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Location: Pullman, WA | This is really a great website - I spend too much time here browsing instead of working. Will I get fired?
My friend and I are trying to work up a version of the old Everly Brother's song "Walk Right Back", but cannot figure out the harmony they use. It's so close in some places it almost sounds like they sing the same notes, but that can't be right.
Can anyone give me a clue about the harmony lines in this song?
Thanks |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I used do a few of their numbers. In fact, still do. The harmony line changes but is typically just a simple third or fourth higher than the melody line, and they sing unison often as you point out. |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | I grew up listening to 'em. Just about the tightest two part harmony you'll find in pop music. Paul and Art are right up there also!
The blend, whether thirds/fourths/unison, makes them tops in my opinion.
I'm sure there will be other suggestions/'discussions', but these two duets are what I think of when someone mentions harmony. |
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Location: Jet City | Originally posted by 2ifbyC:
but these two duets are what I think of when someone mentions harmony. Now see, I think of Glen Tipton and KK Downing, or maybe Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, or Duane and Dickey.
But I'm a bit off from the norm here I think. |
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Location: East Tennessee | A friend of mine and I used to sing a lot of their songs. He always did the harmony part while I sang the melody. Sibling harmony is hard to beat, and copy.
If you want to hear some nice three part harmony try listening to Larry Gatlin and his brothers. :cool: |
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Location: NJ | Or the Andrews Sisters. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | ditty bops |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Three Dog Night. |
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Location: Pullman, WA | Thanks for the insights. I'd forgotten about the Gatlin Brothers and the Andrews Sisters. Time to do some serious listening. And I definitely have some googling to do on Damon67's suggestions.
I hadn't thought of it as sibling harmony, but they were singing together from a very early age. That makes a lot of sense.
This is why this website really knocks me out - ask a question, learn a LOT. |
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Location: New Hampshire, USA | HUGE Everly Brothers fan here. If you watch the DVD of their reunion concert at Albert Hall, it's interesting to note how closely Phil Everly watches his brother sing while harmonizing with him. Really kept them in sync.
As has been said, sibling harmony is tough to beat. There have been some that have also done it well though, IMO.
The Eagles did some great harmonies, as did Lennon and McCartney.
Simon and Garfunkel were great at it, but give a listen to the Everly's classic "Crying In The Rain" sung by James Taylor and Art Garfunkel. It's on a couple of Garfunkel's Greatest Hits CDs. Brilliant harmonies, with more complex counter-melodies than the Everly's did with it. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by Quincy:
I spend too much time here browsing instead of working. Will I get fired? No. But it may forestall any promotions.
Buying your direct supervisor a used Ovation often counters this effect. |
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Location: Yorkshire, England | Like most of the others have said, the harmony was thirds or fourths and unison. You generally couldn't keep a third or fourth apart for the duration of a whole song or it would sound off-key. I went to see them a few years ago with a few friends and was quite dissapointed - they didn't make much effort to dress up much (ie. jeans that looked like they'd just come from doing the gardening) and they were messing around with the melodies and harmony lines so much that some of the songs were, sadly, just unrecognisable. It was toward the end of the tour, maybe they were just fed up. The highlight of the show - no doubt - Albert Lee doing his rendition of Country Boy. Almost worth the ticket price alone. |
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Location: Jet City | Originally posted by Quincy:
And I definitely have some googling to do on Damon67's suggestions.
Q,
The people I listed are not singers. They're famous for doing harmonies on the guitar. Glen and KK are from Judas Priest, Dave and Adrian are from Iron Maiden, Duane and Dickey are from the Allman Bros Band.
D |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Harmony is a real bugger.
It's easy to pick out the harmonys that are far away from the lead but it's those "close" harmonys like the Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel that have me scratching my head.
They're the type that are so, so close to the lead. I know they are not doubleing the notes but you just can't seperate them.
Sometime this year I want to get one of those harmomy boxes that Lanaki has. I'm hopeing that it will help train my ear to better learn how to harmonize without it. |
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Location: SoCal | Best harmony singer I ever heard was Glen Campbell. Born into a very poor but musical family, by the time he came along he had to learn to sing harmonies that were way off the melody. Plus growing up hearing his siblings' harmonies, he learned to harmonize with almost anybody. Jimmy Bowen once said he could harmonize with a pickup truck backfiring...... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Sometime this year I want to get one of those harmomy boxes that Lanaki has. I'm hopeing that it will help train my ear to better learn how to harmonize without it. Brad, I wouldn't expect much. I think harmonizing is a learning by doing process. We used to mess around with it in choir, just by throwing in notes to see how they sounded. At least I was messing around. The guy next to me knew what he was doing and would say something like, "Wow, that sounds great with that minor 6th." I never knew what he was talking about. It either sounded good or it didn't. |
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Location: big island | the bellamy brothers have been singing together since an early age also. i like their harmonies. |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Sometime this year I want to get one of those harmomy boxes that Lanaki has. I'm hopeing that it will help train my ear to better learn how to harmonize without it. No, it will only make you dependent on it, mesmerizing you with it's siren call of perfect 4ths and 5ths, until mere human voices aren't good enough and even the sound of your own voice makes you a little bit nauseous.
Then when Brian needs you to sing harmony for him, you'll be worthless. |
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Location: south east Michigan | correction.... worthless-er |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Skipper ,
Check your PM. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | People trained in music theory as well as voice are usually pretty good at ad-libbing harmony. SWMBO, a professionally trained and current professional singer, is amazing at singing a harmony line generally above the melody. When we perform together, unless I am just accompanying her, I always take the melody and she takes the harmony. |
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Location: Jet City | Good ol' random on the iPod strikes again with another blast from the 80s.
I don't know if anyone knows the song "Leave It" by Yes, but those vocal harmonies still blow my mind. |
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Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | I've found that singing with a group, it's just as important to have a very good ear, so you can hear the pitch and apply the voice. Let's hear it for the ear. |
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Location: Sydney, Australia | Some friends of mine years ago used to play a game called "harmonies". One person takes a deep breath and sings out a note. The next person then does the same and holds a different note, followed by the third person. The aim is to see how many people can find different harmonies which "work". Very good ear training I imagine, as it was played in a spirit of fun and adventure when something didn't quite work. |
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Everly Bros Harmony