It’s one thing to sing in tune when you sing by yourself, but it’s whole other thing when you sing with others in a duet or as a group. Some very fortunate kids learn how to sing harmony at a workshop in California that Pierce Brosnan could of got some valuable tips from but more on that shortly.
The workshop was held by The Four Preps, a vocal group that has been going since the 1950’s. Kristina Hernandez found this out about the workshop.
Kids learn to sing harmony
Prior to their performance Tuesday night at the Redlands Bowl, they were the focus of a children’s workshop on music at First Congregational Church in downtown.
About a dozen youngsters were in attendance, along with their parents or grandparents to learn the basics of how a group comes together to perform music led by the popular 1950s group.
Founded in the late 1950s, The Four Preps hit it big while attending Hollywood High School after they were signed to Capitol Records.
In 1957, the group released its biggest single to date, “26 Miles (Santa Catalina),” which they performed on Tuesday before taking questions.
Tuesday’s workshop had those in the crowd dancing and laughing as the group performed, asking for help from the audience with “The Book of Love” and “Lil’ Darlin’.”
“You guys should be up here!” Belland said with a smile as the audience sang along.
Now admittedly the video is not got the greatest of sound the way it was filmed but you still get the fun of the situation and the collaboration of all parties in the room.
Now when you compare that to Pierce Brosnan are there any similarities?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4rGgAXD0MQ
You can see here that Brosnan hasn’t go the best of voices but he took part 100%, just like the kids in the audience. When you watch this video you hear that people told him he could sing, he had belief that he could do much more than James Bond.
And I admire the fact that he stepped right outside his comfort zone, didn’t listen to his fears and went for it.
But a part of me still feels that he should of done a few workshops with The Four Preps and get some of those harmonies going. In the video above he does sound like James Bond aggressively attacking those notes with passion. I was half expecting the Walter PPK to come out. I’m sure The Four Preps could of got an even better sound from him.
He practiced though with great dedication especially in singing to the sea his wife reveals here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eE5vBakggo
They say initially it all starts in the mind and Pierce’s mind was spot on, if these interviews are something to go by. He had self belief, and lots of practice, but is that all you need?
Here are 5 eHow tips on singing harmony.
- Learn basic scales before attempting to sing harmony. Learn the lead part so that you can learn the harmony easier.
- Try playing the harmony on an instrument such as the piano to help you hear the notes you will be singing. Play or sing the scale of the harmony to accompany the melody before attempting to sing the notes out of scale order.
- Listen to a teacher or knowledgeable person who knows the harmony of a particular piece. Train your ear to recognize the melody and the notes that compliment the main theme.
- Train your ear to hear dissonance and resonance within the music. When a note is sung correctly in harmony, there will be a vibration that accompanies the sound. Note that if it sounds right it most likely is right; discord in harmony is fairly easy to detect once the ear is trained.
- Attempt to sing the same notes as the lead part and then sing the notes in the chord above or below the lead part. Know that the baritone part is typically the most difficult and often has a strange succession of chords that will not sound like a tune in its own right.
Now it may be argued that ABBA music is not 100% like this but listen again and you’ll find it very much is. I guess with the right direction and learning from the pros adults and kids learn to sing harmony a whole lot better when pointed the right way and re-corrected when going slightly adrift.
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