I got a lesson in vocal harmonizing last Sunday and I’ll never listen to singing the same again. “Harmonizing: To bring or come into agreement or harmony.  To make (one thing) compatible with (another)” While I’m cooking up yummy snacks, my partner is usually in the living room on the piano, playing jazz classics and orchestral versions of rock favorites (White Rabbit!)  Through him, I’m learning a lot about music. Last Sunday I got a lesson in vocal harmonizing as we watched some kirtan videos.  Some elements he spoke of were having control of your voice, singing a note in a chord but staying off the notes in the main singer’s melody, counter notes, counter melodies and how harmonizing differs from singing in unison.   

An example was a barber shop quartet, where each being on their own note allows the combination to work to make a beautiful sound.  I thought how like that is to real life and dealing with people. When we each find our own note and join them together, we can make beautiful music. Sometimes we’re joined by those who haven’t yet found their note, and we work together to find the harmony between us. We can choose to weave our own notes around someone else’s melody, to sing under or over their note, to dance around their song.

This is a great metaphor for being easy going and getting along with everyone. We turned on some music and listened to several examples, where he pointed out what each singer and back up singer was doing.  By pointing it out to me like that, he expanded my perception. I will never listen to singing the same way again.  He has massively expanded my experience of it forever. It is easy for me now to pick out the individual voices and pay attention to tone, key and pitch of what they are singing.

To harmonize with them, I would practice singing around their note while staying off it.  The same as getting along with someone who doesn’t dance to the same drum you dance to. You can either go on your own way and sing what you want and hope everyone else wants to sing around it, or you can decide to go with the flow and just find someone’s pleasant melody and sing around it.   

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
by Daniel J. Levitin (Read the reviews for quick insights)