Finding the harmony part

[MuffinHead]

I have been singing as an amature all of my life. I love singing and I love hearing vocal harmonies. Now with the advent of the iPad and GarageBand I can do multi track recording and have done so with me playing guitar and adding the vocal part along with bass, drums and piano using the "smart instruments". What I can't get is how to find the harmony vocal part. Simon and Garfunkel songs are relatively easy but even some S&G songs, the harmony part eludes me. Is there a way to be able to find harmonies easily? Keep in mind I have no formal musical training so try and use plain English when describing things to me.

 

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

[evets618]

Harmonies are chords. Once you learn some basic rules on how chords are constructed, then you can break the rules.

Start with the concept of "thirds".

Take any starting note, and stack "thirds" on top of it.

In the key of C, the note "C" is ONE.

So the first note that is a "third" above it would be E.

You pick every "third" note.

We mean a major scale, as in Do Re Mi, etc.

Do = C = 1

Re = D = 2

Mi = E = 3

Fa = F = 4

So = G = 5

So your basic major chord in the key of C is bulit on stacking the notes C, E, and G.

These are the first, third, and fifth notes of the major scale.

And then it gets interesting, because you can place any of those three notes in any order you want.

C E G

E C G

G C E

Etc.

This will all be on the final.