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Say we take a country song in key of c major and one of the changes is C maj to F maj, is it ok then to play say a D note on the downbeat where the harmony is an Fmaj chord in the song, or is it generally thought of as sounding better to have notes like D or G just as passing notes on the upbeat?


Yes, but always use your ears! If you limit yourself to only playing chordal notes on strong beats, you won't go wrong. Context is everything - it depends on where you want to take the melody line. For example, you might want a bit of dissonance, so go to the D, and then step down to the C.

Dissonance isn't a bad thing. Keep in mind that windchimes are tuned to pentatonic scales, and after a while, they get boring. A melodic line isn't just about playing safe, chordal notes. It's also about having direction and shape to the melody.

But in general, constructing the strong beats from chordal - especially guide tones (3 and 7) - will give you solid results.

D. Tuna wrote "If it sounds good it is good.", which is really the only rule of music.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?