Learn how to sing harmony: solfege, intervals and triads. Vocal harmony training that builds the ear — not heavy music theory.
Vocal harmony, found by ear — not by theory
A song is a compilation of notes. There are 12 notes in the chromatic scale. In any key there are seven scale degrees, or solfege. Singing harmony means singing notes different from the lead melody. That is a vertical relationship between notes — intervals. Harmony is built from intervals. To find vocal harmony you train the ear to name notes with those solfege numbers. You do not start by stacking theory. You start by hearing the interval against the lead.
In C major the seven steps are one through seven (then eight as the octave). If you can hear and name those solfege degrees, you can choose a harmony line instead of guessing a pretty note. This package walks intervals first: you feel consonance and dissonance. Then you harmonize melodies with simple interval techniques. Then chords and triads, and some more advanced harmony arrangements. Harmony is a large music-theory topic. This vocal harmony training stays off that side on purpose. It trains the mind and acclimates the ear. Your harmony is found in your sense of harmony, not in the textbook. Unfamiliar terms are fine. Follow the exercises; the harmony develops in time.
• Days 1–3 — vertical relationships between notes.
• Days 4–6 — major third and minor third in C major; harmonizing songs and melodies with thirds to sweeten the lead voice.
• Days 7–14 — dissonance and consonance, plus horizontal motion relative to the lead; train the mind and acclimate the ear to become a harmony singer.
• Days 15–21 — triads: root, major third and perfect fifth; root, minor third and perfect fifth; root, minor third and diminished fifth.
• Days 22–28 — the skeleton of many famous songs; building chords together with voices.
• Days 29–30 — practice harmonizing songs and melodies; then any song, with the emotion and expression you want — including impromptu a cappella.
That last step is the “any song” skill. It still sits on solfege, intervals and triads. There is no shortcut that skips the ear.
If a term is new, skip the rabbit hole. Do the vocal harmony training in order. Ear skills from the ear-training plan help (naming what you hear). This package is where those skills become how to sing harmony in a trio — against a lead, in real songs.
