Byell Harmony - Introduction

Byell Harmony is a practice-oriented tool for learning, listening to and looking up chords,
scales and musical contexts. Questions such as the following, can be answered easily:

Which notes on the guitar belong to the G Minor Blues Scale?

Where can I find notes on the violin, which can accompany the D-minor?
Which notes change when I change from C major to G major?
What can I play on the guitar when certain notes are given?
What is the name of the chord when you have the notes E, G and C
What scale is obtained if you replace the minor third with the major third in harmonic
minor?
In the melody of a Song, you find e.g. the note A and D. To which chord might they
belong?
How does the fingering on the violin move between G dorian and G phrygian?
Which note on a cello corresponds to which note on a guitar?
What scale is obtained if you use only the black keys on the piano?
How do I find a B° chord on the guitar?
What note must be played on a Eb tuned instrument to get the note C?
and much more...

Also you can interact with MIDI

Notes played on a MIDI-Keyboard are shown on the display.

A connected footpedal (or a sequencer) can be used to change presets.
The current setting (root notes, scale, mode, marked notes) can be transferred via MIDI
to another device with Byell Harmony.
Marked notes can be played to a connected MIDI device.
A song or chord progression can be defined and sent to all devices with Byell Harmony.

On the following pages you find instructions for using Byell Harmony.

A. Garzotto, June 25, 2011, translated R.Byell, July 8, 2011, updated by A. Garzotto, January 21, 2012
What do all these symbols mean?
Selection Symbol Description

Simple display Only the note name is shown in a circle. Every note has its own
color. If you are only interested in the notes of a scale and not
their functions, this is a helpful presentation.

Simple display The notes that do not belong to the scale, are shown smaller.
all notes You see the selected scale and the rest.

Only scale notes The notes of the selected scale are displayed. In contrast to the
with function simple display, also the function of the tone (e.g. Fifth) is
shown. The colors and shapes correspond to the function (see
next table).

All notes with Not only the notes belonging to the scale are shown, but all
function notes. The notes not belonging to the scale, have no shape nor
color. This representation is particularly suited to see and
understand interrelationships.

Chord notes Displays all the notes, but only the basic chord notes (including
with function the seventh) are shown in color. So you can see which note
belongs to the chord.

Blues colors Similar to „All notes with function“, but uses a special color
scheme that is useful for pentatonics and blues. The tonic is
black and the diminished fifth (blue note) is displayed as a star.

Chord note black This representation corresponds to "all notes with function", but
the note that belong to the basic chord, are shown in black.
One can see immediately the non-chord notes of the Scale.

Tritone black This representation corresponds to "all notes with function", but
the notes that make up a tritone to each other (at fourth and
seventh in major) are shown in black. This display is particularly
suitable to explore harmony relationships.

Only circles Only the positions of the notes are presented, no function. The
basic note is circled in red.
The display of the notes and their function
The display of the interval notes with various colors and forms is at first a little confusing.
But you get used to it quickly and then you have a valuable tool available to
see at a glance which note has which name and function, even while you are playing.

Symbol Description

The root. This is written with 1, and is always shown in a light blue square.

The flatted second (flatted ninth) is always round and purple. Because it
corresponds to the minor ninth chords, it is not labeled with b2, but with b9.

The second (ninth) is always round and brown shown.Because it

corresponds to the ninth chords, it is not labeled with 2, but with 9.

The minor third (augmented ninth) is always shown as a green triangle.

The third is always shown as a brighter green triangle.

The forth is always shown as a violet circle.

The augmented fourth (also known as tritone) or diminished fifth is shown

as 4 and b5 and in an orange diamond. When „Blues colors“ are used,
this "blue note" is marked with:

The fifth is marked with a yellow diamond.

The augmented fifth or minor sixth is #5 and b6 (in a chord, as b13) is

shown in a bright orange ellipse.
 The sixth is (in a chord also as 13) shown in a grayish blue circle.

The minor seventh is shown as 7 in an orange hexagon.

The seventh is displayed as a 7 in an orange hexagon.

Which notes belong to which scale?

If you select “C“ inf the Key menu, and “Major“ in the Scale menu, and „Ⅰ“ in the
Mode menu with the instrument guitar selected, you see all the notes of the C-Major scale
spread out over the whole guitar neck. Most settings can be entered using the computer
keyboard. For example, pressing the key "d" changes the key to D.

Which notes belong to the basic 4 note chord?

If a scale is displayed and you choose the “basic chord notes with function“, the notes
belonging to the basic chord are shown in color. This representation is useful to find notes
suitable for accompaniment.

Which note has which function?

If you choose “only scale with function“ in the display menu, you see all the scale‘s notes
with letters for their names and numbers for their functions.
If you choose “all notes with function“, you see all the notes (also the notes
from the scale) with the function chromatically. That gives you the possibility to see which
note belongs to the scale and which not.
In the settings item “show intervals within symbols“ you can choose if you want to see the
2 as 9, 4 as 11 and the 6 as 13. If you keep in mind when you see 2, 4 and 6, it is also 9,
11 and 13 you have the whole picture. As default you will see 9, 4, and 6 because of the
ninth of a chord and 4 because you can think 11 but 4 needs lesser space to write and 6
because you can think 13 but 6 also needs lesser space to write.
But you can choose too show 2, 4, and 6 for scales, or 9, 11 and 13 for chords.

The benefit of all that is: you develop a feeling with all these forms, colors, names and
numbers so you can see and understand much faster what the theoretical content is
while you are playing.

Which chord is formed by three or more notes?

When you mark at least three notes by touching, clicking or playing on an attached MIDI
keyboard, the application displays to which chords those notes might belong.
Which note on the guitar corresponds to which note on the
cello?

When you mark notes and change the instrument, the notes remain marked and you can
see where they are on the new instrument. Note that depending on the new instrument, a
note might be too high or too low to be shown.

Which score note corresponds to which note on the guitar?

You can mark notes and change the instrument to "score", the notes remain marked and
you can see where they are on the score. Note that depending on the new instrument, a
note might be too high or too low to be shown.

How does a scale or chord sound?

If a MIDI device is connected and „Send MIDI“ is selected, the marked notes will be played
on the device. But also if no MIDI device is available, “Play Chord“ plays the notes at the
same time and “Play notes“ plays them in succession on the computer/iDevice.

How do I save a setting?

If „Save“ is pressed (on the iPhone, choose „Preset“ first), then 1 of 1000 storage positions
can be selected. The current setting (key, scale, mode, instrument, markings) are saved.
You should also enter a title in order to find the saved preset more easily. Some presets
are provided as examples. They can, of course, be overwritten.

How do I recall a preset?

A preset can be chosen with the arrows to the left or right. If the number of presets is
clicked or touched, a list with all presets appears, so you can select faster.

If a MIDI device is connected, it can switch the preset by sending a "program change" with
a number corresponding to the preset (this is only for presets 0 to 126). By sending a
"Program Change" with the number 127, the application switches to the next preset (like
pressing the right arrow) and the settings for the new preset will be sent to other MIDI
devices.

Which notes change from one scale to another or from one

chord to another?
When you save a setting as a preset n and another setting as a preset n+1 ( e.g. preset 1
and preset 2), then going to the first preset and selecting „Compare with the next entry“,
quickly switches back and forth between the two settings, until you press the „Stop“ button.
Thus, one can easily see what has changed between the settings. In “Settings“, the time
between changes can be adapted.

In the “View“ menu, there are more comparison options such as comparing 3 presets.

How do I find out what notes are played on a keyboard?

If a keyboard or other instrument is connected via MIDI and you play on it, the played
notes are marked in Byell Harmony. The application can show which function they have in
a given scale or chord.
if three or more notes are played simultaneously, the chords they might belong to, are also
shown.

How do I create my own scale?

In the Menu “Extras“ using “Create new Scale“ you can create your own scale by choosing
a predefined scale as starting point and adding or removing notes.
While doing that, Byell Harmony shows the names of most known scales if it can identify
them.

How do I find a B° chord on the guitar?

In the Menu “Extras“ using “Create new Chord“, you can create your own Chord. Choose a
chord as starting point and add or remove functions.
As soon as you press OK it will show up on the instrument and you can select another
key.

Where can I find the circle of fifths?

Under „Help“, „Circle of fifths“, there is not only one, but 12 circle of fifths, one for each
possible key. For the currently selected key, the circle of fifths is always visible (except on
the iPhone, where you can see the circle of fifths by double tapping). There is also an
„instrument“ named „Circle of Fifths“.

Where can I find a list of all chords?

Under „Help“, “Chord table“, there is an overview of all the chords in all Major keys. This
table helps as well to find out which chords can appear in which key, and on which degree.

Which chords go well with certain melody notes?

Many simple songs can be accompanied with the tonic, the subdominant, and the
dominant. If a major or minor key is selected and some notes, then Byell Harmony will
show whether the tonic, the subdominant or dominant chord can be used and what chord it
is. Of course, this does not always work, but often.

In addition to the chord of the tonic, the subdominant and the dominant, some more chords
are suggested in parentheses: the relative minor (one third lower) and the mediant (a third
higher). Sometimes they fit better.
What are the notes that form a tritone?
If a scale is displayed and “Display“, “Tritone in black“ is selected, the notes that form a
tritone intervall are shown in black. These notes are important for the harmonic
relationships.

My guitar is tuned differently. What to do?

Using “Extras“, “New instrument“, you can create an instrument with a different number of
strings or define a different tuning. This requires you to enter the MIDI codes of the notes.
They are found above the keys of the piano, or, for string instruments, on the far left of the
string. To define a ukulele, for example, you can set the current instrument as "guitar" and
then enter the new instrument notes "67 60 64 69". These are the MIDI notes started at
the bottom string. If you choose the instrument „Piano“, you can define a keyboard or an
organ with several manuals (one manual corresponds to a "string" with the lowest note).

Which sounds change as you move through the circle of

fifths?
If you enable under “Settings“, “show arrows indicating fifth/fourth movements“, Byell
Harmony indicates (in the example below for C-major), which notes are moving when
going through the circle of fifths.

If you go through the circle counterclockwise (e.g. changing from dominant to tonic) a red
arrow to the left is shown. The red arrow to the right plus the orange arrow indicate the
notes changing when going from the subdominant to the dominant.

Which note to play on an instrument tuned in Eb?

In “Settings“ a transposition can be defined, which is shown in the score. If you enter e.g.
"2", then this corresponds to a tuned instrument in Bb (2 semitones difference). If "-3" is
entered, it represents an instrument tuned in Eb (3 semitones difference). In the notation,
sharps and flats for the corresponding instrument are shown. Example: if you play the note
A that you see in the staff for an Eb instrument, you will hear the note C.

When showing the score, there is also a quick selection for the most common
transpositions.
How can I put together a song?
Different chords, markings etc.can be saved as presets. But how can this be played in a
certain sequence? In „Extras“, „Create song from presets“ (iOS: „Create Song“) you can
define a song as a series of presets, compiled by the numbers of the presets, separated
by a comma, typed or selected from the list of presets. For example, "17, 16, 18, 17," is a
series of presets which could be the cadence G major, C major, D major, G major.

The “preset display“ shows an "S", indicating that the application is in song mode.The
song will be automatically sent to all the other MIDI connected applications of Byell
harmony, so that you can play it together. Now if the arrows are pressed, you move
through the song. In this case, the position within the song is automatically synchronized
via MIDI. You can also step through the song using a MIDI pedal (Program Change 127).
When the end of the song is reached, or if „Stop“ is pressed, the song mode will stop.

Also, using „Extras“, „Create chord progression“ (iOS: „Create Song“), there is an
alternative way to create a song. By entering something like „Dm G7 Cj7“, a song is
created using the provided chords. The chords are interpreted using the currently selected
key, scale and instrument.

Which keyboard shortcut does what?

In the desktop version of the application, almost everything can be controlled using the
keyboard, which is often faster than using a mouse or trackpad. The following table lists
the keyboard shortcuts.

Key Function

C, D, E, F, G, A, B Sets the key to C, D, E, F, G, A or B.

⌥C, ⌥D, ⌥F, ⌥G, ⌥A Sets the key to C ,D ,F ,G or A .

↑ Chooses a key up one fifth (or decreased by a fourth).

↓ Chooses a key down a fifth (or increased by a fourth).

ctrl-J Selects the major scale

ctrl-M Selects the natural minor scale.
ctrl-H Selects the harmonic minor scale.
ctrl-E Selects the melodic minor scale.
ctrl-P Selects the major pentatonic scale.
ctrl-K Selects the minor pentatonic scale.
ctrl-G Selects the Whole Tone scale
ctrl-T Selects the Whole Tone/Half Tone scale
ctrl-O Selects the chromatic scale
1 Mode I
2 Mode II
3 Mode III
4 Mode IV
5 Mode V
6 Mode VI
7 Mode VII

⌘E Simple display (only scale notes)

⌘< Simple display but all notes

⌘F Only scale but with functions

⌘A All notes with function

⌘O Basic chord notes with function

⌘B Use blues color scheme

⌘G Basic chord notes in black

⌘U Tritone in black

⌘. Only circles

→ next preset

← previous preset

P Show a preset selection list.

⌘S Save current settings as preset.

ESC Stop song and stop preset comparison.

⌫ Delete all markings.

⌘D Play markings as chord

⌘T Play markings as as melody

⌘M sends markings to MIDI out

⌘P Compare current preset with next

⌘L Create a new scale

⌘I Create a new instrument/tuning

⌥⌘S Create a „Song“ from a selection of presets

⌥⌘C Create a „Song“ from from a chord progression

⌘N Show the current instrument in new window

⌘? Show help