't take a song and and not, you know, think about how to reharmonize and restructure it and and present it in a different way.

  • Maybe revoicing, reharmonizing, or maybe the rhythms sound kind of old data to me, so I'll change them.

  • Jazz musicians often reharmonize popular tunes to create unique interpretations.

How Different

rewrite
  • Specialized
3 7.2
to recompose
1 6.0
to reharmonize
  • Specialized
8.8
to rework
30 4.0
to modify
268 3.2
to adjust
317 2.7
tweak
28 3.9

Surface Forms

reharmonize infinitive
reharmonized past
reharmonized past participle
reharmonizing present participle
reharmonizes third person singular

Morphology

reharmonize = harmonize (transparent) = re + harmon + ize

The meaning is directly recoverable as 'harmonize again or anew', which naturally yields the musical sense of giving a new harmony.

Etymology

Reharmonize is built from re- meaning 'again' and harmony meaning 'pleasant sound' or how notes 'fit together'. So to reharmonize a melody is to give it a new set of notes under the tune, making the same song sound fresh.