dmnhieu@trillium.waterloo.edu (Duy-Minh NHIEU MAPLE tutor) (12/09/89)
Some music (songs) are written in two parts for a duet (usually they are a major third apart), my question is why for some group of two people that perform the duet, it sounds harmonized and for other, it does not sound harmonize although they sing in tune with respect to each others, does it have anything to do with the voice? I mean the different timbre of the voice? (Say a guy with a guy, a girl with a girl and a guy with a girl, which combination sounds the most harmonized?) Is there any technique to harmonize? ie the relative volume etc...
dts@quad.uucp (David T. Sandberg) (12/09/89)
In article <19114@watdragon.waterloo.edu> dmnhieu@trillium.waterloo.edu (Duy-Minh NHIEU MAPLE tutor) writes: >.... why for some group of two people that perform the duet, >it sounds harmonized and for other, it does not.... This is difficult to answer, 'cause it's a very broad question. >......... different timbre of the voice?... If one person has a *much* broader voice than the other, then the other's voice will tend to be lost. Also, if the two singers have very different technique, vibrato, or even enunciate their words very differently, it can detract from the harmonic quality. >............... the relative volume? Certainly, if one person is drowning the other out, the harmony is going to get lost, too. -- David Sandberg dts@quad.uucp or ..uunet!rosevax!sialis!quad!dts "Ghosts in the Machine!"
roy@comcon.UUCP (Roy M. Silvernail) (12/15/89)
In article <19114@watdragon.waterloo.edu>, dmnhieu@trillium.waterloo.edu (Duy-Minh NHIEU MAPLE tutor) writes: > > Some music (songs) are written in two parts for a duet (usually they are a > major third > apart), my question is why for some group of two people that perform the duet, > it sounds harmonized and for other, it does not sound harmonize although they > sing in tune with respect to each others, does it have anything to do with the > voice? I mean the different timbre of the voice? (Say a guy with a guy, a > girl with a girl and a guy with a girl, which combination sounds the most > harmonized?) Is there any technique to harmonize? ie the relative volume > etc... The difference seems (to me) to be the relative timbre of the two voices, although a number of factors relate to harmonizing. The typical duet line is a third apart, but whether it's a major or minor third depends on where in the chord the melody note is placed. A trio line would add a fifth (above or below), and that fifth is a constant interval from the melody note. One thing I've noticed (in performance, where we usually don't work from manuscript) is that some people will grab a fourth instead of a third. The harmony line will sound similar to a conventional third, but different enough to be noticable. It also makes for much excitement when another person decides to add that fifth ;-} (seems to me Stevie Nicks, with Fleetwod Mac, does a lot of fourth-based harmonies) The techniques I use are to listen carefully to the interaction of the notes I sing and the notes the other person sings. Volume is important, and usually the harmony line should be ever so slightly softer than the melody line. The harmonizer might soften hard consonants, as well. I've been in jam situations where I have been able to place harmony lines on songs I didn't even know, by softening the enunciation and selecting the right notes. (I used to work with a guitar player who could also do this real well... we could stack parts on almost anything..:-) -- _R_o_y _M_. _S_i_l_v_e_r_n_a_i_l | UUCP: uunet!comcon!roy | "No, I don't live in an igloo!" [ah, but it's my account... of course I opine!] -Sourdough's riposte SnailMail: P.O. Box 210856, Anchorage, Alaska, 99521-0856, U.S.A., Earth, etc.
billmc@microsoft.UUCP (Bill McJohn) (12/19/89)
In article <19114@watdragon.waterloo.edu>, dmnhieu@trillium.waterloo.edu (Duy-Minh NHIEU MAPLE tutor) writes: > ... why for some group of two people that perform the duet, > it sounds harmonized and for other, it does not sound harmonize although they > sing in tune with respect to each others, does it have anything to do with the > voice? I mean the different timbre of the voice? (Say a guy with a guy, a > girl with a girl and a guy with a girl, which combination sounds the most > harmonized?) What you're describing is often called blend, and it's achieved by using the ear. The two factors that have the most effect on vocal blend are intonation (tuning) and timbre. Good intonation is critical--you don't have to get far off from a sweet- sounding third to produce a fairly ugly one. This requires both singers to listen carefully to one another, as well as the surrounding accompaniment (if any). Blending timbres is more complex (although not necessarily more difficult!), but it is as important as singing in tune. The simplest approach is to aim for a common sound, since similar timbres blend more easily. Blending dissimilar timbres is possible (orchestras do it all the time) but it's far more difficult. (As an aside: classically trained singers [at least, the good ones!] often learn to produce a tone which is both dark and bright, so they get the advantages both of the depth and warmth of the dark voice and the clarity and brilliance of the bright. This makes it harder to blend. On the other hand, if they're willing to work at it, two such voices can sound really beautiful together.) For both of these reasons, the best way to learn to produce sweet harmonies is a capella singing. Sing music you know well, with as little vibrato as you can manage, and listen carefully to each other. Accept the fact that you'll probably have to change in order to blend. The more individual a voice is, the harder it is to blend with. Sing in unison, as well as in harmony, to develop a common sound. Once you've achieved a sound you like, experiment with it--sing in different ranges, add vibrato if you use it, make the color of the sound darker or brighter. In general, expand your technical arsenal so that whatever effects the music requires, you still sound good together. What it comes down to is that good singing requires the cooperation of the ear, the heart, and the voice. Some specific points about blending male and female voices: --most people produce a brighter tone in their upper range than in their lower range. If a man and a woman are singing in thirds, she's probably near the bottom of her range while he's near the top of his. This means they both have to concentrate on mediating that difference. --thirds have have a denser, richer sound than sixths or tenths. It's easier for two men or two women to sing in thirds; it's easier for a man and a woman to sing sixths or tenths. Take advantage of the difference in sonority and sing music that suits whichever combination you have. (On the other hand, thirds are a lot easier to tune than tenths.) Bill McJohn