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I was just wondering if there are any people like me out there, or if you can relate to what I'm about to tell you.

I'm naturally gifted when it comes to singing harmonies, it's actually my favorite thing to do although I love singing lead now that I have mastered it.  However before I learned how to sing lead I was always a good harmonist (? is that word?)

Anyway it reminds me of people I know who can mimick some songs perfectly, and yet sing way off key at other times.  Not a lot of people are like that, nor are there really a lot of people who "get" harmony.  Most people switch to what I'm singing. Anyway I love harmony and I was curious if there other people out there who went through the same things I did growing up trying to get all my friends to sing harmony with me cause I thought it was something every one could do.  I still don't understand how people don't know how to do it.

It's the one thing I've never had to struggle with or put any real effort into.

Hey Lizard, yes harmonist is a word. I also enjoy singing harmony but many folks just don't hear it the way others do. If you can't hear it in your mind while singing harmony with someone, chances are one will never be a good harmonist. I don't think everyone can learn harmony. Most folks are centered on the lead vocal and can't hear the harmony line and if you can't hear it, you can't sing it.

--Not that I'm calling into doubt YOUR ability to harmonize, but I wish I had a buck for every blankety-blank at my show who THOUGHT they could harmonize with someone singing a song.  Without fail, they walk up and start "harmonizing" right next to the person singing throwing them off and then I gotta usher them gently away.

I wish that the "harmonizers" would just settle for amusing themselves at their own table out of earshot of the person singing.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

I Am Truly Envious Of anyone with this Talent to Harmonize, I can Harmonize a little bit But I do Not hear it in my head like you said I have to feel it out and try to get the notes. My Brother inlaw Can Haromnize to anything and usually does, He harmonizes with the Fire Whistle at 12 and 6 O'clock, the hum of the refridgerator you name it he has a gift....Darn I wish I could Harmonize......

Hm, so you have mastered singing? Impressive.

Hm, so you have mastered singing? Impressive.

That is awesome!
A lot of the time I enjoy harmonizing with someone more than singing alone.
It is hard to find someone you can do it well with. But when it happens it is a feeling
all it's own. I'm okay at it. It depends on the song. Sometimes I just hear it and other times I have to work at it.
I agree with the comment about people thinking they can harmonize. Most people
don't understand what it is. They think it is just singing the same notes along with someone else. I wish I had a dime for every time that's happened. And yes it throws you off. I'd rather not sing and let them sing alone.

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I've done a lot of choral singing, so I'm pretty good at singing harmony.

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Half of good singing is good hearing and ability to hear tone differences.   I have many years of singing but when it comes to harmonizing I cant hear whether I am loud enough too loud or even in tune (with the singer)  That is one reason during duets or when a singer is singing with the chorus if I have time I'll turn up the chorus fx...
But I will never be able to harmonize...

As a jazz pianist melodic ideas and ability to hear harmony are essential.  Aspects of how we train our ear in our musical development enable some to hear melodic structure easier, and other's to hear harmonic structure easier, this is no oddity at all.. It's more of an aspect of brain development, as well as how we learn to listen, and what we individually listen for.. Just as ease of lyrical and melodic memorization differ for many... I, personally think in abstract terms, music is abstract.... I can hear melodic content, and harmonic structure and absorb it in minutes...I've developed my "ear", and have YEARS of exposure...It's a primary language for me....Speaking english is secondary...

A painter uses color scheme, contour and shape, as well as shading in similar fashion to the musician's improvisational skill on a polyphonic instrument. Similar to the artist, the musician instead is mixing the aspects of melodic structure, rhythmic structure and harmony to derive a composition. The drummer will listen for rhythmic concepts evolving around melodic structure. As a bassist too, I learn to play a counter melodic structure that often falls between the melody instrument, and rhythmic structure. We all learn to listen differently, we all have preference, forte's regarding our interpretation of composition.. A few years studying in musicology taught most of these concepts, yet I don't recall many of them. Music is highly abstract, and it's ontology is well integrated with brain development ..We grasp abstract concepts in different ways.  You vocalists might listen for lyrics... It took me days to memorize the lyrics to "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who... and days later I couldn't retain the lyrics.... Yet I can pick up most songs very quickly instrumentally by ear and integrate the instruments, So I've learned to hear melodic structure, as well as what goes on around it. Sort've like studying molecular structure. How we develope might seem odd, yet the knack for melodic memorization vs harmonic memorization is no oddity among how musicians develope when they train, and listen preference-wise.

"Harmonist" IS a word, it's not commonly heard in the english language, yet the music dictionary would define it as "One with a skill for harmonizing".. Regarding "mastery", while there are master musicians, and that *IS* acknowledged as a term in context of Musicianship...I'm VERY careful to never use that term when pertaining to my own ability.. There's a tendency to leave oneself quite open to scrutiny when using such a term, and in my case, I'm not a master instrumentalist... Yet some Jazz pianist's are considered to have mastered various aspects of the instrument, just as mathematicians who excel have mastered certain principles..  One would never "Master" music however, Yet that same person might be *considered* a master violinist (as perceived by colleagues), the term IS used..As to whether it's technically correct... Who am I to say.. In a large renouned orchestra the person who achieves position as well regarded first violinist or "Concert Master", must also be qualified to sit-in at any given time for the conductor. Such a person is at times referred to as a "master musician", yet by definition the term "Master" just means one who's proficient in his given skill area.. Has he mastered music ?  I suppose if he can go to every nation known to man and sit-in with tribal functions ANYPLACE and excel....or similarly go to any nation and sit-in with third world ritual compositions,  ancient sounding howling, raggae, and Play all musical instruments proficiently, he'll be "Master" in my eyes  :)  Yet to find a musician who can play every mode, scale, and instrument in the world (while understanding and applying complex music compositional skill), to me is the true "talent oddity"..

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

You seem to have a knack for "chord progression".

And I think you might be right, not everyone "gets it". In my opinion, it's not something that can be easily taught, either. Not to say that it can't be, but it's all about the relationship between a note and it's relative intervals, making up the chord.

Blah blah blah theory...

Sometimes I find that a harmony comes easily, and others I can't wrap my head around it to save my life. For example, "The look" by roxette. Easy enough, and I know it well, but there was a night about 3 months ago when I could absolutly not remember it!

Mind you, by the end of that night I'm surprised I remembered my name...

I feel it goes beyond "Chord progression", even though arguably harmony is  just broken notes found within a chord. I feel a person who truly has a "knack" for Harmony has developed a skill for Consonance, as well as cognitive dissonance, AND dissonant counterpoint.  Slightly more involved IMHO than just chordal structure in Western music (for purposes of discussion here). Theoretical application is chordal, yet "ear" aspects of assonance (you like that word ?  it exists   ), and how the musician with a good ear assimilates involve a more abstract interpretation..See, I'm an @$$man...   Sorry, long day and I'm getting giddy

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Low harmony is my best...I can add a bass line to almost anything.

I was better at it before too many years of the Navy and working in live-band venues w/o earplugs cost me quite a bit of my hearing.  I'm still not shabby though, when the voice is on.

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Wow Kappy, I couldn't tell if you were talking about harmonies, or H-bomb physics with that wording!   I THINK I agree with you... as soon as I find my dictionary.

I like to think of myself as a Rocket Scientist  :dancin:

(notice I didn't use the word innuendo in aforementioned sentence)

Interesting side note;  I took 2nd year calc, had no probs.. Organic Chem, had no probs, QM, had no probs...  Music Comp, dropped the course, and flunked... Too difficult...Many would think that the quantitative aspects of science or the math aspects are more sophisticated than ability needed for studying advanced aspects of an "Artform".. Anyone who can grasp advanced music composition *IS* a mathematician.  If they don't know that,  They've just never been told.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I concur that your predominate statements have a resounding degree of verisimilitude! No innuendo in your linguistics!

Think I just hurt my brain.

You know what's funny, I just said this in a PM  


Only difference is, I worded it this way;

I concur that your statements predominantly exude a resounding degree of verisimilitude! No impetuous contumelious innuendo's palpable within your cophonously bloviated pseudo-erudite esoteric albeit obstreperous superfluous supercilious ostentation!  

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Darnit-to-heck! I thought I was the only person who knew what that sentence meant! That is weird, because I haven't used "verisimilitude" all year!

Oh yeah..... Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious! Ha!

and when was the last time you "got any" :shock:

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

What scares me with both of you...I didn't need a dictionary, and it made sense!!  GAWD!!!  I AM A GEEK!!!!  

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