Bassline and chord, stupid question

[UserSigon]

So let's say I have a nice melody in C major
The bassline under it is:
C - C - C - C -- F - F - G - G -- C - C - C - C -- D - D - B - B

Now, if I would make some basic chords based on my bassline, it all sounds good until the last part of course, where the vii is involved (B, D and F).

So, how do I make a good sounding chord under the last part of my melody? Should I use the V chord instead of vii? Or do you know some cool trick (like raising a note or two to make it sound good but still "not out of scale")? Replacing vii with V sounds good but I was wondering if there's any other solution

Sorry for the retarded question but it's bugging me for a lot of time

[UserSigon]

At 5/17/15 02:13 PM, Keitomine wrote: You use your ears, and pick what sounds good to you.

That's what I already did, in fact Im asking if you guys know about some harmonic/theoric tricks

[Step]

Try to get out of the mentality of what sounds "good" and what sounds "bad". It makes sense to put a V chord at the end over there since then you're creating an imperfect cadence, but maybe you'll want another chord. The iii chord also has a B in it, or maybe you can try the tonic chord there to form a major 7th chord. As Keitomine said, go with what sounds good to you with your melody. There are countless possibilities and no golden rule of which chords are "good" and which are "bad".

[frootza]

It can be interesting to omit the "diminished" feel of the seventh chord. Sometimes it is just "too much".

To create the illusion of leading back to the tonic (C), you could try including only the B/D, and get rid of the F.

It's almost going to sound like you are playing the G Major, but if the bass is strong, you will still be able to hear the "seven" of your progression without the dissonance of the diminished chord.

[sleepFacingWest]

Does the progression just repeat, or does it go somewhere else after the B? I echo the sentiment that a V chord (G-B-D) would make the most sense given the context (you've set up a classic ii-V-I), but I don't want to box you in. Sometimes setting up and then eliding expectations is super effective. Other times, sticking with the classics is the most elegant solution and anything else sounds forced. If it's on a strong beat, the likelihood is that the bass note will either be the root or the 3rd of the harmony, but there are tons of reasons why that isn't always the case.

[midimachine]

At 5/17/15 01:30 PM, UserSigon wrote: So let's say I have a nice melody in C major
The bassline under it is:
C - C - C - C -- F - F - G - G -- C - C - C - C -- D - D - B - B

Now, if I would make some basic chords based on my bassline, it all sounds good until the last part of course, where the vii is involved (B, D and F).

protip: the bass note doesn't need to be the tonic of the chord surrounding it. welcome to the wonderful world of inversions!

[RubberBandMethod]

At 5/17/15 01:30 PM, UserSigon wrote: So let's say I have a nice melody in C major
The bassline under it is:
C - C - C - C -- F - F - G - G -- C - C - C - C -- D - D - B - B

Now, if I would make some basic chords based on my bassline, it all sounds good until the last part of course, where the vii is involved (B, D and F).

So, how do I make a good sounding chord under the last part of my melody? Should I use the V chord instead of vii? Or do you know some cool trick (like raising a note or two to make it sound good but still "not out of scale")? Replacing vii with V sounds good but I was wondering if there's any other solution

Sorry for the retarded question but it's bugging me for a lot of time

Does it sound "bad" or does it simply sound "diminished", the way a viio chord should sound? The viio chord is typically used to create tension which is resolved by the leading tone motion. In short, viio isn't really supposed to sound "good", it's supposed to be a little tense. It is often used as a substitute for the dominant V7, but the V7 is a bit "tamer" because it is built on a Major chord. The viio and viio7, however, are fully diminished chords without any Major qualities.

[PomicStone]

A typical series of chard that fit well in the last part of your bass line (alternatively to II - V => I) is to use the secundary dominant, in this case of the V grade. So the progression would be V of V (D-F#-A-C) on the D bass, and V7 (G-B-D-F) on the B.
Be sure to use the 7th in the chords, otherwise the voicing wouldn't sound effective.