harmonies

[paresh]

Anyone have any gd tips for creative harmonizing? I listen to my songs & usually wind up doing parallel 3rds. Any groups you like that do nice & unusual harmonies? I seem to remember liking Seals & Crofts & CSNY but haven't listened to them in a long time. Thanks

[Garry Sharp]

CSNY were the masters, of course. Don't forget the Beatles The BeeGees are really worth listening to - particularly effective because they were family, their voices shared so much.

Arpeggiating chords on the piano is your friend when trying to dream up harmonies. Moving in the opposite direction from the melody (say, going 5th, 3rd, passing the tonic and then going a 4th below the notes of a rising melody, or vice versa) rarely -well, never - works on its own but will throw up some interesting ideas. Another approach is to sing to the chords of the song and not the melody - almost like using the backing voice as a pad, another instrument. Also you can play around with using that backing voice as a rhythm thing, singing a pedal note, that's quite fun.

We are lucky in having a dedicated BV singer (she has no interest in lead vocals) who takes the song away and works out her own stuff - really good input.

[scrubs]

I'll second Mr. Sharp's recommendation of writing harmonies at the piano. That's pretty much what I always do. In fact, I keep a condenser mic wired up at my piano so I can record the harmonies as soon as I figure them out.

I am not the expert on how to write harmonies, but I generally try to come up with 1 or 2 parts that are higher in pitch than the lead, and 1 or 2 lower (depending on how dense I want the harmonies). Rather than writing specific harmonies (based on intervals), I generally think of it as writing counter-point melodies (i.e.-come up with a different melody in the same key that doesn't clash with the lead).

Don't limit yourself to basic intervals or just notes in the chord you are singing over. Rather, explore the entire key. You may find that the minor 7th really has a cool sound, for example.

[paresh]

Gd tips, guys - thanks. I forgot to mention that when i sing a parallel line (same words at the same time) there is variation in the exact articulation/rhythm that shows up in consonants. It's not that bad but I find it distracting & I'd like it to be tighter. Do others encounter this? Any ways to improve? Since this is popular & jazz music, there is more leeway in phrasing than in classical but slight variations become magnified when lines are doubled. Thanks!

[Garry Sharp]

Harmony singers don't usually sing the harder consonants for just that reason. If you want to - it's just practice to get it tight

[chrisvin]

TC Helicon has a product called VoiceLive that you may find useful. You can watch/hear a demo of it being used by a guy on acoustic guitar at their website:

VoiceLive Demo Link

After watching that demo, I've put it on my list of things to find on Ebay when the price is right!

If electronic asistance is not your bag.....practice is your friend!!!