How About Harmonizing?

Have you ever sat down, wrote a song, played a melody, and thought to yourself, "This is good, but it needs to be spiced up"? I know I have. That little extra pizazz you're looking for is probably a little music lifesaver called harmonizing.

What Is Harmonizing?

Okay, okay, I'm sure most of you here already know what harmonizing is. But, I am here to educate, so for those of you who don't know, read closely.

Harmonizing is playing a different set of notes on top of one set of notes to create what is called harmony. Now, harmony can be attained by experimenting with many different types of harmonization. Sorry, am I not clear enough? Don't worry, there's more.

What Harmony Sounds Good?

Well, there are many different types of intervals you can experiment with that will create good harmony with your original set of notes. What's an interval, you ask? An interval is the distance between two different notes. These intervals also have names. Here are a few common intervals you may or may not already know of:

Unison - This is the absolute easiest interval to remember. Let's just say you have another guitarist playing with you. For the other guitarist to play the set of notes you're playing using the unison interval, they should play exactly what you are playing. Simple, huh?

Minor Third - A minor third is just three semi-tones, or half-steps, above the root note. For instance, a minor third above an A would be a C.

Major Third - A major third is four semi-tones, or two whole steps, above the root note. Using A as an example again, the major third above would be a C#, or Db.

Perfect Fourth - A perfect fourth is five semi-tones above the root note. In most cases it will be on the same fret as your root note on the very next string. This makes it easy to play both notes at the same time. Sticking with A, the perfect fourth above would be a D.

Perfect Fifth - Also known as the "power chord", this interval is located seven semi [tones above the root note. It is very popular in almost all rock music. Using A once again, the perfect fifth above is an E.

Octave - The octave is twelve semi-tones above the root note. An octave is exactly the same note as your root, only transposed up to a higher pitch. So, obviously, the octave of an A would be another A.

Okay, now that we've cleared that up, let's get on to actually harmonizing.

Choosing Which Intervals To Use

Well, this is easier said than done. Whichever intervals you want to use are completely up to you. Just don't get too crazy, for not all intervals sound good to harmonize with, especially depending on the key of your song. But, you can always use your knowledge of keys and intervals to your advantage. Let's say your song is in a minor key. Then it would be smart to use, say, minor thirds to harmonize with, right? Major intervals in a major key, you get the point. And never be afraid to switch around. Go from minor thirds to octaves, go from major thirds to perfect fifths... you never know what brilliant harmony you may produce.

Where Do I Use Harmony?

The brilliant thing about harmony is that is sounds great nearly anywhere. Your rhythm parts can be harmonized, your solos can be harmonized... you could have a song with absolutely no harmony except for the bridge. Maybe just the intro. Maybe just the outro. No matter where you harmonize, your listeners will never cringe at the effect, you simply can't go wrong with it!

Alright, I know what you're thinking, and I'm way ahead of you there.

What Songs Using Harmonizing Could I Practice To?

Hey, before you get to actually writing harmony parts, you're going to want to know a few beforehand, right? I know how you feel. I think I can muster up a few songs to which you can "jam" and learn a few things.

A lot (and I stress this point; a lot) of Iron Maiden songs use harmonizing. If I may name a few, "Twilight Zone", "Die With Your Boots On", "The Trooper", "Aces High", "Flash Of The Blade", "Powerslave", and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner"... and those are only a few!

"The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy. The little bits right after each chorus and the bridge all use harmonizing.

"Killer Queen" by Queen. The solo near the end has brilliant harmonizing. A great solo to practice to.

"Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica. The bridge is an excellent harmonizing part; it sounds great and is great practice, especially for beginners.

"Hangar 18" by Megadeth. The main riff is a great-sounding harmonizing riff; not only that, it can be easily done with just one guitarist, saving the hassle of trying to get both of you in perfect rhythm.

Well, I'm sure there are more, but those are the only ones I can think of offhand.

And there you have it. Hope you understand harmonizing a little better now. Keep in mind that in almost all cases you're going to need two guitarists; sorry, but that's just the way it is. Unless you're really, really good, a second guitarist is practically mandatory. I couldn't possibly tell you how long it took me to get down "The Boys Are Back in Town" by myself. Practice practice practice. Just remember that the only thing better than playing in harmony is listening to it.

Comments

[twistedsister]

Very good article. 5 stars.

[metalhafiz]

Nice article dude... love it...

[amotesharei]

*shock* no In Flames in the recomendations!?

[boxcarblink41]

Hey that was great stuff, keep it up

Too bad my harmonizing always sucks

[Robbie n strat]

Nice article. A better Iron Maiden song with harmonizing though is Rain Maker after the solo, that sounds amazing.

[AlekOne]

Very good!

[bigtimmy]

Robbie n strat:
Nice article. A better Iron Maiden song with harmonizing though is Rain Maker after the solo, that sounds amazing.

amen to that! yeh i only knew about the perfect fifths so now i can fiddle around with these other intervals. awesome!

[sublimeskater07]

nice.
avenged sevenfold harmonocizes some cool riff also..

[trydionel]

Fantastic article... Your 'What Is Harmonizing?' section is a little circular, but everything else is superb. 5 Stars

[ludachris0606]

Great article man, finally a column actually worth reading... 5 stars

[ledhed68]

very good article and very informative 5 stars

[mesaboogieman]

yeh i agree that was well worth the time, the only article ive ever printed off and found useful, the tricky part is coming up with your own riff you can harmonize. My favourite example of a harmony is The Clairvoyant by Iron Maiden that bit before the chorus

[Scourge441]

I knock a star off for spelling it 'harmonizing' It should be spelt with an 's'. I appreciate you may be American, but we invented the language, and so you should spell it like we do. And if your English you have no excuse.

I hate people like you. Base your rating on the content of the article, not the spelling of a word.

5 stars (I wish I could do 6 to make up for Powerslave's idiocy).

[Pure_Morning]

Bit short but it told a lot. Thanks for the tips. 5 stars!

[Goshdangit88]

Yay I love harmony!!!

[lost_it_again]

great article, really useful, we can now diversify and not just use the perfect fifth all the time, thanks 5 stars

[imamusician16]

good article, 5 starz

[Mantiscabinet]

thank you...if you do a follow up article on this...work on advanced harmonizing, like not just keeping it at one interval...like complicated things you hear in big band...other than that...5 stars dude

[gilmour-page]

nice article, 4 stars

[SingingSabre]

"Harmonize" is spelled correctly. No stars should have been deducted.

I this this is one of the best written articles in a long time here! Thanks for writing it!

I'd love to see a "Harmonizing Pt 2" involving more advanced harmonies and techniques.

[aquaknight3]

nice

[landloader]

can harmonizing be used with chords as well? 4 stars

[jahyarain]

the best article i've read here. thanks, man!

[Coolvortex]

A song with harmonizing that should be mentioned is still life by iron maiden, it's not very known, but the little riff between the second chorus and the solo is the thing I learned harmonies with. And also the solo in in too deep by sum41 uses harmonies and is very simple to learn

[psychodelia]

Good for basics, I guess. If you do mak "Harmonizing Pt 2" why not include, say, the chords based off a major scale ( major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished) so people have an idea that if they're going in thirds in a certain key what they should probably use.

Maybe explanations of diminished and augmented intervals and whatnot would be good too.

Still, a good informative article for beginners, good job.

[DaveDaThrasha]

yeah, one really good slightly more recent song for harmonizing, is "Chapter Four" By Avenged Sevenfold, off of Waking The Fallen, the lil bit after the intro that repeats towards the end, is a real nice, real easy part to learn, but all those maiden songs you referenced are good too.. maiden is god for harmonizing..

[rjc_15]

You did very well with this and I greatly appreciate this article. I have been waiting for a long time for someone to write something like this, and you couldn't have done a better job. Kudos to you. 5 stars.

[gpderek09]

the chorus from thoughts without words has a good harmonized section. even a couple sum 41 songs (pain for pleasure, grab the devil by the horns) and alot of avenged seven fold ( i know the last two bands i mentioned arent very well accepted here...) but good job, i'm gona print this out, i've been wanted to try some harmonies in my band...

[SethMegadefan]

Thanks, all. I've been hearing that I should do a Harmonizing Part 2. I just might, but would anyone care to post what parts should I include? Or what parts I should go more in depth into? If I get enough input, I might just make a second part.

[tidus730]

great article. very true about Iron Maiden.

[SiD3_eFf3cT]

i love reading the arguments on here that have nothing to do with the article

[Bumzor]

Great article, 5 star matey.

Just one thing though, can anyone go through with me wtf a 'KEY' is... :S

[funeral thirst]

dude, shit yeah, gnarly article

[himurakenshin]

bad article told nothing about harmonizing - just because something is in minor key you don't use minor thirds - it depends on the chords and the note. very bad and misleading

[homeslicka]

The Allman Brothers! Dual leads! Yeah!

[bearded_rainbow]

himurakenshin is an old woman.


5 stars.

[adam_76]

master of puppets interlude...great article thanks!

[AtrocityWeek]

great, loved it, very informative 5stars!

[evilkow]

very informative, good article.

[groll01]

great article, very usefull *thumbs up*

[nightrune]

that was pretty good, another sweet song is Enlightened by the Cold by Shadows Fall, the harmonizing in that one is bad a$$, its right at the end and its really simple

[dogsballs]

Thanks seth that article rocks. maybe you could write one to help us better understand the differant keys.

[dancing_jesus]

5 stars (starz)

[InanezGuitars44]

awesome. i knew nothing about harmony, now i know a lot. 5 stars

[IllegalPanda]

if anyone wants another great harmonizing song...

check out the outro to "floods" by pantera..its an amazing outro..easy and fun to play as well

[the_bear_shark]

terrible, 1 star

[the_bear_shark]

sorry i was joking its really 5 stars.

[atm_sk8er]

awsome, are there any other harmony intervals? or is that it?. anyways, 5*'s. you are completely right-there's no way to possibly go wrong with harmonising. (sp?) keep it up, write more articles plz, this was really helpful.

[MetalToTheEnd]

I bow down to you. 5 (6 if I could).

^ Yes, there are PLENTY more. This article hardly scratched the surface.

Major Third - A major third is four semi-tones, or two whole steps, above the root note. Using A as an example again, the major third above would be a C#, or Db.

The major 3rd of A is C#, not Db. You might have considered putting this through the UG Contribution forum first, that way I can catch mistakes of that nature.

landloader:
can harmonizing be used with chords as well?

Yes, chords are in fact harmonies in themselves.

Just one thing though, can anyone go through with me wtf a 'KEY' is..

A key is a set of notes that supposedly sounds "'good" together. Almost all keys are based off of the major scale (some composers have used others).

Anyone looking for more information on harmonizing should go to http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/guitar_techniques/counterpoint_explained_contrapuntal_motion.html
A
lso helpful is http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=3441954

3 stars, should have done more, and had blatantly wrong info that is now corrected.

-SD

[sito]

You could add more to the lesson on how to harmonize. In fact I would add that all intervals with a minor and major interval in them(i.e. minor and major thirds) go in a sequence of this on a major scale:

major, minor, minor, major, major,minor, minor major ect.

You should also add information about sixths and sevenths too.
The lesson doesn't have enough information in order for someone to fully understand what harmonization is all about.
But don't get discouraged by all the negative comments (including mine). You can always make it better and produce a masterpiece!

[TheUltimateSin]

Great article man. I give it 5 stars. And powerslave, you people didn't "invent" the language. No one "invents" languages, they develope them. And as far as that goes, who cares anyway? Like it was said above, base your judgement off of the content, not the spelling.

[boon]

Five stars, definately. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden's another good harmonizing song, the riff is wundahful

[popomitohren]

Someone beat me to it, but a major 3rd above A is C# not Db. He didn't explain why so neither am I unless someone wants me to.

You have a good starting point here for beginners, except for A. the above, and B. I don't know if this is what you meant, but you implied that you cannot harmonize with major intervals in a minor key and vis-versa, but in fact you can, you just have to know when. Sito touched on that a little, and I agree with him that you could've added more info, but aside from your above stated errors this would've been a good part 1 or something. I would've given you 3 stars for the lack of info, but the two errors bumped you down to 2. Good effort, though.

[The Powerslave]

That was a shame, I'd hoped for a bigger arguement. Anyway most people do have a valid point. If the article was full of bad spelling and grammer you can knock a point off, but for the one word... Based on the content its definetely a 5 star, but you could have done with saying what each harmony sounds like, like what sounds evil, happy and so on.

[Adalgeirr]

[QUOTE=popomitohren]Someone beat me to it, but a major 3rd above A is C# not Db. He didn't explain why so neither am I unless someone wants me to.

I guess an explanation would be helpful when you're saying something is wrong. I was under the impression that a C# and Db were the same, could someone explain the difference?

[Archaon]

I thought it was a good article even if I did already know most of it. 5/5 bud.

I guess an explanation would be helpful when you're saying something is wrong. I was under the impression that a C# and Db were the same, could someone explain the difference?

C# and Db ARE the same pitch. However, in relation to the note A, you must use the A major scale for determining the interval.
The A major scale is: A B C# D E F# G# A.

Line this up with the intervals and you find that C# is 3 and D is 4. Therefore, any C note is some type of 3rd of A, and any D note is some type of 4th.

A B C# D E F# G# A
1.2.3..4.5.6..7..1

Hope that spaces properly!

-SD

[Pyro128]

Listening to 'Killer Queen' as we speak

[popomitohren]

SilentDeftone:
C# and Db ARE the same pitch. However, in relation to the note A, you must use the A major scale for determining the interval.
The A major scale is: A B C# D E F# G# A.

Adalgeirr,
Silent Deftone here explained it pretty well here, but it isn't necesarrily that you have to use a major scale to determine the interval. You can, and it works great, but ANY 3rd of A is ALWAYS C. Determining what a interval is is done by counting notenames, starting at A, which is 1, then B-2, and C-3, so it's a 3rd. So whether it's Cb, C, or C#, it's always a 3rd of some kind in relation to A, and D is always a fourth of A. That's why a Gmi chord is always G-Bb-D and cannot be G-A#-D, even though they'd sound the same. SilentDeftone is right, I he just explained it differently than I would've, because you can't use a major or minor scale to determine, say, a diminished 3rd interval. Sticking with A that would be Cb by the way, and never B.

[himurakenshin]

everybody is so amazed because most people here have no theory knowledge whatsoever. In reality this article really isn't good it doesn't tell anything about harmonizing, its just a lesson in intervals (even a bad lesson in intervals because he hasn't told all the intervals) there are more ways of harmonizing you can harmonize on any interval.

[popomitohren]

I just got confuzzled. Amen! More on Harmony! Just to get us back on topic, who can tell me what note is a minor 3rd above... oh, I don't know... Eb?

I can, Gb.

All posts relating to language, war, and anything non-harmony-relating deleted.

[element94]

bearded_rainbow:
himurakenshin is an old woman.

agreed.

great article, should teach everyone a lot.

[GuitarFreak664]

awesome....best article here in a while

5 STARS

[himurakenshin]

my god please tell me what you are learning here about harmonizing. he told a few intervals, and then said try which ones sounds best.

please someone englighten me on the amazing usefulness on a article on "harmonizing" which deserves 5 stars.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^^The fact that it explains well to beginners. If you already know enough about harmony, then don't bother reading this article and keep your mouth shut.

[punkrocker_336]

it's good but i'm not so good at harmonizing i wish you would of explained it a little more but it's kool

[cpt_pimp]

yeah, thanks for the article. i am BARELY starting to get used to harmonizing and i was still unsure of A LOT of stuff. so this is a big help to me. 'cus i've tried other types of harmonizing, but they don't sound right at all. so yeah, thanks.

[grape_moosha]

Nice article
it has taught me alot since i am only starting to write my own music, and i was tryin to get my riffs to sound iron maiden style and this has helped alot already.....5 stars

[The Powerslave]

It could do with something saying what each harmony sounds like.

[MetallicFallout]

Very good, 4 stars. It explained things to the point. The only thing that I felt it needed was describing changing from major to minor, so on...

[Chris inman]

this stuff isnt to complecated, but if billie joel read it he'd be confused out of his retarded little poser punk mind. HA!

[xjuax]

there are more intervals than that. what about 2nds, 6ths and 7ths?

[tw17ch35]

Wow. No Flames. Did everyone take prozac before they read this?

[deadpiglet]

usefull stuff ^_^

[Tyler the Great]

Pt. 2, mention dissonance, I think. Sometimes, it is good to sound nasty.

[Pimpinguitarist]

Not that anyone knows who they are but...

Trivium has some amazing harmonizing. They have a solo in every song except a couple and they always harmonize. Theyre gonna be at Ozzfest!

[kt_guitarist]

right to the point, know a little bit more

please write some more of this stuff

[Dark_Sanity]

ha sanyone heard any of the harmonizing that darkest hour does? it's nice, not many bands do that any more. it's comeinf back though...it's about time backese the sound ***ing amazing. 5 stars, i can't wait for part 2

[rabidskapunker]

twas a good article but i guess you could have put in a little more about augmented/diminished intervals, perhaps you could do that in part II. you could also talk about which harmonies to do in relation to certain chord progressions etc etc. not bad for basics.

[The Mofaster]

Well to let most people know... the whole "...And Justice For All" album by Metallica has harmonizing just thrown everywhere... and I truly think they are great examples of what this author emphasized about.

^ Just about every song ever made has harmonizing. Chords use harmony. Unless you have a simple melody with no 2 notes playing simultaneously, you're playing harmonies.

-SD

[himurakenshin]

^^^The fact that it explains well to beginners. If you already know enough about harmony, then don't bother reading this article and keep your mouth shut.

don't get mad at me, but i'm just saying that in my opinion a article claming to be about harmonizing and then just saying "here are some intervals, go play with them and see which sounds good" just doesn't deserve 5 stars.

[SethMegadefan]

God dammit, himurakenshin, it's for beginners. Jesus, maybe part 2 will suit your picky needs for detail. In the meantime, why don't you read other peoples' comments for it; they seemed to think it was helpful so maybe you're the only one who's being bugged by this.

[JustinYap]

reli helpfull article... i gotta remember that... excellent article, 5 stars!!!

[Mace_37]

It is good, but I'd like to see more diverse examples. Possibly something acoustic. Does anyone have any suggestions for acoustic harmonization? PM them to me,
thanks

[AnEpicAfterAll]

SethMegadefan:
God dammit, himurakenshin, it's for beginners. Jesus, maybe part 2 will suit your picky needs for detail. In the meantime, why don't you read other peoples' comments for it; they seemed to think it was helpful so maybe you're the only one who's being bugged by this.

i agree with himurakenshin,

just because its for beginers doesnt mean it should be taught unclearly. its explaining intervals not harmonizing.if a root note and another note is put together it makes a sound ie minor 3rds, perfect 4ths,perfect 5th which, is a interval's proper name. its explaining why those are called what they are called, and its not a good job explaining that because the people who thought this was a good article most likely do not know why a perfect 5th is a perfect 5th. saying that "A" sounds good with "E" because its 7 semitones above the root note is common sense, all you have to do is count.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^Dude, you're missing the part about beginners. They don't get into advanced stuff at that level, and they don't know what seems like common sense to people who already know this stuff. I didn't know this stuff at one point, and I'm sure a lot of other people didn't as well. So take it easy will ya?

[SethMegadefan]

Well, then, AnEpicAfterAll, if this article was explained so unclearly, then why all the praise saying it was helpful?

[tearjerkerrhcp]

ok I think it was a good article but what about players that are completly selftought that dont know what keys are huh what then. I can play a lot of stuff but I just know what sounds good together soo have fun with complicated stuff hah.. Maybe I should get a book..

[jimmyjazz03]

thanx so much. Im very inexperienced w/ guitar and this will really help me keep the songs interesting.

[Strat_Monkey]

himurakenshin is an old woman.

Maybe so, but he's also right, in most cases it would not be a good idea to harmonise entirely in thirds. MOST CASES, NOT ALL.

[psykopoo]

yeah, trivium = masters of harmonising + blind guardian

[bearshock04]

blue sky is a sick song for harmonizing

[IzzySnakes]

100th vote!!!.. great article!!!

[elcapitanloco]

I can't believe this article got 5 stars.

himurakenshin:
bad article told nothing about harmonizing - just because something is in minor key you don't use minor thirds - it depends on the chords and the note. very bad and misleading/QUOTE]

I couldn't agree more. This article wasn't about harmonizing, it was about a few basic intervals.

People like this guy:
landloader:
can harmonizing be used with chords as well?

will quickly find out how useless this article is; you can have major chords and major intervals in a minor key.

1 star. (but thanks to the scores of idiots who voted it 5, my vote has practically no impact)

[SethMegadefan]

^Hey, I really do respect your opinion on my article, but do you really have to call everyone else idiots who voted like they did?

[TheUltimateSin]

elcapitanloco: 1 star. (but thanks to the scores of idiots who voted it 5, my vote has practically no impact)

Hey, people are entitled to whtaever opinion they want. If they want to vote 5 stars, then they obviously liked it and thought it was helpful. But people like you, who don't like it, do nothing but whine and complain about how "useless" it was. Guess what, if you don't like it, don't bother with it. Disacknowledge it completely and move on with life.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^whatever

[gimme_fuel_89]

Yeah, great article, I previously didn't know the fundamentals of harmonizing, and now I do, so I can build on it. Btw, the master of puppets interlude would've been a great example.

[dan_the_pie]

boring and stupid. youre an idiot

[himurakenshin]

thank you elcapitanloco, i thought i was alone hear and just gave up thinking that everyone here on this site had no knowledge of theory.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^^Well, you can go ahead and think that all you want but it won't make it true. Like I said above, if you don't like the article then ignore it and move on with your life, pending you have one at all.

[ledfilly]

just another chain reaction but yes good article

[GraceAKASlash]

Thanks Seth, Great Article! 5 Stars!

[ISuk@Guitar]

i was surprised not to hear avenged sevenfold... but good article

[ruberducky]

i didnt even read it. i a lazy PIG

[_RockOnForever_]

5 stars! hell yeah... avenged sevenfold in practically all their songs

[DownDark]

Killer Queen definately has a great solo. Isn't it possible to do vocal harmonies just like Queen?

[Codonah]

Nice Colunmn

[tragik]

Good article.

Avenged Sevenfold are the best recent band for harmonies. Anything off of City of Evil has great harmonies, and that's every single song. Yes, it is possible to do vocal harmonies. I'm not sure of any examples, but I would know one if I heard it.

[SethMegadefan]

^Queen.

[BillieJoefan108]

CAN I SAY ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD NOT HAVE AFFECTED THE RATING OF THIS ARTICLE, WHAT IS THE NAME OF "YOUR" LANGUAGE, ENGLISH! SO STOP SPELLING OUR F*CKING WORDS WRONG!

[SethMegadefan]

^Holy crap, man, are you joking?

[rackmesideways]

in flames is the best band for harmony's.

[TheUltimateSin]

BillieJoefan108:
CAN I SAY ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD NOT HAVE AFFECTED THE RATING OF THIS ARTICLE, WHAT IS THE NAME OF "YOUR" LANGUAGE, ENGLISH! SO STOP SPELLING OUR F*CKING WORDS WRONG!

And that had what to do with this topic exactly?

[Spity90]

Ahh yes harmonizing, me and my band (shadows of war) came up with this idea (it was already thought of by the greats, bach, beethoven, haydn, mozart, vivaldi) basically we do the 2 violins effect and it sounds extremely nice gotta love it, 5 stars
great article

[Dogwillhunt]

If all of you "theory" geniuses are sooo.. smart, then explain to me what the difference between a C# and a Db is because, quite frankly, THEY'RE THE SAME FREAKIN' NOTE! My music theory teacher even said they were the same notes back in high school. NEWS FLASH: A# = Bb, B# = C, C# = Db, D# = Eb, E# = F, F# = Gb, G# = Ab. Before you tell somebody they are incorrect, make sure you know what you're talking about first or put down your bong, the resin's clogging your brain. However, you're not the first person to ever say something stupid as a musical artist. When Britney Spears remade "I Love Rock & Roll" she quoted, "I've always liked Pat Benetar." That's nice, considering it was Joan Jett who sang that song. D'oh! I don't know how much theory the author of this article knows, but for guitarists that didn't know any of this, I think it's a very informative article. It's a lot better than Metallica vs. Megadeth. 5 STARS.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^Well said

[NikkiSix]

Wow, yet another article full of useless whining. Will you kids grow up already? Being that it is for Initiates(that means beginners for you ignorant people ) this article was very well laid out and explained. And the author explained that he will be releasing a Part 2 to get more into detail(Since most of you seem to think that people just starting out have to know everything about harmonizing right away so they can focus on just that and ignore the rest of the basics. BASICS, get that?). There is more to playing the guitar than knowing everything about harmonizing immediatly. Children, I tell ya.....

[aintlifegrand]

ya can't believe u didnt mention A7x, but great article I've been lookin for something like this for awhle and this is really goin to help. 5 stars ***.., rock on \m/

[jpburns88]

ok, i just kinda wanna attempt to put this whole "C#/Db" thing to rest. Right now I am in college music theory, so hopefully this will clear things up a bit:

They are the same pitch, but when writing out an A major scale, it's written as C#, because it jsut isn't a good idea to mix sharps and flats when writing out a scale; it makes matters very confusing. popomitohren and silent deftone both did an excellent job of explaining this earlier in the post.

and just some extra trivia: on a violin, C# and Db really are different pitches. The reason this works is because of the scales that they are used in.

Dogwillhunt, high school theory teachers don't go into this much detail because, well, you're in high school. If you continue with music in college, you will learn a lot of things aren't like what your high school theory teacher taught you.

[slashh]

so u need 2 guitars for harmony?

[newcomer]

...good article? i liked it, but all these people have good points, himurakenshin should write an expert article to clear it up, since he seems to know. and SilentDeftone seems to know a shit load more, lots of good information (in the comments) after reading the comments i took nothing from the article, where are your articles again?

And Slashh... you better be trying to be funny, or you're just braindead.

[pytolk]

Okay... if your name is HimuraKenshin ON A GUITAR WEBSITE!!!!! then your just gay. come here...
s13.invisionfree.com/serietifanclub.com

[hastings_axeman]

It great to see stuff like this available without having to pay for it. nice stuff, very usefull!

[slapuaroundabit]

well said

[phil5000]

Very nice man! I loved that you added the other intervals in there! I think we would all love to see a follow-up to this article thats a little more advanced!

[ibanezza]

I liked this article but I thought the last part of the Hotel California solo would have made a good addition to the "to-practice-to" list as I found it really helpful when I started harmonising.

[fishergirl106]

this was a good article but it should've mentionned all of the intervals, like all the minors and majors and also the one between perfect fourth and perfect fifth (i forget what its called) its still good though 4 stars

[gunner_011]

im just a beginner and i have absolutely no frigen idea wat you mean. oh well

[gunner_011]

the master of puppets interlude would've been a great example
that just made me get this whole thing

[G-Sage]

all i can say is good, i like the fact that theres people out there who are trying to increase the overall sound of all music for all players other than faggots who diss other genres

[G-Sage]

a perfect 5

[Beau W]

I like cheese

[DropD_Todd]

BillieJoefan108:

CAN I SAY ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD NOT HAVE AFFECTED THE RATING OF THIS ARTICLE, WHAT IS THE NAME OF "YOUR" LANGUAGE, ENGLISH! SO STOP SPELLING OUR F*CKING WORDS WRONG!


And that had what to do with this topic exactly?

hes a typical billie joe fan thats all

[The master]

i respect all different types of music and harmonizing plays a huge part in music if you dont know how then stop jamming on the guitar and have some disiplin on it....GREAT ARTICLE VERY WELL PUT

[cap'nkirk]

well, I know two guitars is needed... but, It's also good to harmonize vocals with guitar, or even harmonize the bass with the guitar ;... good article though!

[/-Vince-\]

I thought Harmonizing was more like :
C Major scale: C D E F G A B
let's say your first note is C and you harmonize in minor third it would look like that: C > E, not Eb, because Eb isnt even in the scale!!!!!?????

[Cheesepuff]

I thought Harmonizing was more like :
C Major scale: C D E F G A B
let's say your first note is C and you harmonize in minor third it would look like that: C > E, not Eb, because Eb isnt even in the scale!!!!!?????

Because you dont harmonize a minor third on the root note of a major mode. (According to the scale of C major) If it was A minor third then it would work because A is a natural minor in C major. But if it's C in C major then only major thirds would work. It's confusing I know but try learning chords and remember minor chords have a flattened 3rd.

[Cheesepuff]

^^And C > E what you said there is a major third

[stefanHBHB]

I HAVE A QUESTION:
USING A HARMONIZING PEDAL, WOULD I BE ABLE TO GET THE "AVENGED SEVENFOLD" SOUND???
-thanks to anyone who answers

[fisherman_rock]

Boston has really good harmonies in almost all of their songs. It soothing.

[mrbiscuits315]

Great article "sweet leaf" by Black Sabbath uses a lot of octave harmonizing.

[4-string-4-eva]

good article but your wording may give beginners the wrong idea. when one guitar plays the same thing as another but in a different position, neither one is playing a 'harmony'. theyre both playing a melody but the combination of the two creates a harmony. too many guitarists and singers think theyre playing harmonies without realising that a harmony is a chord progression normally

[4-string-4-eva]

Dogwillhunt wrote:

If all of you "theory" geniuses are sooo.. smart, then explain to me what the difference between a C# and a Db is because, quite frankly, THEY'RE THE SAME FREAKIN' NOTE! My music theory teacher even said they were the same notes back in high school. NEWS FLASH: A# = Bb, B# = C, C# = Db, D# = Eb, E# = F, F# = Gb, G# = Ab. Before you tell somebody they are incorrect, make sure you know what you're talking about first or put down your bong, the resin's clogging your brain.

chill??

[human panda]

*shock* no In Flames in the recomendations!?

DragonForce are over rated

DragonForce fan "oh my god, there playing so fast"

Average Joe "Thats the Keyboards"

DragonForce fan ".....

[aar24]

Okay, I didn't read every comment, so sorry if I'm repeating anything. I'm in the second year of a High School Music Theory/Audio Technology course and we have different names for the same note (i.e., C# and Db) because in a diatonic scale, you always have an A B C D E F and G note. For example, in A Major, A is your root, B is your second, and C# is your third, not Db. You're simply following the order of pitches. If you do have a Db in the key of A Major, it would be considered a flattened fourth, not a major third. Hope this cleared up some confusion, even though it probably just created more.

[Diablo1986]

human panda :
*shock* no In Flames in the recomendations!?

DragonForce are over rated

DragonForce fan "oh my god, there playing so fast"

Average Joe "Thats the Keyboards"

DragonForce fan ".....

...epic fail. Google Gothenburg Metal