Harmony can be such a beautiful thing when its done right. But as a singer, how do you create such tight harmony?
Its important as a vocalist to know how to sing harmony. There may be a time when you’re asked to sing background parts for a soloist, or even to join a choir or group or something, but to do so, you must first learn how to sing harmony. Harmony is defined as “the sounding of two or more musical notes at the same time in a way that is pleasant or desired”. (dictionary.com)
When learning harmony, always first listen for the melody, then go back and sing a 3rd above it. I like to call this the “melody above the melody.” How do you know what a 3rd is? For this i would recommend using a piano. On your piano, play the note “C”. “C” is 1. Now count up the white keys to 3. The note you land on is “E”. Now play the two notes together… it should create harmony that’s pleasant to the ear. In order to find your harmony part, try humming a 3rd above the melody straight through. If you are singing a chord using Solfege, the tenor note would be “Do”, the alto note “Mi”, and the soprano note “So”. Together, you get pleasant harmony.
Another thing to listen to is the instrumental chords that are being played. The harmony you sing should fit within the chord being played. This takes time and much practice, but the benefits are tremendous. You can earn respect as a vocalist, sharpen your ear, and you gain a lot of confidence when you know what you’re doing. Try singing along to either a ballad or a hymn. Start by singing along in a higher pitch, but make it sound pleasant to the ear. You may make mistakes trying this, but with much practice, it will get easier.
Thanks for reading!
