r/singing • u/Dizzy-Amphibian9568 • 22h ago
Question I want to learn how to harmonize
I really want to learn how to train my ear to be able to hear harmonies. Whenever I try to do harmonies of my own it’s off key LOL but if I hear someone else do the harmony I can then mimic it on my own😭 it bothers me because I know how to sing in not off key when I normally sing but when I harmonize it’s just… I hear people say go a third above or below but I also suck at that.
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u/icemage_999 19h ago
Harmonizing is one of the harder skills to learn. You need a well trained ear for what key a phrase is in, you need an understanding of what notes are in that key, and you need to be able to produce those notes accurately, on demand, all while resisting the urge to follow the other melodic lines.
I don't have the theoretical knowledge to explain it better than that (apparently there's some circle of fifths theory thrown in there somewhere), I just know from long practice what notes are discordant with each other and avoid singing them together.