Harmony for Dummies, Please

Wally Giffin · From: Tacoma, Wa USA

I am really going to show my ignorance, and after being a steel picker for many, many years, this is really embarrassing to have to even ask, but I'll just let it hang out there for anyone to yell at, but this is the place to do it. Please be gentle.
I have never been a singer and just recently decided to try my luck at it. Not so good as yet, but like everything else I do, I wish to get it correct the first time.
I have always thought that harmony (And I am talking strictly about straight , simple singing or picking for that matter) meant if the melody note was on the one of the key, then the 2nd part was on the third of the key and the 3rd part was on the 5th of the key.
IE: Key of C Melody note is C-----2nd part is E or the third of the key-----and the 3rd part is G or the fifth of the key.
If the 3rd cannot be achieved above the melody, singing, then you go down below the C to get it.
However a fellow musician said to me the other day that the 2nd part harmony was the 5th of the key (i.e.: G) and the third part harmony was in between those two by being the E note, or the third of the key. Which one of these is correct? Please don’t tell me that they are both correct or at least if they are tell me why.
So in other words----if you are in the key of C and the only note we are considering in the melody is C, in order for me to do what they consider to be normal two part harmony, do I sing an E or a G???????
I’m sure that many of you guys can straighten me out. And please do not use sharps and flats. Let’s just start with the key of C for now.
I need to get this straight once and for all in just one key ( C would be great ) and then I will be OK. Forget about inversions for now. I just need the straight skinny for a beginning and then we can go on to bigger and better things.
I play this stuff all the time, and know that I play mucho amounts of inversions, etc, but need to understand what I am doing for sure as far as singing is concerned , and also whether to tell this guy he is wet behind the ears or not.
I realize that some harmonies are different than others, but for right now I am just talking about straight harmony----period.
I would like to also find out what the Luvin Brother's harmony was. I understand that it was quite different compared to others. But How?????
I really hope that this leads to a great discussion. I promise I will put all you teach me to good use and feel that there are many others that would like to know these things as well.
Wally

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Wally,
Harmony is two musical notes played or sung together. PERIOD. The arranger, music director, producer, or someone in the band who is responsible for how things sound has to decide which notes. It can be a planned, written arrangement or a 'head' or 'on the spot' arrangement. There are no right and wrong notes to harmonize with another. Any may be appropriate under the right circumstances.

You are correct that most harmony in country music is geared toward a major or minor chord. If you're planning two note harmony, you have several choices:
- will the melody note be above or below the harmony?
- should the interval be a third or a fifth or something else?

A lot of 'mountain harmony' is in fifths. Often, three-part harmony is 1-3-5 (melody on the bottom), but you could have the melody in the middle, with a harmony note above and one below the melody. You mentioned the Louvin Bros harmony -- I remember some of the tunes but don't specifically remember how they voiced their harmony. However, what is distinctive about different groups is that they might hear harmonies in a certain, identifiable way. The Beatles would often use harmonies that were not typical -- sometimes one voice would stay on the same note while the other voice stated the melody ('Please Please Me' comes to mind). The Everly Brothers and various Bluegrass bands provide some further examples.

The fact is that you must train your ear to identify harmony patterns by listening carefully to those you want to imitate -- much like you study your favorite steel players. It's exactly the same. Lloyd Green is great at varying the harmonies. Listen to how the notes blend and what the chord sounds like -- then study HOW that sound was made.

There are libraries full of books on harmony, but the most important consideration is whether what you play or sing sounds like you want it to. There's no right and wrong -- there's only what sounds best to you.

That's the way I see it.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Larry is absolutely correct. But the short answer is you'll probably like the 3rd better than the open fifth. But try them both and see which one is the one you're looking for.

Ricky Davis · From: Bertram, Texas USA

If you are singing or playing a C note; then the next correct harmony would be the 3rd tone above (E note); or the 5th tone below(G note); for what you are asking. When stacking harmonies around a singers note; it is common to ask for the 3rd above or 5th above(not the second part or third part)that's where it is confussing folks. Your fellow musician has gotten confused. When your discussing 2 part or 3 part harmony; then you are discussing which parts...and then the parts should be which "tones" ie: 3rd; 5th; flat7; 5th below....and so on.
Hope that makes some more since...and I believe you are correct in what you were originally saying what you thought it was pal.
Ricky

Tony Orth · From: Evansville, Indiana, USA

Wally,

I'm the harmonizer in my band. We have three singers and I'm usually the one to figure out the harmony parts. I love singing harmony as it is creative expression, and you can change the feel of the song and melody with the note you sing.

You are looking for an easy way to understand a complex concept. But, you already understand Root, 3rd, 5th, etc., so that really helps.

Larry offered you some great information. Here's another way of saying it.
Larry, correct me if I've goofed anywhere.

In a medoldy line, some of the notes being sung by the lead singer are roots and many are not. They are a string of arpegios, (single notes of a chord, sung one at a time, in a certain order).
As a harmony singer, your job is to find another note that fits musically with the lead singer's note, and in the arpegio that the lead is singing.

In country music, that is many times the 3rd or 5th. But other chord tones are used as well. The Everly brothers, and other such duos, use 3rds and 5ths repeatedly through the song. These are pretty basic harmonies.

You asked, "in the Key of C, should I sing and E (3rd) or a G (5th)." The answer is, it depends on the voicing (or sound) your looking for, and where you're coming from, and where you're going to next.

Start working on this slowly. What I do, sometimes when I find it difficult to find the right harmony note, is to play the chord on your guitar or keyboard at the point where you need a harmony note.
Let's say it's a C major chord. Notes of the C major chord are C, E, and G. If the lead, or melody, is singing an E, for example, I would choose and E or G, and see which sounds best in the flow of things.

Follow the melody line along, doing this note by note. When you're chosing your harmony note keep in mind what your last note was and where you might be going. You have to consider each note in context with the melody and where it is going. Otherwise, you can kind of paint yourself into a corner.

Sometimes you'll sing the harmony note two or three notes in a row to fit the melody.
You don't always have to be moving.

If you can play guitar, or another instrument, you can easily figure out harmony notes by playing two note lead lines and figuring out which notes are the melody and which are the harmonized notes.

End of lesson one. Go play!!!!

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

To further clarify the answer to your particular question,if you were going to add a single vocal harmony part to the lead vocal on a typical country song it would be a third 99% of the time and this would be called two part harmony - therefore it would follow that you were singing the "second" part.If someone else chimed in with another part,it would be the fifth 99% of the time and would then be three part harmony(1-3-5).
What confuses some people might be that the second part is a third and the third part is a fifth.Also a third may be sung below the root as is often the case when a male is harmonizing to a female vocalist.
The fun thing about singing just two part is that you are not constrained as much to a straight third like you would be if there was three part going on - you are free to slip in suspensions(fourths)and leading tones(sevenths)and other stuff without worrying about clashing with the third vocalist. -MJ-

Tony Orth · From: Evansville, Indiana, USA

Found a typo in my message.

If the key is C Major and the lead is singing an E, I would pick a "C" or a G.

Sorry about that!

Wally Giffin · From: Tacoma, Wa USA

Thanks everyone!
It's nice to know that I was correct.
Now I will take these answers from all of you and straighten out my lead picker. Then I will also start paying attention to not only my new found career of singing, but to what I have been doing all these years as far as my steel picking is concerned.
Thanks bunches,
Wally

Frank · Posted 14 Nov 2001 12:19 pm

Well,I might as well get my feet wet too,
I can understand the 2 part and the 3 part,but what about 4 part harmony..?

Take for example the "Statlers or the Oaks"
what type harmony do the sing...?
Thanks, Frank

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

I would say the 4th part is usually the 6th, 7th or 9th, any of which may be altered (e.g., b7, b9). (Of course, if the chord is just a pure major or minor triad, the fourth singer wouldn't just stop singing, so they'd usually double up on the 1, 3 or 5 (sometimes in a different octave). Also, in most 4 part harmony the 7th's resolve downward into the next chord, while the 3rd's resolve upward into the new chord. For instance, if you go from C7 to F, the Bb (b7) of the C7 often comes down a 1/2 step to an A, which is the 3rd of the F major chord. Similarly the E of the C7 chord, often resolves up a 1/2 step to F, which is the root of the F chord. This "voice-leading" makes for nice, smooth moves between chords.

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www.jimcohen.com

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

I think in your example of the Statlers and the Oakridge Boys, the fourth part is the bass part which closely follows the bass guitar line, a lot of roots and 5th's.

Frank · Posted 15 Nov 2001 12:05 am

Thanks a lot guys for the explanation on 4 part harmony, think I`ll stick to picken.

Jason Stillwell · From: Caddo, OK, USA

Alright, now that we're harmony singers, class, your assignment is to write out each of the vocal harmony parts to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys.

I sat down and wrote out a load of Beach Boys harmony parts once upon a time. It's so fun to figure out what complex stuff is happening with each vocal in those songs, songs such as "Sail On, Sailor," that have chords (minor 9ths) with five different notes being sung BESIDES the lead vocal.

John Kavanagh · From: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.

Here's a good dummies trick that usually works: play the chord that goes with the (first) melody note on your guitar. Find the melody note in that chord. Then find ANOTHER note in that chord, that's comfortable for you to sing, and sing that. Then, as the melody note moves around, try and follow it as closely as you can with a note that sounds good. Make tapes and practise in the car, real loud. It feels good.

I've found that for me, for singing vocal harmonies by ear, it doesn't help as much as you'd think to know the name and theory of what the harmony note "should" be. It helps some, but that time spent in the car helps more.

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