Learn How To Sing Harmony

Have you always wanted to learn how to sing harmony? It’s not as hard as it may seem. Like everything in music, it just takes practice. Singing harmony with another person (or people) is one of the most enjoyable things about being a singer. There’s something really special and profound about harmonizing with other human voices.

For most people, singing harmonies isn’t easy at first. Unless you grew up singing in church or in a choir, your ears haven’t been trained to hear harmony.

I’m going to share with you 3 ways to train your ears to hear and sing harmony.

How To Sing Harmony

1.)Harmonize With Your Favorite Recordings

Start by choosing a song that already has a harmony line that is clear and easy to hear. Harmonies above the melody are generally much easier to hear- so start there. To help yourself lock into the harmony line, focus on the timbre of the harmony singer’s voice. If the melody and harmony are both sung by the same singer, focus on hearing the highest or lowest voice (depending on whether the harmony was above or below the melody).

Sing along with all of the harmonies you can find in your favorite music. I rarely sing the melody when I’m singing along to the radio- it’s more fun to sing the harmony and work on my ear. If you can make the time, spend an hour a day singing harmony (the more time you spend practicing, the faster you will improve). Go over the same song until you have mastered it.

Once you have mastered singing along with harmony lines, it’s time to try creating your own harmonies. Try harmonizing with solo vocals. You probably won’t sound awesome at first- that’s ok. Work on the same song until you can find a harmony pathway that works.

The car is the perfect place to work on this skill- it’s a great use of your time. What could be more fun then singing duets with your favorite singers?

If you’re looking for some recordings to practice your harmony chops on, here are a few good ones-

Above the melody-

Below the melody-

Three part-

2.) Join a choir- (anything but 1st soprano).

When I first arrived at music school, I realized that the altos had more developed ears than I did. As a soprano, I always sang the highest part (often the melody line) in every group and choir. I couldn’t hear harmonies below the melody.

To catch up with my peers, I joined a church choir and sang alto for a year. When I was finished, my ear for harmony was much improved.

Singing harmony in a group is a great way to learn because singers with stronger ears can help guide you. As your ear develops, you can lean on the other singers in your section less and less.

3.) Practice harmony ear training exercises.

I’ve recorded an ear training exercise that will help you hear and isolate each note in a chord. This is an essential skill for singing harmony.

If you play piano or guitar, you can do this exercise yourself by playing a 3 note, root position chord and trying to sing the root, 3rd or 5th of the chord (mix it up as you move from chord to chord).

Harmony Ear Training Exercise