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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Mindflux on July 18, 2014, 02:00:07 PM
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So with the Best Chorus' topic I thought we'd have a best harmonies topic.
Listening to a lot of Neal era SB lately. Neal, Nick and Alan lay down some gorgeous harmonies together.
What comes to mind when you think of mind blowing harmonies?
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Cheap Trick - Tonight It's You
The Beatles - Because
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Seven Bridges Road (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE)
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Galactic Cowboys (first 2 albums)
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Seven Bridges Road (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE)
The Eagles were the first band I thought of, and this is a great example.
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Basically anything by Steven Wilson.
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Basically anything by Brian Wilson.
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Beach Boys
Beatles
Hollies
CSNY
Eagles
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Porcupine Tree - Drown With Me. Or basically anything by Mew.
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My two favorite bands with harmonies always tend to have two lead vocalist in the band.
Dada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bul76yen1rE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTCyRkTqPys
The Rembrandts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQSkSDtOIi0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwC12ztJmY8
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Alice In Chains - Rotten Apple
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Anything by Moon Safari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NKsJta-G0
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I don't put SW up there in this category, simply because his harmonies (which are always great) are often his voice overdubbed multiple times (although there are exceptions, like when Maitland was in PT, or when Wesley guested on a PT record, etc.). Same thing with Queen, whose harmonies were incredible, but layered beyond belief.
When I think of the best harmonies, I think of the bands who do them naturally, with no studio overdubs or anything. Bands like:
Yes
The Beatles
CSN(Y)
Eagles
Doobie Brothers
Styx
America
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Fleet Foxes
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Grateful Dead
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I really love Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins' harmonies on the early Genesis albums. Can't wait to see them dust some of those off for the reunion tour.
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Troll confirmed.
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Bad 4 Good (some wicked harmonies on there)
T-Ride, if I remember it well
B.Lee
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Alice In Chains - Rotten Apple
That, and most of their other songs as well.
Such unusual harmonies.
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Anything by Moon Safari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NKsJta-G0
Man I love their harmonies
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All these replies and no mention of Queen? (unless I missed it).
You should be ashamed DTF :biggrin:
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Anything by Moon Safari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NKsJta-G0
What I would have said. Some of the most amazing harmony vocals ever.
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Rainbow
Pink Floyd
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Alice in Chains and King's X come to mind.
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How could have I forgotten King's X?! :facepalm:
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Igor Stravinsky does some crazy shit.
Also, has no one mentioned Devin Townsend? :o
Basically anything by Stephen Wilson.
Awwww, thanks :P
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Bad 4 Good (some wicked harmonies on there)
T-Ride, if I remember it well
B.Lee
Wow. 2 bands that I would've bet the bank nobody else had ever heard of. Impressive.
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I really like those harmonies in 'Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing' by Stevie Wonder.
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Galactic Cowboys (first 2 albums)
:tup my first thought
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Well I can't think of a single rock band whose live harmonies sound better than Styx. As for an album, I don't think anything can beat Queen II other than maybe Sheer Heart Attack and Night at the Opera (the following two albums, for those who don't know). Of course the harmonies on all Styx albums are awesome too, but not as crazy good as those Queen ones. It's a real bummer Queen was always between mediocre and suckish at doing their harmonies live, but I also wasn't there and I'm only judging from video. I would love to see Styx cover some of those insane Queen harmonies because they would do it flawlessly.
Styx did this really cool 18-song medley a few years ago with a lot of awesome harmonies from tons of songs and UNBELIEVABLY good drumming from Todd Sucherman. It's on their 2006 live DVD too, which is awesome.
But of course Transatlantic, Flying Colors, Yes, and Boston all definitely have to be mentioned in this conversation.
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Dream Theater make the best prog metal harmonies IMO.
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You're not listening to enough prog metal then :p
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Boston, Van Halen, and to some extent Def Leppard...
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Always loved this opening by Def Leppard. I imagine it wasn't so easy back in 91-92.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE88id4sdT8
I also really like these in Above & Beyond's On A Good Day. They aren't too crazy, but they add such depth when they come in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKsNE8QJE3g
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Some that haven't been mentioned yet:
Simon and Garfunkel
The Byrds
Todd Rundgren
Joni Mitchell
Kansas
XTC
ABBA
The BeeGees
Jellyfish
Marissa Nadler
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Dream Theater make the best prog metal harmonies IMO.
wut?
Can't think of any others that haven't been mentioned but a couple that I enjoy for harmonies;
Gamma Ray
Savatage
Little River Band
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You're not listening to enough prog metal then :p
Maybe Opeth and PT can top DT, but I don't consider them prog metal in the traditional way. Actually, I still have to find a metal band, besides the both mentioned, that does better harmonies than DT.
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They don't really do a lot of harmonies though. As far as vocals go, they really don't do anything in the harmony department, even JLB has said that before. And instrumentally they're much more into guitar/keyboard unisons than harmonies. Not that they never do them, but it's really rare, and it's pretty much a third apart every time. Dream Theater is much more about straightforward melodies with complicated rhythms and subtleties going on underneath.
Opeth do a lot more, and imo more interesting, harmonies. I haven't heard a lot of Pain of Salvation but they seem to do quite a bit from what I've heard, maybe the actual PoS fans on this board could correct me there. Even Symphony X did a lot more in the way of harmonies, both instrumentally and vocally, back when they had a more progressive/symphonic edge.
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Was listening to Circus Maximus today, they've got great harmonies.
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The Divine Wings of Tragedy (the track by Symphony X) has a very beautiful opening full of vocal harmonies. I know it isn't an original composition, but it's beautifully executed.
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The Divine Wings of Tragedy (the track by Symphony X) has a very beautiful opening full of vocal harmonies. I know it isn't an original composition, but it's beautifully executed.
This so much. I just need to hear that opening "On the edge of paradise" and I get chills.
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Hmmm... Another "Too Many To Choose" topic here, but here are some...
Eagles... of course
Doobie Brothers
ELO
Journey
Extreme
Foreigner
America
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harmonies
(https://ofmusingsandwonderings.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/you-keep-using-that-word1.jpg)
Spock's Beard is good with harmonies too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZU_gWw4EjM#t=92
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This: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqXibjCZy5Ym (which reminds me of www.youtube.com/watch?v=inPIDN60-RI)
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harmonies
(https://ofmusingsandwonderings.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/you-keep-using-that-word1.jpg)
Actually, when studying piano, I never came to understand musical harmony because I never found it well-explained somewhere, neither on books nor my teachers could explain it accurately. And there are some redundancies that I can't comprehend, like, if every major scale has an equivalent minor scale, why do we have both and not one?
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Great line of remotes. I love my 350.
I always thought the Monkees harmonized well, especially considering to a lot of people, they aren't even a real band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_hlYgCNFZc
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harmonies
(https://ofmusingsandwonderings.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/you-keep-using-that-word1.jpg)
Spock's Beard is good with harmonies too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZU_gWw4EjM#t=92
:lol
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if every major scale has an equivalent minor scale, why do we have both and not one?
Because the minor scale evokes a different sound and emotional resonance. If you play the C scale starting on a different note, you're going to get a totally unique sound, depending on the note. It's the same notes, but it's not the same sound and thus, a different scale. It's not a redundancy in the slightest. These are called modes and I think music makes a lot more sense when you think of it modally. But of course it varies from person to person.
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Yiiikes, I hate those explanations.
Sacul is exactly correct, it is indeed a redundancy. There is only one Western scale (2-2-1-2-2-2-1 in terms of intervals), and whether you start where I just started (which makes for the major scale), or whether you start on the last "2" (which makes for the minor scale), or any other one, is arbitrary. They have different names for sure since they need to be identified somehow, but in the end the fact that we single out major and minor scale is simply historical happenstance. Music in the Middle Ages started on all kinds of other positions.
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Galactic Cowboys (first 2 albums)
:tup my first thought
YUP...mine as well. I have a particular fondness for About Mrs. Leslie. Perfect balance of crunchy riffs and beautiful harmonies.
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Yiiikes, I hate those explanations.
Sacul is exactly correct, it is indeed a redundancy. There is only one Western scale (2-2-1-2-2-2-1 in terms of intervals), and whether you start where I just started (which makes for the major scale), or whether you start on the last "2" (which makes for the minor scale), or any other one, is arbitrary. They have different names for sure since they need to be identified somehow, but in the end the fact that we single out major and minor scale is simply historical happenstance. Music in the Middle Ages started on all kinds of other positions.
It's less about the notes being used and more about what you hear. If you played a minor scale and it's relative major back to back to an untrained listener, they're not going to realize it's the same notes being used. It's going to sound like two completely different scales. It's not redundant or arbitrary at all. Identifying them as the same thing would make no sense.
In the end, the chords being played underneath is going to be more important than what scale you're playing anyway as far as as the tonality goes.
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Early Kansas harmonies with Robby Steinhardt and Steve Walsh.
Early Yes with Jon Anderson and Chris Squire.
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Yiiikes, I hate those explanations.
Sacul is exactly correct, it is indeed a redundancy. There is only one Western scale (2-2-1-2-2-2-1 in terms of intervals), and whether you start where I just started (which makes for the major scale), or whether you start on the last "2" (which makes for the minor scale), or any other one, is arbitrary. They have different names for sure since they need to be identified somehow, but in the end the fact that we single out major and minor scale is simply historical happenstance. Music in the Middle Ages started on all kinds of other positions.
It's less about the notes being used and more about what you hear. If you played a minor scale and it's relative major back to back to an untrained listener, they're not going to realize it's the same notes being used. It's going to sound like two completely different scales. It's not redundant or arbitrary at all. Identifying them as the same thing would make no sense.
In the end, the chords being played underneath is going to be more important than what scale you're playing anyway as far as as the tonality goes.
I think I framed my argument poorly. What I rather meant to say is, the fact that the most popular scales (major and minor) are essentially shifted version of each other, is reasonably irrelevant. It's little more than historical happenstance. And in fact, if you look at the next popular ones (harmonic minor, melodic minor), they are no longer shifted versions, but already have different intervals.
I just have this visceral response when it comes to modes, because there's hordes of guitarists who believe that they are integral to music and that your practicing time is best spent learning them. IMHO, it is not. Several modes (e.g. phrygian) are essentially just academically interesting, and the useful ones, I personally rather view them as a "minor scale with raised 6th", because that's what is the important part about it. The listener uses the familiar minor scale as a reference (because that what music is about, playing with the expectations and habits of the listener), and then hears a peculiar note in it.
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Surely that's the Dorian mode?
Modes are useful to learn as they do colour your playing. However, I've found that in contemporary music, songs that are essentially modal in terms of harmony seem to be written more naturally than "right I'm going to compose something in the Lydian mode now!"
They're useful when you're stuck. Say you come up with a nice generic sounding E minor riff but you want to spice it up - by understanding modes you can manipulate it and make it sound darker or brighter quite easily. You won't be just randomising the notes as you'll have an understanding of the intervals and how they work harmonically.
Altered scales like the harmonic minor are altered for a reason. In that particular scale the 7th is raised by a semitone in order to make the resolution between Chord V (which is now major instead of minor) and chord I much stronger.
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Can't wait for theory in college!
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I think I framed my argument poorly. What I rather meant to say is, the fact that the most popular scales (major and minor) are essentially shifted version of each other, is reasonably irrelevant. It's little more than historical happenstance. And in fact, if you look at the next popular ones (harmonic minor, melodic minor), they are no longer shifted versions, but already have different intervals.
I just have this visceral response when it comes to modes, because there's hordes of guitarists who believe that they are integral to music and that your practicing time is best spent learning them. IMHO, it is not. Several modes (e.g. phrygian) are essentially just academically interesting, and the useful ones, I personally rather view them as a "minor scale with raised 6th", because that's what is the important part about it. The listener uses the familiar minor scale as a reference (because that what music is about, playing with the expectations and habits of the listener), and then hears a peculiar note in it.
I could agree with this actually. Like I said it really depends on what works for you. I got a better understanding on modes and minor scales in particular when I was taught that they're just shifted versions of major scales. This to me was much easier to understand than "flat the 3rd, 6th, 7th" or "sharp the 4th". It also helped me understand what the use of modes were in the first place and when it was appropriate to use them.
You're right that it's not intergral to spend so much time practicing them. I think learning the theory of the modes is important, as well as when you should use them, but beyond that, practicing all the modes is a bit of a waste of time. In the end you're really just practicing the same scale.
My point was that learning that those scales are shifted versions of each other helped me better understand them. Is it important when practicing music? No. Is it important for studying theory? I think so.
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(2-2-1-2-2-2-1 in terms of intervals)
This is nitpicky and really unnecessary, but those are not intervals, those are half steps. An interval is a placement on a scale relative to a tonic.
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Err, no. An interval is the distance between any two notes (feel free to check any online resource on this). In my sequence it's the distance between two adjacent notes, specified in semitones.
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First to come to my mind is Shaw/Blades. I have their first album (possibly their only album other than covers) and it seems pretty much built around the great harmonies. I was a HUGE fan of the Damn Yankees, Styx, and Night Ranger back in the day, so I naturally ended up getting into this project.
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First to come to my mind is Shaw/Blades. I have their first album (possibly their only album other than covers) and it seems pretty much built around the great harmonies. I was a HUGE fan of the Damn Yankees, Styx, and Night Ranger back in the day, so I naturally ended up getting into this project.
Nice to see someone else likes that CD here! Definitely good stuff. Not as rocking as Damn Yankees, but yeah, their harmonies were outstanding. :hat
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Err, no. An interval is the distance between any two notes (feel free to check any online resource on this). In my sequence it's the distance between two adjacent notes, specified in semitones.
Well, semitones are also called half-steps, so
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Haken. Although in the studio it's all Ross, when they play live they all sing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65020NiNR8o