Singers, Vocal Team

Why Your Harmony’s Not Working

March 10, 2016

#HarmonyTogether The biggest reason why harmony doesn’t work is because it is not well-understood. Harmony is a compliment to the melody.

It is essential to get the melody down, as opposed to just singers shooting from the hip, hoping to find their part. Let’s say we were going to bake a cake. For most, the icing may be the first go-to thing we think about.

However, you can’t build a cake out of pure sugar alone. It must have a main base, it must have substance. We also may not have in mind all the other ingredients: flour, baking soda and vanilla extract.

Each ingredient on its own may not be as interesting or tasteful, but when mixed together we have something very special. The melody is the cake of the song, harmony is the icing. When too much harmony is added or forced, the melody will lose its substance.

It would be like layering a cake with too much icing. In the end, the cake becomes non-existent, and all that sugar may taste horrible.

Let the Vocals Lead:
Not every note needs icing. In fact, countless well-recorded songs look more like a cup cake. Only the top has the whip, but the rest of the cake is visible. The melody needs to stand out front and it really doesn’t need much support except from the band. Where does this leave the rest of the voices? To the attention of the vocal lead. Job number one of the vocal team is to support the church in worship.

This means a sincere concentration on the lyrical line, as well as its pitch, rhythm, tone and clarity. When too many voices get in the way, it can obscure what the church needs to hear and sing. By the way, on those hit maker recordings, most songs may not have the harmony enter until the middle or the end of the tune.

“Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.” Psalm 135:3

 
Listen Back to Sing:
Like anyone in the team, most members fidget. When they hear music, they can’t wait to jump in. However, every good musician and singer knows that patience develops the skill of maturity.

It’s important for the rest of the voices to listen where the leader is going. Many times I have heard vocal teams be too quick to add-in their phrases or harmony, only to find out that the leader took another turn.

By the time the vocal team catches up, it can be one vocal big train-wreck. Good teams stride in their patience. Yes, this may mean you don’t sing for an entire section or few bars. Are you bold and confident enough not to sing? Remember, our job is not to fill in every note, it’s to support the main note. Your life doesn’t hang in the balance if you sing or not.

Many famous star singers today, who started out yesterday, may only sang one or two phrases, maybe one or two words in their stardom. It’s their character matched with skill that got them where they are today – not because they sang their way up the ladder.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

 
Follow the Leader:
Hear the good melody God is singing through your leader. When it is your time to sing, make sure you are backing the main lead – not killing it. Sing about 2-3 dynamic levels down. Sing a bit off the mike about 3-4 fingers away / across the top, not directly in the capsule.

Work with your audio engineer as they will help you find the sweet spot. Main thing, don’t compete with the main vocal lead.

Sing behind their volume, and blend with their voice. The advantage of singing a bit off the mike and behind them is to better use your listening skills. Simply: listen more / sing less.

“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.” Psalm 138:1

 
Know the Harmony:
Like building the cake, you need to know what harmony to sing that will compliment the melody. This goes back to knowing the song. Spending time with the recording and a piano in your practice time. Vocalize the notes and do your best to pitch match from the keyboard. Work on your tuning and intonation.

You overall pitch is just as good as your harmony. If your tone and note accuracy is weak, your voice does not get better, nor does it enhance the sound when you harmonize. Working on your pitch execution is critical.

This helps prevent the vocal chord your creating (melody voice + harmony voice) from going flat or sharp – which will change the quality of the harmony.

“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” Psalm 108:1

Sing to the Room:
This is a huge technique back before sound monitors were invented. Stage and pop bands had to listen to the room in order to hear themselves. It’s a great teaching tool, but it takes a large adjustment. Sometimes, we can get so ear-blinded when the monitors and stage volume is cranked too high.

You can make out a other people’s note or your part. Again, when you listen back, sing behind the melody note and sing off the mike. You learn to better blend and learn to create a better sound. Most of all, you can begin to hear the entire room. However, this also needs to happen across the whole stage with each person controlling their volume.

“Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:4

Last Consideration:
Make good choices. Think before you sing. Many times I ask myself the question: will this add-to or take away from the moment? If the answer is this last half, I will draw back and remain silent.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Exercise good judgement. When you practice, prepare well and make good decisions, you begin to make beautiful music.

“Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” – Romans 11:18

When we have heart set on Christ, it is easier to make music from His heart.

If there was one thing I hope you learn in this post:
learn to make good musical decisions. You can always correct notes, habits and etc. What you can’t always correct / or take back are poor choices. So make every effort to support your team and every effort to support your church in worship.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. – Rom 12.16

@BranonDempsey @worshiptt

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