How To Improve Your Harmonies

  • What Is A Harmony?
  • Staying In Key
  • Studying Harmonies

Genres

Have you ever heard a song with multiple harmonies found it hard to hear them?

If you’ve ever taken a singing class in a group like choir, you’ve definitely heard of harmonies.

The first step to mastering harmonies is understanding how they are created.

It is important to educate yourself on chords as well as the different keys per the song.

Learning these 3 things will help you develop accuracy and an understanding between the relationship of notes.

What Is A Harmony?

Genres

Harmonies are developed from at least 2 notes in which you are playing or singing the notes simultaneously.

Every note has a particular vibration, and some notes sound really good together.

Harmonies are created when the distance between the initial note and the second note blends.

These sounds are not limited to 2 notes, you can make harmonies from 3 or even 4+ notes.

The more notes you add to a harmony the more muddied it can sound, meaning, blending with multiple sounds can sound clear, up until it doesn’t.

Staying In Key

Genres

Every song you listen to has a key.

If you have ever been to karaoke and it shows you the key, this is a collection of notes across the piano that are harmonically related.

For example, the key of C major, includes notes: C,D,E,F,G,A, and B.

This means that every other note on the piano is not included in the song.

The instruments and the singing would only include notes: C,D,E,F,G,A and B. Knowing your key is a great way to make sure you are on key.

Harmonies are developed within the key, meaning the notes you choose to create would have to make sense in terms of the key.

Studying Harmonies

Harmonies and chords are basically the same thing. You can create harmonies by constructing chords.

Chords are created by playing notes that are a correct distance from each other.

This is more about counting the distance between the notes and playing the notes accordingly.

2 simple chords types that are commonly used are major and minor chords. The major chords sound brighter/happier, and the minor chords sound darker/sadder.

Depending if the key is in major or minor, you can craft your own harmonies as long as you know the chords to use within the right key.

If you are looking to work on your skill of hearing the notes, then you will want to learn how to play major and minor chords from your lowest note.

Try playing a triad C,E, & G. Sing each note of the chord, and then move all three of your fingers up 1 half step.

Your notes should now be C#, F, & G#. Sing all three notes and repeat the process until you can longer sing any higher.

This is an exercise that will help with hearing and your placement of harmonies.

Learning how to blend your voice can feel like a daunting task, make sure to keep consistency for the best progress.

Similar Posts