[Rhodes22-list] Harmony

[Steve Alm]

Bill,

How does harmony work?  Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to
answer.  Volumes have been written on Western harmony, Eastern harmony,
traditional functional harmony, modern, jazz and so on, but here are the
basics:

Think of a graph where the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is
frequency (pitch).  If you plot a melody on the graph, it goes up and down
to different notes as it moves through time.  Harmony happens when you put
two or more contrasting melody lines together on the same graph.  When two
or more notes sound at the same time, that creates or implies a "chord."  A
chord is a simultaneous or "vertical" juxtaposition of pitches.  The most
common chords are called triads and made of three notes, usually every other
white key on the piano.  You probably know the white keys are named A, B, C,
D, E, F and G.  A typical triad would be A, C and E; or B, D and F.  (You
could make a chord using consecutive notes such as A, B and C together, but
it bangs in the ear and sounds like "discord" unless you're listening to
modern jazz or maybe Stravinsky's Rite of Spring--where discord is the
intent of the composer)  As the melodies move through time and the notes
change, the chords change too.  We call this the "chord progression" or as
the jazzers say, "the changes."

The chord progression in any given song is very specific and the note
combinations have to fit into that scheme as they move along.  When Simon
and Garfunkle are singing together, you're hearing two distinct melodies
that work together.  You see Paul strumming the guitar and changing chords
as they go.  The notes that Paul and Art are singing must match the notes in
the guitar chords.  I'm oversimplifying here because melodies can certainly
go "outside" the chords, but let's stick to the basics.

Simon and Gar are only two voices.  Now add a third, fourth and fifth voice
to the equation--five separate melodies plotted on the graph that all fit
together both horizontally and vertically.  When it fits just right, our
ears are happy.  

There's a very strong anthropological element at play here.  What makes my
ear happy might not for my neighbor.  And there have been studies of
aesthetics that reveal the demographics of all that, but for now, let's just
think of that as various flavors of ice cream.

Still with me?  Let's get back to the Beach Boys.  Brian Wilson created his
songs in much the same way as J.S. Bach created his chorales.  The Bach
chorales were typically four voices, soprano, alto, tenor and bass.  Each
had their own individual horizontal melody to sing, but when sung
simultaneously it created vertical chords along the way.  The melodies have
to be crafted so they do indeed make pleasant sounding chords.  "Plotting"
the melodies on the "graph" so they work both vertically and horizontally IS
the art of harmony.

In order for the graph to make the ear happy, the composer needs to follow
many "rules" regarding the placement of notes, exactly which chords to use,
timing and on and on.  One of the things that makes Brian Wilson so
exceptional is that he knew and followed those same rules as Bach so
meticulously.  Not many other 'popular' artist did that.  Or did it to the
extent and complexity as Wilson.  Bach would have loved Surfer Girl.  8-)

Good Vibrations was a studio cut all the way and the live version was a mere
shadow of its former self.  Even the Beach Boys themselves could barely pull
that one off live.  It's because those lines and that harmony - the whole
graph if you will - is so complex and detailed that it's impossible to
replicate live.  Five guys in a studio can overdub the vocals and sound like
ten or twenty.  That means the chords are much more complex than the simple
triads I mentioned before.  Instead of two or three notes together, it's
four or five and then overdubbed to the point of sounding almost like a
whole choir.  That's the effect you get with Good Vibrations.

Class dismissed.

Prof. Slim



On 1/28/05 7:10 AM, "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com> wrote:

> Slim,
> 
> Can you explain how harmony works?  I read what you wrote, and I sort of
> understand it.  But when I really think about it, I know I don't know
> what you are talking about.  And I would love to understand it, even if
> I can never sing it.
> 
> Bill Effros
> 
> 
> 
> Steve Alm wrote:
> 
>> Rummy,
>> 
>> The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean were practically the same band.  They all
>> worked together on many projects.  Ex:  "Barbara Ann" is thought of as a BB
>> song but that's Jan Berry singing the original opening:  "Ba, Ba, Ba,...Ba
>> Ba-bar Ann..."   Can you listen to Surfer Girl, Little GTO or Good
>> Vibrations and NOT feel like you're sixteen and just got your license,
>> cruising Main Street in your '65 Mustang with your girlfriend?  Ain't that
>> what's it's all about?  C'mon now, let's give Surfer Girl another listen:
>> http://home.mn.rr.com/almhome/Surfergirl.mp3
>> 
>> Truthfully, I used to think of the BB as fluffy bubblegum stuff until I was
>> in this 5-pc. show band that did a lot of 4 and 5 part harmony.  We worked
>> up a big BB segment and I was stunned at how hard it was to sing those
>> parts.  Those boys were very well-schooled in formal, classic harmony, and
>> that was quite evident when we dug in and tried to learn their material note
>> for note.  I found renewed respect!  The vocal lines are blended so well
>> that it's hard to tell them apart.  By comparison, we put together the
>> entire Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and pulled it off pretty well, but we
>> couldn't touch Good Vibrations.
>> 
>> By the time Brian Wilson became all messed up on drugs and various psych
>> problems, his cousin Dennis would come to him with a bag of hamburgers and
>> say, "Brian, do you want a hamburger?"  And Brian would mumble, "Uh huh."
>> Then Dennis would say, "Then write a song and you can have one."  After
>> Brian wrote a song, Dennis would say, "Brian, do you want another
>> hamburger?" ...  8-)  True story, or so I'm told.  Brian Wilson is
>> certifiably nuts and also a certifiable genius and IMO a national treasure.
>> 
>> I have tons of stories about these guys because we did numerous gigs with
>> both BB and J & D back when I was on the "nostalgia circuit." playing either
>> before or after them at those big outdoor fairs and festivals multi-band
>> venues.  Never played with the Four Tops (love 'em) but we played venues
>> with Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Turtles, Three Dog Night, Gary Puckett
>> and the Union Gap, The Association, Herman's Hermits, Freddy Cannon, Fats
>> Domino, The Buckinghams, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Mary Wilson, The
>> Imperials, The Dixie Cups, The Shirells, Mitch Rider, .......... 8-)
>> 
>> Slim Chance And The Gamblers  AKA  Cool Duty   8-)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 1/27/05 4:46 PM, "R22RumRunner at aol.com" <R22RumRunner at aol.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  
>> 
>>> Beach boys. Sliimmy, they were bad when they were current and even worse
>>> now. Jan & Dean were the best. I also liked the four tops. :)
>>> Speaking of sunny weather. It looks like winter is going to deposit a ton
>>> of
>>> ice on us Saturday, so if I'm away from the list for a while, it ain't
>>> because I'm out sailing. But, I've never tried it in an ice storm. How much
>>> rum  
>>> would it take to get me to go out sailing in an ice storm? Good question.
>>> Hmmm,  
>>> gonna have to think on that one for a while. What could happen?
>>> 
>>> Rummy
>>> __________________________________________________
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>>>    
>>> 
>> 
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