Singing harmony - good songs to accompany
Discussion
I always thought being able to sing harmony against another voice was some sort of black art that you just had a talent for or didn’t. I had singing lessons a few years ago, but we didn’t cover this. I still sort of think it is, in that making up a harmony which doesn’t follow the melody (or even learning one someone has written) is beyond me at the moment, but I’ve realised that just singing a third or fifth off the melody is something I can do by ear. This isn’t quite as surprising as finding out that I could sing in the first place (I took the lessons as a kind of bet, because a friend insisted “everyone can sing” and I insisted “I can’t”) but it’s still really satisfying.
Best place to practice this is in the car, where I don’t have to subject anyone else to my warblings. So I have a playlist.
Some of them are songs without harmonies so I can add one, some are songs with easy harmonies so I can join in, some just have a clear vocal in the mix.
This is what I’ve got;
They’re not all good choices. The KD Lang version of Hallelujah is difficult because I don’t know that version and she f
ks about with the timing, the Simon & Garfunkel stuff is problematic because I’m trying to add my observations on Newton to a conversation about Einstein, but they’re enjoyable. I find it easier to add the harmony above, and some of them make that higher than is optimal for me. Still, I really love it when I sing along and get it right, and I love that I can now pick out and sing the different harmonies in the Beach Boys track in a way that I not only couldn’t do but didn’t think I had the ability to do.
So - (a) does what I’m trying to do make sense to you, and (b) can you think of anything to add to my playlist?
Best place to practice this is in the car, where I don’t have to subject anyone else to my warblings. So I have a playlist.
Some of them are songs without harmonies so I can add one, some are songs with easy harmonies so I can join in, some just have a clear vocal in the mix.
This is what I’ve got;
They’re not all good choices. The KD Lang version of Hallelujah is difficult because I don’t know that version and she f
ks about with the timing, the Simon & Garfunkel stuff is problematic because I’m trying to add my observations on Newton to a conversation about Einstein, but they’re enjoyable. I find it easier to add the harmony above, and some of them make that higher than is optimal for me. Still, I really love it when I sing along and get it right, and I love that I can now pick out and sing the different harmonies in the Beach Boys track in a way that I not only couldn’t do but didn’t think I had the ability to do. So - (a) does what I’m trying to do make sense to you, and (b) can you think of anything to add to my playlist?
Ronstein said:
Don't know if it's suitable to add another voice to, but I love the (unusual) harmonies in this (fans of Detectorists will be familiar).
Check out Kate & Anna McGarrigle as well for brilliant harmonies
Love them - as native Geordie Testimony of Patience Kershaw is a haunting favourite of mine.Check out Kate & Anna McGarrigle as well for brilliant harmonies
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