Assignment 20: Olivia Klee

How to: Sing Harmony

A lot of my friends have been asking me lately "Can you teach me how to sing harmony?" And so I've tried, and either I'm not a very good teacher, or they are all terrible singers, but let me just tell you it wasn't pretty. It really boils down to practice, but here are some general rules to get you started.

1.) Pick a catchy, 4-chord song that you know really well. Most catchy songs are extremely repetitive, which means that once you won't have to remember so many different notes at first.

2.) Listen to the song once all the way through so you can get the key in your head.

3.) Hum the first note of the chorus.

4.) Hum one note higher.

5.) Hum one note higher. This is called a third. This note will sound nice with the first note of the chorus.

6.) Hum the second note of the chorus.

7.) Hum two notes higher.

8.) Keep working your way through the chorus until you have a feel for the third interval. You may need to use a piano/guitar/Garageband to keep track of the third intervals for every note, but eventually, you will be able to hear a note and immediately recall the third interval.

9.) Once you've worked through the chorus, trying singing the third on the bridge or the verse. It may work, it may not. It just depends on the song. But the more you practice, the more you will be able to tell what works and what doesn't.

10.) Play with other intervals such as the fifth and the third below. Develop your ear to pick out harmonies in any song.