Teaching Band Member Harmony Vocals

[bigdaddybass12]

Cant really teach it. (well, you can,,) but its Gotta be in them. My wife is a harmony singer, singing harmony since she was about 10!

 

[MonetBass]

For me, I think of the harmony as the second melody. You're moving within the scale in the same shape as the melody, but starting on a different chord tone. If you have them practice scales, arpeggios, and tonicizing that might help!

Not necessarily. Chords share chord tones, so a harmony part may or may not move depending on the chord progression. People tend to harmonize a third above the notes in a melody, but that's not always appropriate. In that case, the harmony singer could wind up singing a non-chord tone and it sounds wonky.

 

[bfields]

About half those kids showed up to 7th grade chorus not knowing how to sing at all. Some have natural ears. Many don't. Their teacher drags them all over the finish line (in a nice way....she's great).

There's a disconnect here that comes up a lot on talkbass; "anyone can learn that" vs "you've either got it or you don't". A lot of it's just different situations.

You can learn a lot if you've got a year or more, a willingness to learn, and a teacher.

If you've got a month to the next gig, no teacher, and not a lot of practice time, don't expect any miracles.

If your bandmate has an issue and it's not something you've got experiencing teaching (not just doing), and they don't have a lot of enthusiasm for you teaching them, good luck.

For my own playing, my takeaway is: for the short term, figure out how to make do with what I've got. For the long term, set my sights higher.

Also, I think a lot of people get stuck in a trap of just trying the same thing that's not working over and over, and hoping they'll get better just from repetition. Yeah, you need to put in the time, but you also have to be smart about it. If something's going wrong, you need to put the problem under a microscope and really think about it, look for ways to break it down into smaller problems, and look for creative solutions.

 

[zjuarez64]

Not necessarily. Chords share chord tones, so a harmony part may or may not move depending on the chord progression. People tend to harmonize a third above the notes in a melody, but that's not always appropriate. In that case, the harmony singer could wind up singing a non-chord tone and it sounds wonky.

100% Agree with you on this. Like moving from a I to a IV, 'Do' would be a similar chord tone so you could keep singing the same pitch and still have it work functionally. I think some occasional non-chord tones would be alright if they were resolved in a reasonable way and follow the melody, but depending on the genre, using oblique motion in harmonies would be more appropriate.

I used to actually write out all harmonies for my band (we could all read music and were in choirs) so having different types of motion to fill out the chords help a ton, but really it depends on the shape of the line and what the composer's intent is.

 

[bfields]

That's great, actually.

Having a kid has definitely increased my respect for school music teachers.

 

[LetItGrowTone]

In fact I can barely sing

I love your voice! Your band sounds 100% legit too. Thanks.

 

[Hammertime3]

Perhaps harmony singing ability can be traced to environmental influences. Take, for instance, kids who grow up in North Carolina, southwest Virgina, and other places in the south where bluegrass and country music are traditionally popular. Unless you have been there, i.e., music festivals and outdoor shows, you can't imagine the skills these kids have singing, and especially playing. It's nothing to walk up on a group of 12-15 year olds and hearing them singing harmony like they have done it all their lives....and they probably have. it's all they have listened to since they began a love for music, and it shows. I stand in awe of many of them. Same goes for some portions of the predominately black communities where R & B is king. Many of those kids learn harmonies from doing it since childhood, and are mighty good at it. If you hear it all your life, and you are somewhat musically inclined, you have to pick up something from it...I think.

 

[jdh3000]

Not necessarily. Chords share chord tones, so a harmony part may or may not move depending on the chord progression. People tend to harmonize a third above the notes in a melody, but that's not always appropriate. In that case, the harmony singer could wind up singing a non-chord tone and it sounds wonky.

This is where thinking about it hurts my head. I know theory well and it has always been a great help with other instruments, but when it comes to singing harmony, I just have to hear it in my mind, and that guides my voice.

I admire anyone who can think about the exact note they are on, but that's not me.

I guess it's just accessing a different part of the brain. I just sing what sounds correct. I know I'm singing either a 3rd above most of the time, but if it changes from that, I don't think about it, I do it.

 

[dreamadream99]

Rather than trying to teach someone to sing specific background vocals, I find it better to equip someone to sing any harmony by ear. These are, I feel, the necessary steps to accomplish this:

1. Ask them to sing along to the songs they hear on the radio for 6 months. Monitor their progress. We are looking for the ability to match pitch, and styles/inflection. All this time they are subconsciously learning how melodies move in relation to chords.
2. Next, ask them to start singing along with the harmony parts, instead of the melody, for six months. We are looking for the ability to hone in on the less prominent vocals, and duplicate them. All this time they are subconsciously learning how harmony parts move in relation to melodies and cords.
3. Next, ask them to generate a harmony part to a well-known song, that doesn't have harmony. We are looking for the ability to hear the chord members above and below the melody, That they have subconsciously acquired in the last year.

 

[MonetBass]

This is where thinking about it hurts my head. I know theory well and it has always been a great help with other instruments, but when it comes to singing harmony, I just have to hear it in my mind, and that guides my voice.

I admire anyone who can think about the exact note they are on, but that's not me.

I guess it's just accessing a different part of the brain. I just sing what sounds correct. I know I'm singing either a 3rd above most of the time, but if it changes from that, I don't think about it, I do it.

And honestly I'm the same way. I don't consciously think about the interval, like you, I just sing what I know will sound correct.

 

[ToneMonkey]

I would (humbly) add that merely singing the right harmony is just the ante. Really getting harmonies to "lock" is a whole other level. That takes practice with all participants singing together (and listening carefully)... a lot.

I'm currently playing in an acoustic duo. My partner doesn't know any music theory. But what is starting to work for us is me playing the starting harmony note on my guitar, then working on the harmonies at 1/2 speed.

For me, picking the 3rd out of a mix is difficult but not impossible. The human brain is a wonderful thing. I'm getting better at it. But I practice a lot in my personal time. Being able to play the note on guitar (or piano) is crucial for me. I have a tougher time when I play bass, because I cannot directly play the note on my instrument. I would imagine it to be even more difficult for drummers who don't also play a pitched instrument.

 

[WillyW]

intervals for me

I'm a barry tone/base, so lots of times its an octave down....

 

[jdh3000]

Perhaps harmony singing ability can be traced to environmental influences. Take, for instance, kids who grow up in North Carolina, southwest Virgina, and other places in the south where bluegrass and country music are traditionally popular. Unless you have been there, i.e., music festivals and outdoor shows, you can't imagine the skills these kids have singing, and especially playing. It's nothing to walk up on a group of 12-15 year olds and hearing them singing harmony like they have done it all their lives....and they probably have. it's all they have listened to since they began a love for music, and it shows. I stand in awe of many of them. Same goes for some portions of the predominately black communities where R & B is king. Many of those kids learn harmonies from doing it since childhood, and are mighty good at it. If you hear it all your life, and you are somewhat musically inclined, you have to pick up something from it...I think.

Some folks are more steeped in it for sure. They seem to have been born wlith it, but it's actually as you say, started early; like speaking a second language without an accent occurs when a child is immersed in it before about age 12... Doesn't mean older people can't lean a language, but shaking the accent becomes more problematic with age.

I grew up in the south, with a lot of country, bluegrass, and gospel. I have cousins who sang together from the time they could talk, and it's effortless to them. Their mother and father had them singing and playing instruments early on, in church and festivals, the whole family was musical. I was fortunate to get to share in some of that with them, but not as much as being there all the time.

They say siblings have the best harmonies and I believe it's for that reason, the voices have been in sync from the beginning.

 

[Cave Puppy]

A lead singer I knew couldn't sing harmony to save his life. That is interesting to me. I, on the hand, can sing harmony. I wouldn't even know where to begin teaching someone to sing harmony. I find my notes by picking them out on a guitar whilst playing the chords and using mental tricks to find them as well - The end note of this phrase is the same as my next note, this note is the same as the melody in another spot, this note is the tonic note over non tonic chord, etc.

 

[LBS-bass]

Some folks are more steeped in it for sure. They seem to have been born wlith it, but it's actually as you say, started early; like speaking a second language without an accent occurs when a child is immersed in it before about age 12... Doesn't mean older people can't lean a language, but shaking the accent becomes more problematic with age.

I grew up in the south, with a lot of country, bluegrass, and gospel. I have cousins who sang together from the time they could talk, and it's effortless to them. Their mother and father had them singing and playing instruments early on, in church and festivals, the whole family was musical. I was fortunate to get to share in some of that with them, but not as much as being there all the time.

They say siblings have the best harmonies and I believe it's for that reason, the voices have been in sync from the beginning.

Yep, you guys described my mom's side of the family. My grandfather was a fiddler and a guitarist; they were very poor folk from Appalachia and getting the family together for singalongs was a major form of entertainment, as was singing in church. I always say it's in the blood on that side because I did not grow up anywhere near that side of the family, but my sister and I could harmonize together from as early as I can remember, and I used to sing as a baby in my stroller - my mom had stories about people stopping her on the street asking where that music was coming from and she'd tell them the baby was singing and they'd just stare in disbelief, so I guess it sounded pretty good for a baby.

The truth is I have always had a gift for mimicry - the best singers in my opinion learn how to sing by mimicking other good singers - they get all the nuance down and that teaches them how to use the whole voice to do whatever they want it to do.

So I don't know how much is environmental; it's possible I heard a lot of things early on that I don't remember, but the very earliest memory I can recall involves making sounds and listening to the pitches of those sounds when I was still pre-verbal and in my crib.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Yep, you guys described my mom's side of the family. My grandfather was a fiddler and a guitarist; they were very poor folk from Appalachia and getting the family together for singalongs was a major form of entertainment, as was singing in church. I always say it's in the blood on that side because I did not grow up anywhere near that side of the family, but my sister and I could harmonize together from as early as I can remember, and I used to sing as a baby in my stroller - my mom had stories about people stopping her on the street asking where that music was coming from and she'd tell them the baby was singing and they'd just stare in disbelief, so I guess it sounded pretty good for a baby.

The truth is I have always had a gift for mimicry - the best singers in my opinion learn how to sing by mimicking other good singers - they get all the nuance down and that teaches them how to use the whole voice to do whatever they want it to do.

So I don't know how much is environmental; it's possible I heard a lot of things early on that I don't remember, but the very earliest memory I can recall involves making sounds and listening to the pitches of those sounds when I was still pre-verbal and in my crib.

David Bowie has said he has sung as characters and rarely as himself. Singing is similar to acting in lots of ways.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Just like you cannot teach perfect pitch, you cannot really teach harmonized singing.

 

[OldShark]

I'm always amazed, or perplexed, by lead singers who can "sing the fire" out of most any song, but can't hear a lick of harmony...

This is also typical for mixed choirs, often sopranos are so used to sing the melody that they cannot cope well when a different voice takes the melody, and IMHO girls often choose between soprano and alto not only because of their vocal range but also based on their ability to sing a different voice than a known melody... — if they can't do that, they tend to be/remain sopranos...

 

[kevindahl]

IMHO, if one can sing lead they can sing a harmony. It might be challenging but it is doable.

Now if a musician can't sing well the task at hand would be difficult.

Some songs are easier to pick out and hear. Others not so much.

 

[bfields]

Just like you cannot teach perfect pitch, you cannot really teach harmonized singing.

Sorry, that is completely false.

There's ample evidence that perfect/absolute pitch is something you have to pick up in very early childhood or not at all, that's true.

But people learn to sing harmony all the time. It's something that's routinely taught in schools, for example.

I get the frustration with some band member who you may not have personally been able to get to sing harmony parts at rehearsal. Don't over-generalize from that experience.