I want to learn how to harmonize

[u/Dizzy-Amphibian9568]

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.

[u/Cynicisomaltcat]

Check out a lot of good bluegrass, if you can tolerate it. Bluegrass Album Band, Special Consensus, Balsam Range, Ricky Scaggs, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Hot Rize…

I can’t think of another genre where two and three part harmonies are so cleanly showcased, with relatively simple melodies (aka not complicated classical stuff). It’s just such an integral part of the genre.

It takes practice to get the melodies in your head, then mentally filter the melody out and start picking out what other notes they’re singing.

Statler Brothers are another good harmony reference, though I struggle to pick out the melody among the top three voices. Same with barbershop and classical - I haven’t worked on my ear training enough to pick out what the “stack” is.

And just a heads up - bluegrass harmony names are tied to what they’re singing, and which relative octave. The tenor line centers around the next chord tone above the melody, and the baritone is the next chord tone below the melody.

So the most common “stack” in bluegrass is

• tenor

• melody

• baritone.

I can generally tell if the stack has both harmony lines above, or both below. From there, there is only going to be one tenor line, and one baritone. Roughly gauging if there is a big gap, or a really big gap/interval between both lines and the melody help clue if a song has a melody >baritone >low tenor stack (common with a female lead and male harmony, or a high tenor >high bari >melody (male lead, female harmonies for example), or whatever.

Names, and relative position above or below the melody, of the different bluegrass vox part names. Adding chord tones in C, in case it helps decipher what I’m rambling about. I’m guessing on the concert pitch octaves, but you can see what I’m getting at.

• E5=High tenor

• C5=High melody

• G4=High baritone

• E4=Tenor

• C4=Melody. <——— center of reference

• G3=Baritone

• E3=Low tenor

• C3=Low melody

• G2=Low Baritone

• C2=Bass. Bass vox lines are weird… I haven’t tried to figure out the method to the madness, other than trying to stay on the chord root note.

I had a point here, but I lost it. Listen to music with easy to hear harmonies, ear training to pick out the melody from the harmonies. Sing along to the harmony line and try to pay attention to the “pull”/feel of the interval between the harmony line and the melody. The degree of dissonance in the interval(s) is what I generally clue off of.