How to Find the Right Note When Singing Harmony
Some of my friends and I were recently discussing this and I realized that this has become so natural to me that I haven’t thought of it in years. However, since being asked by one of my good friends how I am able to hit a note without hearing it, when reading music with the choir, I have given it some thought.
The first thing I thought was that I was raised in a musical family where we sang around the piano on a weekly if not daily basis. We were constantly practicing to perform at church or somewhere else. As a young child, I would hear my mom and dad harmonizing with each other and singing in church and choir. We would go with them. Harmony was just another part of music and I was eager to try it.
sheet music with harmony
The next thing I thought of is that I can read music. Many people who sing don’t really understand the notes on the page. They can tell they are going up and down, but don’t really pay attention to the length of the note, the dynamics, and the other notes in the accompaniment and their relative distance from the note you are to sing. I think this has come from reading the hymns, the choir music, playing the piano, and flute. If you want to sing, reading music is essential.
The other thing I thought of is that my ear has been trained to listen for the harmony. I have tried to hear the harmony for as long as I can remember. I would listen for it and try to match it. When singing with my mother, I would sing alto with her and try to match her notes. When singing with the radio, I would pretend I was a backup singer and sing the harmony. When singing with my sisters, I would listen for the harmony in the accompaniment so I could match it. Be exposed to music with harmony and try to sing the harmony. It’s usually softer than the melody, so you have to listen harder. Sometimes turning it up louder can help. Go to choir practice and sing with the members of your section. Even if you don’t feel like you want to perform, the things you learn from practicing with a choir are incredible.
my piano
The last thing is that I usually take the music home and practice with a piano and play only my part until I am comfortable with how it goes. This is very basic and usually works well. Once I have my part securely, I will play the other part while I sing my part. It’s a little trickier, but a very important step. This is what gives you the relative distance between the notes of your part and the notes of someone else’s part. This step will allow you to sing on tune when your note is not being played and it will allow you to sing a capella (without accompaniment). After all that, I will sing my part with the accompaniment. There are different orders you can do this in, and you can always go back to another step if you find you are not as solid as you thought.
I hope my ramblings will help someone with learning to sing harmony. If it helps you, please comment and let me know.
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Hello webmaster, what made you want to write on Find the Right Note When Singing Harmony | Sister Singers? I was wondering, because I have been thinking about this since last Saturday.
I have been asked by several friends to help them learn how to sing harmony, so I figured there were probably other people wondering about it, too. Did you find it helpful?