Simon And Garfunkel: The Harmony Struggle
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- čas přidán 23. 04. 2018
- If you're like me, you have tried to sing a 3rd part along with these two geniuses for years, and have STRUGGLED. The craftsmanship of Simon and Garfunkel goes DEEP. Explore it with me and see why it is so difficult to sing a 2nd harmony part along with the masters.
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With songs like "The Sound of Silence", it's very easy to overdo the harmony. I'm glad Simon went with a more minimalist approach. He only added what needed to be added, and the piece is more delicate and precious because of that.
Jragon // Learn How To Make Minecraft Commands it is easy to overdo the harmonies but never, never, never were S & G guilty of such a crime.
I agree, I think the sparseness of the unison (not even octaves) and fifths rather than always thirds is better for the substance of the song.
Absolutely, there's this sad, monklike tone with those unisons and fifths. I think Aimeé missed the mark here
I agree with many previous commenters: On a song like Sounds of Silence, if one adheres too slavishly to a triadic harmony, it begins to sound predictable and cliched, and loses its edginess. Particularly given the somber content of the song, they didn’t want to sound like the Kingston Trio. Simon’s decision to use a more drone-like harmony was an inspired choice.
The drone-like works really well.
18:30 My guess as to why Paul Simon held the Eb, Db drone line on the bottom was to anchor the dark, unmovable and ominous feeling of the Sounds of Silence, that all is not well, imho. Also, to let Art shine.
Truely said, and the mixing keeps paul low with Art far louder.
I think it might be important to remember that Simon was also playing guitar and minimising the complexity of his part left him more of his brain to keep the guitar playing as clean and perfect as possible. Not so important when recording, but when playing live he's given himself the space to keep it spot-on without overstretching in a live situation.
Simon's an excellent guitarist and he will have taken pride in this as well as in singing and in songwriting.
I think with "Sound of Silence" in particular, the interval of a perfect fifth on the word "friend" illuminates the emptiness and longing of the lyrics. A perfect fifth always sounds empty, longing for the third.
I think your conclusion is right on - Simon's is a very easy, supportive part to sing. Excellent, thoughtful analysis!
I think droning has an important function in and of itself other than flattering Art (although that may still have been a factor). Droning emphasises the melancholy of the song while the varying intervals in the 2-note harmony make for interesting listening. The fact that the remaining 3rd note is often awkward is another clue. They wanted to craft countermelodies while keeping the transitions smooth without awkward jumps.
Finely crafted melancholia. Yes.
So in a way, it's contrapunctal music more than harmonic one? That's sweet!
exactly what i was thinking. adding that hopeful sounding harmony doesn't match the words or emotions being conveyed in the verse at all.
Singing your new harmony part made this song, shockingly, still more beautiful. Chills anew, all these years later. Thanks, Aimee.
Fascinating. Your video really helped this non- musician appreciate exactly how professional and dedicated to their art these guys were.
Not only do I enjoy your singing voice but I also enjoy your talking voice as well. So smooth and easy to listen to. Keeps me and my short attention span engaged.
More like this please! Everley Bros, Andrews Sisters, Beatles? You bring a rich background in the practice of harmony sining, and theory. Most harmony singers just "do it", without the insights and knowledge you bring.
totally agree man! I was just gonna say that Aimee is so great, I've just discovered her chanel and I'm so glad for that. Because, there is a bunch of stuff about how to understand music etc but most of it is for total begginers. I was always looking for something like this, to make a new step in building my knowledge and experience.
now I know that not going in music school when I was younger wasn't so bad decision hahah
This kind of in-depth look is helping me understand harmony - plus it is fascinating to watch your process, note by note -- thanks Aimee!
It is amazing soaking this in and following along.
Hit records in three different decades Paul Simon was the heart of that band
This is a great study. I've often been stunned at what I thought of as "Scottish" harmony or "note-under" harmony. Starting with the Everly Brothers. Garfunkel often doing that above and then below in the same song. The Association used it a lot; Beatles; Big Country; Byrds. Having learned music by ear, I didn't identify the intervals, but suspected it had much to do with 4ths and 5ths above, and 3rds below. This morning my old brain said why not study it, and I landed on this. Thanks, sister!
As a kid growing up I would listen to these records, the early Simon & Garfunkel and early Beatles albums. They taught me how to sing or at least find the right notes to sing. Fun stuff.
Well done working out that part young lady.
Being jazz snobs at 13 (how laughable in retrospect), we thought they were good pop songwriters. This explanation so well illustrates the S & G's genius that we came to realize as we matured musically. Thanks for doing this one, Aimee. Cool stuff.
You are generous with your talents. Seeing your troubleshooting process is helpful, thanks.
I had been listening to the song for decades and one day someone asked me to sing Paul’s part. I thought “no problem.” I thought it would just be normal 3rd harmony. Blew my mind. I had a very hard time with that rascally part. Finally realized how difficult it really was. Thanks for pointing this out. It’s just not normal!
It’s called genius. Perfection in music is rare, but “The Sound of Silence” is perfect. It needs no improvement.
It’s like “Piece of My Heart” by Janice Joplin. That needs nothing that isn’t there.
Now I want a Simon, Garfunkel and Nolte album.
Aimee - I think the answer... is to just sing Art's part. It's the best part. But it is the combination of their two voices that makes the overall sound so exquisite. If you want to sing along - do Art's part. Otherwise just enjoy how wonderful they sound together. Since you brought up "The Boxer"... I wanted to mention the part near the end of the record where Art sings this lovely little bit that I always look forward to hearing (right around 4:44 into the song - shortly after the "lie lie lie" part ends). It's sort of a "la-la-lee" wafting high above the music. It is another great moment from the voice of Mr. Garfunkel.
I feel it as:
Paul's lines were not written musically to fit in. It's the emulation of breathless resignation or acceptance, that dull exhalation. The word 'again' is an acceptance of fate or failure. He spoke these lines out loud and made a song to build around.
It didn't matter how it was composed it followed the emotion of the lyric.
Thank you for sharing this! I am an old soul and absolutely love S&G! I do the same thing you do. I am not educated in music, but I am so fascinated by music! It did surprise me when I found a lump in my throat listening to your harmony! So, so beautiful. I am now a big fan of YOU!
Ha. This is the exact thing I do when listening to them-sing the third harmony. Although I've never written anything down. It's a fun challenge indeed for all the reasons you mentioned.
You just verbalized my entire life. I'm 61 years old and I've been singing harmony with everybody on every song everyday. I like to jump around and especially with songs that I've never heard before and anticipate what they're going to do, and I'm always right. Lots of practice I've been singing Harmony since I was about 4 years old. Most of my adult life, well actually all of my adult life, I've been the lead singer, but I love the opportunities when I get to sing backup. There's just nothing like singing Harmony. Figuring out those parts, it's like a challenge but like not really challenging, but like fun. It's just fun. So I get ya girl. By the way, you are brilliant :-) Thanks so much for sharing!
🙌🏼🙏🏼
Ditto, I've been doing it for decades, and now i can jump in on a harmony almost instantly. Sometimes, it's "aha, why didn't they put this in" and at other times it's obvious why. And sometimes, adding the 3rd or 4th harmony just changes the whole flavor of the song and sends it somewhere else. A little while ago, a friend's band invited me up to join them in a Grateful Dead song (one I had never done before), and at the end, I noticed that the song started to sound more like The Eagles than the Dead. The Eagles have great harmonies, but the Dead have their own sacred style. I think they already had 3 voices in this song, so I had to go where no Dead went before. Thank you Aimee.
Love this
Well you don't analyze something that works and it worked for a very long time I think Paul just retired he does not want to be doing shows when he's 80 years old went I went to the same High School years later
I love how this struggle is both fascinating and pointless: fascinating in writing out all the chords and finding the missing note in each triad, and pointless in the beauty of the music as is and the fact that no notes are really missing. This was truly a worthwhile exercise, instructive in both its technical aspect as well as the analysis of what is going on artistically. I think we would all benefit from doing the same kind of analysis with a similar majestic piece of music, especially those of us who do not compose or arrange music on a regular basis. Aimee, fantastic job; thanks for sharing.
Simon and Garfunkel were masters of two-part harmony, as were the Beatles. So many of their early songs have phenomenally beautiful and effective harmonies with only two parts. A lot of the time, those 4-3 resoltions you felt compelled to add were left out, implied by what the two voices were singing, and by the instruments. There's a great deal of country and bluegrass music which is marvelously effective with only two vocal parts, and wouldn't likely be improved by the addition of a third voice to "fill out the chords." In a way, it's an expression of trust in one's listening audience to appreciate what's there, and to hear the harmonies implied rather than to insist upon being spoon-fed, smacked in the face with the obvious.
you are absolutely dead on. S&G arrangements are perfect as they are in two parts and a 'third' vocal is just superfluous - even offensive. Why this video is interesting is it breaks down their actual two part vocal arrangement, which is so good and clever I find it hard sometimes to decipher who is singing what on their records. And I'm not exactly chopped liver.
@@sibionic Rather than "offensive" if offer a milder, less accusatory adjective, simplistic. Perhaps people will for it a little counter-intuitive to say that adding a third part is simplistic, but it's the mindset that vocal harmonies need to be in three parts that I'm describing. We hear SO much music that uses three parts - background vocals on pop songs especially, but also music like a lot of Crosby, Stills & Nash, where they sing in the parts throughout, and it's difficult sometimes to say which, if any, of the three parts is "the tune."
Listen to the Beatles' "If I Fell" and it's clear as a bell which line is the melody, as with "Sounds of Silence." Add a third part to "fill out" the harmonies, and it might be beautiful, but it wouldn't be better.
A lot of folks (my ex-wife, for instance) can't resist the urge to do that kind of filling in on songs that use three or more parts on different verses of the same song. I always cringe a little at that because I treasure the variety of textures that indicates a more thoughtful approach to arranging.
@@tenpiualto I just think a duet is more powerful than a trio actually - especially with S&G. 'If I Fell' works just as beautifully as a two parter (whatever the Beatles did)
@@tenpiualto but yes, very interesting - and I agree about finding the 'tune' in CS&N
Great insight. Thanks for taking the time to pull this together.
I know nothing about music composing, structure, or anything. I can barely play the drums but I find these videos fascinating. Sounds like Aimee has perfect pitch!
I always add a harmony to them. The key seems to be to harmonize with Art's harmony rather than think about Paul's melody. Also, I don't think occasionally duplicating notes is always a problem to be solved.
I am so pleased to have just discovered this channel. I could watch you analyze classic rock songs like this for days on end. This is fantastic. Thank You.
Wow.....a lot of work here......thank you for all of your time....ron castro
Great topic. Folk groups were really exploding in the early to mid 60s & if you listen to PP&M you'll hear many of the same or similar techniques used by S&G. Harmonies below the lead, changing intervals, drones, unison voices etc. all being varied & switched around for dramatic effects. What's really cool about S&G is that they sounded so full with only 2 voices. It's almost like the music was the 3rd voice & they could both harmonize to that in various sections to create a 3 part harmony.
I am a old man, never tried to play a instrument until last year. Will be a year in December Lol I am not a natural so it’s a struggle. So thankful the more I try, the better I get. I understand these videos more and more as I go along. I do not learn fast at this point but thank you for these insightful videos. I find them very helpful.
Thanks! You have a beautiful voice.
Love the analysis. I would suggest Paul wasn't necessarily trying to lay low, but was looking for the shape where each phrase spreads apart pitch-wise for the effect it gives. It creates a second rhythmic structure that rolls along on it's own. Instead of just another voice to sound pretty, the harmony contributes to the message and effect.
I'm so happy you did this video!
Ha! I have always struggled to sing along with them and nail Paul's part. (No, I've never looked at the music - just singing by ear.) Turns out I've been getting pulled into this hidden 3rd part.
I too love the harmonies of s&g and csny too like you do. Those guys really knew what they were doing. Generations come and go and each generation will love those harmonies. Those harmonies are eternal. Art Garfunkel...... What can I say..... His voice is angelic. His solo albums are great too. Another voice is that of Jon Anderson from the YES. Really mystic voice. I love your harmony lessons Aimee. Thanks.
This was a fantastic video. I'm so glad I stumbled across it.
I've always been one of those people who have tried to find harmonies with everything; I love singing them. They fascinate me. I've been in a bunch of bands (guitarist, I like to harmonise w/ my instrument too :)) where it's been my favourite thing to do and even now, when I just jam with friends, I always try to find something unique naturally. EXCEPT with S&G. Always end up on the same note in places. It was really cool seeing the harmonies laid out like this, even if I have trouble reading music.
Thanks so much. Definitely checking out more of your videos!
I love stuff like this because it teaches us that harmonizing doesn't have to be parallel motion - and really, that's all you hear these days. Sometimes notes remaining static while others move around is magical, as demonstrated here.
loved singing along with simon and garfunkel, and everly brothers when i was young, care-free and still had some voice albeit immature. Thank you Aimee for another wonderful episode. You are also a "songbird"!
Wow. Beautiful lesson/discussion/train of thought ❤
Nice video. The best I've found on harmony.
Several songs where they actually cross harmonies. I believe "Benedictus" is one example. "The Sun is Burning in the Sky" might be another. Their early stuff was recorded on 4 track, so Garfunkel is in one ear while Simon is in the other. Makes it easy to hear them cross, which is technically a no-no, but effective because of the stereo recording technique.
They say it's a no-no, but Alice in Chains did it with great success many times throughout their career. There are no real rules if you are practiced enough...
Who says it's a no no? Crossing harmonies is pretty common in jazz, folk, really any popular or modern style of music. I think Bach even did it, so really unless you're a beginning music theory student doing a homework assignment (which probably has restrictions purely for pedagogical reasons), you can cross harmonies
Brilliant analysis. As a amateur multi-instrumentalist I am fascinated and perplexed by vocal harmonies. These guys are the best. Wish you could have been there with them for the third part.
Paul and Art are singing smart countermelodies and they always get on my note too when singing 3 parts :) smart use of 3rds, 4ths and 5ths between the two of em.
I actually really liked the harmony you added. It enhanced the song, although you’re right it doesn’t need it. Thanks for the excellent harmony lessons from your videos. They’ve really helped me to teach a bit to my ukulele friends.
That was great Aimee I really hope you do more of these!
Fascinating video! I’ve always loved that song and Simon and Garfunkel.
YES, this speaks to my soul. Thank you so much for this video.
Your voice suits Simon and Garfunkel beautifully! Love your voice.
I love this so much! Thanks for the lesson Aimee
I do the same thing. I think Paul is being creative and not just doing the "regular" thing. Other musicians love my harmonies. And people love Simon and Garfunkel
Thank you for this video Amy I got hired into a band that had two singers and I was a third and I had to figure out everyone on those parts a lot of times I would just omit the part no instead of trying to make an uncomfortable shift other times I just go for the uncomfortable shift in those days, I got a lot of real high parts 30 years later I’ve learned how to sing low harmonies and do a similar thing. Thank you for the great learning tool.
Opps
Karl and I are on a road trip and I just played this for him - we both found it fascinating - it led to a great discussion. :-) I also have a thought: the 4ths and 5ths intervals (drone) remind me of Gregorian chant and create a hollowness which definitely highlights the lyric. Karl loved it and said he definitely needs to subscribe to your channel.:-) ❤️
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Delightful, Aimee, thank you!
Also, because Simon is sometimes singing in thirds, sometimes in sixths, and sometimes in 5ths/4ths, the harmony is more interesting as a unit (although the melody is still emphasized). When singing entirely in thirds, songwriters usually will give each singer a melody on their own and only bring in thirds fir a chorus or bridge, precisely because listening to straight parallel thirds and even thirds and sixths can get very boring very fast.
Regardless of the reason, Paul Simon certainly knew what he was doing! 😁👏🏻
Another reason that Paul simplified his vocal parts could be due to the fact that he is often playing an instrument (acoustic guitar) while singing. More importantly, he often uses a fingerstyle pattern when playing. So singing in more of a drone style allows him him to play more complex arpeggiated guitar patterns to accompany the vocals.
Good point.
Its Paul Simon. He doesn't need a crutch like that.
@@halcooper3070 I completely agree. Paul wrote what was right for each song musically. He didn't omit parts or alter parts because he couldn't perform something he would have rather played. Paul is an uncompromising genius. You think he is actually going to settle for anything?
Beethoven was once criticized for writing things violinists would complain were impossible to play. Beethoven's response was I write what I write. You're the violinist. It's your job to figure out how to play it.
My comment was not intended to suggest that Paul Simon needs a crutch or that he's settling for anything. I'm sure he arranged the song the way he wanted them to be. It was an observation that musicians either sing more elaborate harmonic lines or play more elaborate harmonic patterns on an instrument, but rarely if ever do both simultaneously. A musician understands this.
@@MiserableLittleDoomGoblin if you knew anything about Paul Simon, you would know thats not the case, he is known for intricate arrangers on guitar as well as difficultelody and harmony lines simultaneously. It's something he is famous for.
As a real musician myself, although decades removed from being a pro, no, never done what you suggest. If I can play it on guitar, and I can sing it, then with a basic amount of practice, I can do both, muscle memory is a handy thing.
Funnily enough, no amount of practice will ever let me play the drums, it's legs or it's arms, the two cannot be mixed, they refuse to work together.
wonderful video! thanks Aimee.
Super awesome Aimee! Yes it doesn't have to be all perfect 3rds. And what makes their harmony special is the spots where they land on open 4ths and 5ths.
Ooohhh! My favorite Beatles songs to provide a 3rd part for are Love Me Do and Do You Want to Know A Secret?
Paul Simon's lower part here reminds me of the guitarist's part in the band Extreme for 'More Than Words'
Great video Aimee! You're answering questions I've always wondered about. Figuring out harmonies is fascinating.
That was wonderful and very interesting! Thanks!
great video! not only you're a great teacher but also you make a great analysis of music and have a sensible approach towards different styles and their features.
Fabulous dissection and hypothesis!
When they arranged it for 2 voices they made choices that they probably would not have made if there had been 3, e.g. Simon, Garfunkle, and Nolte. Great work. Aimee.
Beautiful, thanks so much for the lesson!
Excellent explanation! Thanks for all the work that went into that.
I'm a technical person, not a musician at all, so seeing the music broken down this way was very enlightening. Nice work, Aimee.
This is so cool! Someone else who fills in the 3rd harmony part, wherever and whenever! 😀 I've never seen that before - but I've never searched for it, either! Thanks for this great video!!!
Great lesson!
Thank you Aimee.
Love this vid and love you! I was a teen when the album came out, and on the radio, and trying to sing along, no musicians in my family, no music in school, I thought I couldn't sing was the problem. I read about music though - it is fabulous the way you combine "the reading" with a recording and you singing, and video. Thanks muchly!
That's a great lesson ;-) Their music is wonderful and this is a lovely little insight...Thankyou.
I’m officially addicted to your channel. Thanks!
love these and the "everyone can harmonize" videos. thanks aimee!
Working on harmony’s during Covid. So happy I found you. Something I always wanted to learn. ☺️
Thank you for sharing, Amiee
They are absolutely amazing
Love your voice it sounds beautiful with the original track,
Your theory is as usual spot on👍🎧🎼🎹
You are adorable. Thanks for this presentation….very entertaining and educational…!
A third voice in triadic Harmony will always result in a few uncomfortable intervalic skips. I've experimented with this a lot writing 3-part vocal arrangements for my trio (2 guitars & bass, and we all sing). Writing out the parts is by far the best way, as you've demonstrated. The challenge then becomes how to sing the skips in a way that they don't sound strange or accented, or disjointed. Zak Brown Band does this so well.
Thank you so much Aimee for all of your videos! I can't wait to try using these ideas to write three part harmonies for my sisters and I to sing together :)
Nice job of analysis & thank you for sharing the walk through.
Lovely, great job.
Simon, Garfunkel and Nolte! Sounds great!
I love adding the third part harmony as well. I'm always doing that in the car when I'm driving. I just discovered your channel. Great job!
Aimee - I think you are exactly right... when you said that Paul Simon "wanted to lay low. He wanted to just make his part sit in a comfortable place. Hit all the necesary harmony notes for us to follow the function of the harmony... but really to let Art Garfunkel shine. Because, like I said, he's a flippin' songbird. If I could sing with Art Garfunkel... I would do the same thing. Like a drone almost at times... just to let his voice soar and shine." 18:30
Great video! Thank you kindly
Nicely done.
Their brilliance was in their 5th tones, not their 3rds necessarily, Simon often complemented the bass line more than the melody itself, but they blended perfect together to create one hell of a uniform tone. Another unique example are the BG's, Barry would often sing harmony when they blended and his voice was the most robust, Robin, whose voice was more subdued was the melody, typically a paradox, but they blended so perfectly, they sounded as one uniform voice.
Aimee, you made my day! Strangely, somehow, something made click, and this whole "how and why notes on staff" thing now makes so much more sense to me; more than i ever got from any other teaching material on that subject. And that wasn't even the point of the video :D Thank you so much!
I’m so glad 🙌🏼
SO Informative. Thanks Aimee. Takes me back to music theory classes in college... So long ago.
This is awesome watching you write parts for an existing song - so cool
I love your answer at the end. Thanks! 😊🙏
Such a beautiful singer
This video.. what a gem!
It's perfect the way it is your messing with the dynamics of this song your making it sound like the works of the Christy Minstrels .Sir Paul once said that the hardest harmony that he ever had to do was Nowhere Man with Lennon... Give that one a shot... Peace..
Aimee, your videos are really interesting!
thanks for the breakdown and preformance of the little tiny parts i unintentionally land on. it would be a kool thing to find, have, create a library that dissects complicated/unconventional vox harmonies thanks again for sharing your insight
Very good knowledge mam. Hats off to you.