Asking advice for how to play harmony for songs in a band?

March 3, 2012 at 03:02 AM · When I sang in a rock band we always used 3 part harmony in different songs. What this means is that one sings the melody or chorus usually, two sings a third above the melody, and three sings a fifth above the melody. If you have sheet music you can write out the harmony parts for yourself, but you have to remember that a melody based on a major chord scale means that you do thirds above the notes in the tonics scale.

E.g. if the first three notes of the melody was C,D, and E in the key of C major then the harmonizer that's singing thirds would sing E,F, and G. Does this make sense?

For other chordal scale bases you may have to experiment, but if you have a good ear you can hear the harmony once you practice it for a while.

Also, remember that this is just one way to harmonize. Sometimes different instruments play accidentals that can make for diminished or augmented chords, etc. And this may only be in certain places in the music. Jazz musicians use many forms of harmony but the 3rd and 5th method provides two voices and when it's done right it's really pretty sounding.

Take a look at Josephine Trott's Melodious Double Stops. I have that music but I haven't played any of it. Instinct tells me that there should be lots of instances of 3rds and 5ths for example there.

March 3, 2012 at 03:32 AM · one easy way to play chords is to play 5ths. If it is a D chord (Both Major or Minor), you can play open D, and open A. If it is a B chord you can play 2nd finger on the G, and D strings to play a B, and F# at the same time.

Learning some basic arpeggios is also good. The Mark Wood book "Electrify your Strings" is a good reference.

March 5, 2012 at 07:07 AM · Thanks for your replies and advice. I will experiment it from what you suggested. I actually started trying to write down something myself, but instead of 3rd or 5th highter, I was doing 3rd lower. Not fully convinced myself with the result, I wonder whether that also works.