learn to sing harmony

i’m trying to learn tricks to make it easier to be able to sing harmony! this is something i’ve always wanted to master.. i find it hard though.. does anyone have any suggestions!? anything at all that can help me out?

I’ve been trying to do this on my own, but it’s tough, even with a music background! My new action plan

• Just ordered this CD How to Sing Harmony by Ear
• Practice all the time in the car!
• Hopefully able to harmonize by ear to anything anyone is singing by the end of 2008… something I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS.

I sing on the Praise Team at church and our ‘harmony’ person quit. I’ve tried and picked up on it a little by ear but I want to be better at. I think it’s beautiful when all the parts come together!

I am the Sound guy for a Southern Gospel Quartet…
I don’t sing up on stage with them but I do sing on the bus with them…
I have a natural ear for Harmony…
But it takes practice to get in from your ears to your mouth…
I Love singing Harmony…

this would be ah-mazing, and very beautiful.
i guess i am just going to play it by ear. i am a trumpeter, so i know what sounds right and stuffff.

I find the best method of learning is just to sing to whatever you’re listening to, whatever music is on the radio or your ipod. Don’t worry if it’s not “correct” harmony, just try, and see if it sounds natural. You start to develop a feeling for it, I’m not really so great at improvising harmony, but I’m practicing!

I’m much more an Aural than a Visual person when it comes to music, so it’s much more useful for me this way.

My plan has five parts.

The first is to read or listen to everything I can get my hands on that explains harmony theory. This includes talking to musically minded friends, listening to the Pandora podcast on harmony, reading Wikipedia, etc.

Second, I will listen to music that has instrumental harmony. In vocal recordings, there is usually at least one instrument moving in harmony with the singer, off the melody line. It is usually very soft, almost drowned out. I will focus on picking it out and singing to it. Music that I am using to this purpose includes anything by Blackmore’s Night, Annie Lennox’s Into The West, and anything by Sing the Word. I am able to find the harmony because I’m actually in unison with the soft instrument.

Third, since I can take any note and then sing a major triad chord off of it, as the root or as the fifth, I will work on improvising harmony this way. I cannot, by ear, without singing the melody note, find and sing a harmonic note. I must sing the melody in unison for a space, wait for a long note, and then “slide” down the chord, like this:

“Hark, the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn ki- (so) ii- (me) ng- (do)...”

My brain understands unison. I cannot just sing me or do on king—Can’t find it without actually singing so, with the rest of the group! But I hope if I work this neural pathway as is, I’ll develop that ability.

Fourth thing to try is to buy one of those audio CD courses in vocal harmony.

And fifth, if none of this works, and if I have a lot of free time and some money, I will get voice lessons.

Altogether, that should do it, right?

I think harmony is so beautiful. I was once invited to sing with someone on a recording, but the part I was supposed to sing was harmony, and I didn’t know how. So, I need to find some learning CDs for this or else find a teacher.

Several times I have had the experience of listening to sacred harp singing, which I highly highly recommend. It sounds like, uh, old-timey music from heaven.

It easy and fun! Just close your eyes and sing…

I was in a musical (performed last night) which had some harmony and/or layered vocal parts.