As a musician, you want to be pliable and be able to do what you do and reproduce that with other musicians.... Right? With harmony, that isn't always the same experience for me. When trying to describe to someone how I feel when the harmony is working, I often get stuck. It's not the tactical approach of achieving harmony that I'm referring to. I often get the "what the hell are you talking about" look and I've been told, harmony is harmony. When its done right, it has to work. Period. I've been doing it since I'm a kid. There's the root, the third and the fifth. Well aware. May not have understood the mechanics of it as a kid but understood it none the less. It was like speaking when you don't know how to read. For me, it's more the space between the notes as they meet that make the difference of whether harmony is working or not. Yes you can reproduce the sound prescribed for the part but does it work to its best ability. Not always. I mean, yeah it'll work if it's done right but can you FEEL it. Did those notes work well enough to stand hairs? That space between is the gooey magic I'm talking about. When the sounds meet, they resonate based on the tone, pitch, timber and vibrato of each voice. I've tried to harmonize with different voices. That space is not always equal. It's like the weave just didn't happen. But when it does!!! It vibrates and call me crazy but I feel it inside. Hell, I feel it outside like a mini vocal force field. Its like being caught between two opposing magnets and its quite powerful. I wish I could tap that space between and record it... If its energy, I could bet it would produce a different affect than the standard "sing your part" note and I'd love to compare the sounds. - Jaynie D'Agostino
