Harmonies

[Dollarosa]

Hey guys

I thought I was pretty good with working out harmonies (3rds, 5ths), but today had some trouble helping the singer with working on harmonies. I would like to know what is the best method of working out the harmonies. Is there a plug that allows me to hear say a third harmony of the main vocal without making it sound too robotic? What is everyones process?

Thanks

 

[nch3966]

well you could try antares harmony engine listen to the right notes then perform it to give it a natural feel...

grab a piano,guitar really any instrument

learn scales !

 

[Morgan C]

I like running the main vocal line through Melodyne, then you can create a harmony without it being a static +3 semitones up or sounding unnatural. Then you perform that melody, don't just use the tuned one.

 

[cent73]

grab a piano,guitar really any instrument
learn scales !

This. If I had a problem figuring out a 2nd or 3rd voice I'd grab a guitar, learn the leading voice, then try to make up a harmony.

BTW, a harmony doesn't always have to stick to let's say thirds all the time. You can actually change the intervals. Listen to some good pop or rock - those genres seem to use many voices quite often.

I never used any harmonizers so I don't know if they could be programed to vary the intervals.

 

[egan.]

I always grab a guitar if there's a note I have a question about.

 

[Skinny Viking]

I always grab a guitar if there's a note I have a question about.

yup. Guitar or piano / keyboard if you have access to it

 

[BLUElightCory]

I use a keyboard/piano. Just go through the melody note by note and work out the accompanying harmony notes that sound best..

 

[Mancha]

Get "Relative pitch supercourse", it works wonders. I`m not a singer, by I still prefer to sing all my harmonies manually.

 

[amarshism]

I'm not good at singing so I'll throw up the harmony with waves tunes (works really simply) then get the singer to perform the harmony. Sometimes I might just end up using the tuned version in the bv track. The other engineer I work with is a decent singer and good with working out vocal harmonies so he usually just sings them down the talkback. Whichever works out for you.

 

[arv_foh]

I'm not good at singing so I'll throw up the harmony with waves tunes (works really simply) then get the singer to perform the harmony. Sometimes I might just end up using the tuned version in the bv track. The other engineer I work with is a decent singer and good with working out vocal harmonies so he usually just sings them down the talkback. Whichever works out for you.

I do pretty much this same thing except with melodyne.

 

[Dollarosa]

Thanks for the info, pity I am not a good guitarist.

 

[egan.]

BTW, a harmony doesn't always have to stick to let's say thirds all the time. You can actually change the intervals. Listen to some good pop or rock - those genres seem to use many voices quite often.

Also this. I personally am all over the place and only really like to go to thirds to get an intentionally sweet sound. So when I talk about grabbing a guitar I'm often talking about checking the notes together to make sure I'm not getting too "fusion."

Whether guitar or piano or whatever, I think it's really important to be able to pick up an instrument and put melody over chords even if it's completely out of time and disjointed.

 

[locus_coeruleus]

writing the melody and harmonizing it in some program like guitar pro helps a lot too.

 

[MondoLikeMetal]

I'm in league with the guys who grab a guitar or keys - I'm not going to let a machine tell me what harmony parts to use. Also, some of the best harmonies are two part, and alot are just a guy singing the root note above the melody line (less is more)

 

[dan weapon]

1) Grab guitar.
2) Figure out the main vocal melody as a guitar melody.
3) Figure out what chord(s) the backing track is playing.
4) Come up with harmonies that fit with BOTH. Sometimes vocal harmonies don't sound good because they fit with the lead vox, but not the music.

I like huge multi-layed vocals and harmonies that don't just exactly copy the main melody, but at a different interval.

One harmony a 3rd above and another a 4th below is always pleasing. And I also love stacking a wall of harmonies in alternating 5ths and 4ths (i.e. making up a multi-octave 5th chord).

 

[mburton21]

My singer isn't too well versed in singing harmonies (re: at all), so what I've found to be the most efficient way to record a perfect clean vocal take with him is the following.

1. Grab a guitar (or piano, whatever) and record the main clean vocals' run quickly on it.
2. Record the harmony.
3. Mute the harmony, get him to sing along with the main guitar.
4. Mute the main, get him to sing along with the harmony guitar.
5. Profit from ridiculous amounts of time saved when dealing with singers who have no vocal training.

It works very well for me so I thought I'd share. Hope this benefits someone else.