This is how I learned to listen to harmonies. Join a choir — (anything but the first soprano). Always strive to imitate the great ones. Spending countless hours listening to songs by legendary artists who use harmony will help you better understand its value and importance, as well as better understand the way songs are composed.
Learning is an ongoing process, and there are always better and more advanced singers who can help you grow. So what exactly do your brain and ears need to practice harmony? Once you're comfortable with the basic concept of finding and singing harmonies, you should keep striving to improve. Read on for some universal tips that apply to most singers and should help you quickly understand harmony singing. Some people may develop a gift or “ear” to harmonize without a full understanding of the technical and structural relationship between the notes they are singing, but that comes from a great exposure to harmony singing.
Just like playing guitar, most people who are excellent at singing in harmony are terrible at explaining it to people who struggle with it. Not all singers are born to be protagonists, but the harmony of singing can significantly improve your chances of getting concerts. That's normal, just remember to catch yourself and recombine the harmony, ignoring the melody while singing only the notes you're supposed to sing. While I think you should know how to practice singing for yourself, learning as a group is crucial for harmony.
The vocal parts, to sing as a duet, trio and quartet, are recorded on separate channels so you could try your harmonies with Cathy, Marcy, Robin and Linda. By simulating the performance in practice, you will be able to eliminate all the peculiarities that come with a live performance and sing in harmony with others. By understanding and memorizing these intervals, you'll be able to recognize them in songs and easily apply them when singing as a group. I have prepared a short guide to singing harmony, which includes an overview of what harmony is and why you should consider adding it to your repertoire.
While some may understand this simply by ear, the reality is that most singers have to train their ears to understand why they do things the way they do. If you're harmonizing the vocals, most of the time you're singing different notes than the lead vocals sing. You can learn to sing harmony alone at home, using recordings, but it's not always the same in real life.
