[Dixielandjazz] Harmony singing and improvisation

[Ken Gates]

I see a correlation of the aptitude for instrumental improvising of a variation of a known
melody to the aptitude of selecting “good” pitches in extemporaneous harmony singing.
Wondering if this coincides with experience of those of you who have been involved
with efforts to teach or coach those learning to improvise.

When I discovered bluegrass music a number of years ago, I was drawn to the harmony
singing aspects of the genre.  There are wonderful examples of two-part, three-part, and
four-part harmonies in both the traditional and contemporary bluegrass groups who sing
well.  Although I didn’t play an instrument, I quickly learned to play a very basic guitar
and sing well enough to join up with a folk music organization.  I soon realized that
I had some aptitude for extemporaneous harmony singing in a duet format.  I also learned
that I didn’t do well at adding a third voice to a duet.  I suspect that had I worked
hard at that aspect, I would improve some.  I also suspect that harmony singing (in the
extemporaneous form) is more of a natural aptitude than a learned skill.

So I had fun with this musical experiment, but my first love is jazz of the older forms prior
 to “modern” revisions that began about 70 years ago—“OKOM”.  So, I acquired a clarinet
 some 10+ years ago to see what I could do with it.  I think my aptitude for playing an
improvisation matched my somewhat limited aptitude for harmony singing.  Sometimes I
come up with an “adequate” note selection (parallels my adding a harmony note to
duet singing), but coming up with something really  “creative” (like adding a third voice
 to harmony singing) has pretty much eluded me.  At any rate, I do believe that the harmony
singing I did was beneficial to whatever level I am able to attain.

So what?  Well, posing the possibility that those of you teaching or coaching students
might consider some aspect of harmony singing to be introduced to your students.

Ken Gates