Tore my mind on a jagged sky, indeed

[slipjig3]

So rafaela and I are driving along, radio cranked, singing along with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," one of our open-mic standards. Usually when we perform it live, she sings gorgeously whilst I play guitar and keep my yap shut, but this was in the car with the windows rolled up, and it was a great song, and I was in a good mood, so I sang along as well.

Around about the end of the second verse, I realized something: I wasn't singing the melody. It was at this point that I shouted, "What the f*#! did I just do?"

Anna looked quietly amused. "Harmonized."

I blinked. "What?"

Look, people: I can't harmonize. I don't know how. My voice is barely adequate on its own terms; I can't very well make it jump through hoops and such. And yes, I'll sometimes tinker with harmonies when I'm in the car alone, but I assure you, Simon and Garfunkel it ain't. And in this situation, I didn't even have a harmony part on the recording to sing along with, intentionally or otherwise. So how the...I...it... I blinked again. "Did it sound passable?"

She nodded. It was passable.

This'll probably never ever ever everhappen again, but it's still going to take a while for it to sink in. It...bah. Couldn't do it again if I tried.

Comments

[mgrasso.livejournal.com]

singing along with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),"

GodDAMNit. See icon.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

We could burn it to a disc for you.

[mgrasso.livejournal.com]

No, no need. I have The Big Lebowski soundtrack somewhere on my iPod. :)

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Heh. I was wondering if this entire scenario involved bowling in any way. :-)

wherein I wax rhapsodic about harmony

[sionainn.livejournal.com]

Our tenor Ben normally sings melody because he's never been taught how to harmonize. (Though, if you teach him a harmony as a melody he can hold his own against the melodic line).

We were all in the hot tub after rehearsal one night and just messing around with one of our new songs. He spontaneously harmonized to an entire line of the song and had such an expression of wonderment on his face that we all started laughing. He has never looked back since.

There is just something about singing a harmony that resonates in my bones. At our gig last night, we were doing our old standby, "Wild Mountain Thyme" and I came in with the high desecant (can't spell it but can sing it) and it's just...... magical.

Anyways, that is to say that in our group of 6 vocalists, we have a hard time convincing someone to take the lead in a song because we all want to harmonize! ;-)


Welcome, friend. The "probably will never happen again"? Bullshit. It's like crack. You'll be back for more. *big grin*

Re: wherein I wax rhapsodic about harmony

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

It IS like crack: I've been trying to do it to pretty much every song that comes on in the car now. The problem is that the success rate is very, very low.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*blinkety* Is harmonizing hard? Elayna and I do it.

I have no vocal training, so I don't know what I'm supposed to be able to do. All I know is that I'm an alto.

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

Harmonizing is like being able to carry a tune. Some people can do it naturally, others can't.

I'm one of the "can't" group, unless I hear an example of it...but then, I have no real vocal training either.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I have long envied people who can do it off the tops of their heads. I'm not sure what kicked into place, but I'm glad it dead.

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

"glad it dead"?

Your freudian slip is showing....

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

It's an intuitive thing. I've never had the right intuition (and have never really been able to sing my way out of a damp paper pag anyway), so I've never been able to manage it. I think a paradigm shift happened in my head at some point, which is why it worked this time, but we'll have to wait and see if it sticks.