How to sing harmony

What harmony singing actually asks of you, why the third above is where everyone starts, the three things that go wrong, and a way to practise that grades you.

How to sing a third above the melody

The third above is the workhorse of two-part singing. What it is, how to find it, where it breaks, and a line you can hear and sing.

How to sing a sixth below the melody

The low harmony: the same sweetness as the third above, heard from underneath. How it relates to the third, why it is harder to hold, and a line to try.

Why you keep drifting back to the melody, and the drill that fixes it

The most common harmony problem is not a bad ear. It is a louder, better-known line pulling yours toward it. Here is what is happening and the drill that trains it out.

How to practise singing harmony alone

You do not need a partner or a piano. What to sing against when there is nobody there, how to duet with your own voice, and how to know whether you got it right.

High harmony or low harmony: which should you sing?

Above the melody or below it? What each one asks of your range and your ear, why the same two notes can be either, and how to choose.

Easy songs to practise singing harmony

Tunes with stepwise lines and simple rhythms, all public domain so you can actually play them, each with the harmony written out and playable.

Drone exercises for singers

Holding one note against something that moves is the root of every harmony skill. Three drone exercises, in order, with the lines to sing them against.

Ear training for singers: hear the interval, then sing it

Most ear training is recognition: name what you heard. Singers need production: sing what you heard, in time, against another line. What to practise and how to be graded on it.

The best apps for learning to sing harmony

An honest look at what is out there: part-learning apps, ear trainers, pitch monitors and Blend, and which one fits which problem.