[Music] we can do that
yeah
[Music]
I was going to ask you a question though what do you think about these singing straws uh
oh that are really coming out now because it seems like you hit that for five minutes
and you did 30 minutes of warm-up yeah the singing straw is great it's uh we call that
s-o-v-t semi-occluded vocal tract a very fancy way that's what they that's what they call
it but it's partially blocking semi-occluded your Vocal Track and it takes all the pressure
off it's a good warm-up it's very popular you can also do it without a straw just by
doing a w like a [Music] does the same effect so if you don't have a straw now you tell
me yeah yeah there you go yeah you can try that out but um I want to talk about blending
and especially harmonies you guys know as much about that as one can know uh folks always
want to know how can I begin my journey of harmonizing how can I get better at listening
to something and being able to harmonize with it would love to hear tips for getting started
or going to the next level with that and maybe hearing some great examples this is a pretty
huge one you know well for Mark before Mark you know since it's easy yeah I'm sure he's
chomping at the bit of it yeah one of the things one of the things I I think we all
talk to students about is you have to listen listen listen listen listen listen you're
just like being a writer you don't just write you read everything you know so for being
in a vocal group listen to everything because the more comfortable you can become with hearing
how chords are put together and starting to learn how to pick out certain notes within
those chords it becomes easier when you decide to be in a group you know and even once you're
in that group continue to listen listen listen yeah as you were saying that a couple of us
are keyboards I know keyboards I know that if there's some something sweet that's on
the radius of really that inevitably I'm like what was that and I'm going to go try to find
it yeah oh that's what he's doing okay if I hear a nice move on radio oh what was that
and I'm gonna try it you know because on demand you're going to be asked to do things that
you never thought about before you had to have that in your toolbox somewhere Mark's
approach to arranging is in my opinion if it's on the keyboard it's fair game yeah you
know so I gotta keep pushing down he's got to keep pushing up these guys have to keep
being able to be you know hold those minor seconds and be true to it so um yeah it's
constantly listening yeah yeah I'll speak to it from you know intonation is so so so
so important that's why you know like clubs at listening um that's one thing but I believe
that Harmony can be learned a lot of people have you know you know good sense of Melody
and you know if you can't really sing that well you can usually follow something if you
have any musical you know singing ability at all but early on when we were uh you know
when I was in high school and I was working with the other member that left us Mervin
Warren and we were teaching others kids you know how to to find these notes and at first
they had no idea but the more they sang them the more they learned what they sound like
and what they feel like and then it became second nature to go to them so you know most
people can sing a third very easily you know most people you know and a fifth even more
easy but to hear you know a second and know what that feels like to sing a second against
somebody else and then a minor second and then you know you know and then find your
note within a five part chord that with minor seconds can we hear some of that just basic
thirds fits and then getting the crunch going is there a way to bring that out for us top
a quiet place wouldn't that do that that's exactly what I was thinking that song okay
yeah quiet place starts very starts um very basic you know and eventually you know they're
going to be some um seconds and minor seconds that we have to to yeah I think there's a
minor second in the second half of that first verse yeah
there's some minor seconds right right okay oh by the way none of us has Perfect Pitch
oh good to know yeah we all have very good relative pitch and uh over the years because
we've sung so much A lot of times just like you're hearing Claude do right now we've sung
it so he knows where it is and nine nine times out of ten he's dead on you know and here's
another weird thing and I know this is probably true for you too we've sung together so much
that when we hear chords we hear each other singing the parts like I know what the top
I don't hear myself singing the top I hear him singing the top so I know when he's tripping
like that's not you you know you need to do you and I've also noticed that it's really
important to these two guys to have really good relative pitch because then can't can't
take it if we start too low yeah because then he won't be able to hang in there well I can't
take it if we start too high because he won't be able to get so generally we sign off with
each other before we start anything you're sponsoring this yeah no that's not hot boom
ready place
[Music]
yes
[Music]
[Music] foreign
[Music]
you heard some some you know it started off you know very basic you know one three five
yeah um but you know eventually we got into places where you know Claude and I were definitely
minor seconds on each other yeah you know and the crazy thing is sitting beside each
other is a really good thing especially for people who are learning how to do this because
if you can do that right next to somebody when they're in your ear because I've sung
with people in high school whatever who they automatically come to your note yeah when
that happens that's family worship stay in your park right you know they're not used
to doing that yeah Mark and I have done things where we because we used to sing in another
group called the Special Blend and we were it's a four-person group and he's saying the
tenor I sang the baritone and we will sing some of these songs Just the Two of Us where
we're literally doing minor seconds through the whole song but we can hear are the girls
who are on top while we're singing our parts kind of what he's saying I know Grace oh my
God yeah do you mind showing us just the two of you uh a third just on any vowel like you
could just find an ooh do a third a fifth oh here we go the whole thing is Madison okay
hold on so the top note is oh okay ready let's get ready two three and
miracles oh
[Music]
oh
that was horrifyingly good horrifyingly good yes so that to me that shows something that
um is what I was gonna say before is that first of all you have to have a similar idea
an understanding of what the whole chord is other than that that randomness you know if
you don't understand that while you said it sounds scarily good yeah because if you don't
know what the melody is or what the rest of the court is just Why you know what I mean
and the only way Mark and I can do that is I'm positive he's hearing exactly Mark hears
the whole thing but you have to at least have the melody so if we could do the same thing
you could can you sing the top part you remember the time no you can't Joey can yeah
[Music] y'all can do that Joey knows it
who sings who sings the top part and who sings the second part
Dave will find it he's got it
watch him find it I was a fan around when you guys were doing this Joey's been waiting
30 years for this very moment at this very moment
already two three and [Music]
there we go
miracles [Music] I think I messed that up sorry I was almost there I'd sound a little
better now yeah yeah