Sweet Harmonies

I would love to have access to a mixing board. And of course the knowledge to be able to use it. What I'd most like to do is isolate great harmony vocals.

When listening to music, we are naturally drawn to the melodies. I feel that this is particularly true for vocals. When thinking of the songs of great duos such as Simon & Garfunkel, what comes to mind? The melody or the harmony? "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again..." And although I love melodies as much as anyone, I believe that the real magic happens with the harmonies. And yet they can be so subtle, it can be really difficult to decipher them. They just blend in so well. Wouldn't it be nice to separate the harmonies and hear what's happening with them?

The group that comes to my mind first is, well, Simon & Garfunkel. They alternated singing lead vocals, so I would adjust the volume of the harmony vocals up and down to hear what they sound like with the melody and then I'd end up with them in complete isolation. Another group would be ABBA. Yes, I unabashedly like ABBA - I think Agnetha and Frida are extraordinary vocalists and that their voices blend magnificently. The ability to separate their voices with a mixing board could prove to be such a lesson in how to sing together.

Yet, the particular singers that I am most interested in hearing sing their harmonies are David Crosby, the late Maurice Gibb, and Phil Everly. Crosby describes himself as a natural harmony singer and wouldn't it be a joy to hear just what he's doing with his work with the Byrds, and Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)? In the Bee Gees, Maurice sang in the background, supporting his brothers. I would love to hear what his singing voice sounds like. And then there's Phil Everly. As far as I know, his brother Don sang the majority of the lead vocals, and there was Phil providing those exquisite high harmonies. How would they sound apart from the melodies? For my money, harmonies are harder to sing as well. But don't get me wrong, they're only as good as the melodies they are sung with.