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.
