# How to harmanize 2 guitars



## markbolwell54 (Jul 4, 2010)

Hi guys,

How do you harmonize 2 guitars? I.e we both play the same riff but at a different position on the fret board to harmonize?


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## Guamskyy (Jul 4, 2010)

markbolwell54 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> How do you harmonize 2 guitars? I.e we both play the same riff but at a different position on the fret board to harmonize?



You harmonize riffs by playing 3rds, 5ths, or 6ths if you like the sound. Simply, play 3,5, or 6 frets up from the original position.


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## jaretthale78 (Jul 4, 2010)

well its not just playing the same riff in a different position, you have to take in account which scale your using and play the same type of pattern, kinda hard to explain,
i.e (guitar 1: e--12-14-15-14-15-14-12-14-) (guitar 2: e--8-10-12-10-12-10-8-10), 
thats using "3rds" just google it and ill bet youll find something


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## TXDeathMetal (Jul 4, 2010)

It helps to know where all the notes are on the fretboard for each string, once you know that then you can find the same note on whatever string you want to harmonize with and play the same pattern as the original position with the same intervals. I'll include a link to a site that helped me out with this exact same thing, it has a graphic of a guitar neck showing where all the notes lie that you can use a reference for learning how to harmonize parts.

Know Your Notes - The Guitar Fingerboard


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jul 4, 2010)

Have the two parts simultaneously play at either a fixed diatonic interval or a fixed or moving chromatic interval Simple as pie.


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## Daggorath (Jul 4, 2010)

Move each note up 2 notes in the scale for a thirds harmony.


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## AcademiaNervosa (Jul 4, 2010)

I've always thought about it like playing a chord, one note on each instrument. The intro to _Raining Blood_ is in fourths, so the first guitarist would play the root notes of each chord while the second guitarist would play a fourth above it(five semi-tones).

_Raining Blood_ starts with the first guitarist playing this four times:
e------------------------------------------------------
b---------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------8-9-8---8-7---7-6---------------------------------
A---------7-------9-----8--------------------------------------
E---0-0-0----------------------------------------------------
P.M.........

While the second guitarist, on the third and fourth time only, is playing this:
e------------------------------------------------------
b---------------------------------------------------------
G------------8-9-8---8-7--7-6-----------------------------------------
D---------7--------9-----8---------------------------------
A---0-0-0------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------
P.M.........


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## Trespass (Jul 5, 2010)

guambomb832 said:


> You harmonize riffs by playing 3rds, 5ths, or 6ths if you like the sound. Simply, play 3,5, or 6 frets up from the original position.



This is a chromatic semitone, as opposed to diatonic. Playing 3, 5 and 6 frets up produces the intervals of minor 3rd, perfect 4th, and a flattened 5th - Not 3rds, 5ths or 6ths.


Here is an example of chromatic and diatonic harmonization in C minor:

Chromatic Harmonization (minor 3rd):

Gtr 1: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
Gtr 2: Eb F Gb Ab Bb B Db Eb

C minor, being the relative of Eb major, only has three flats: Bb Eb Ab
In this harmonization, each note is harmonized to the minor third. This produces notes _outside_ of the C minor scale (Gb, B, Db). This certainly can be done for effect, but usually clashes against the tonality established in the piece. Also, I feel strictly harmonizing to a set interval to be incredibly static and boring.

Diatonic Harmonization (in 3rds):

Gtr 1: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
Gtr 2: Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb

The difference is that the melody (in this case an ascending scale in C minor) is harmonized to the third _within the scale_. It is literally playing the scale starting on the third note (In this case, just playing a Eb major scale). This is a much smoother sound that doesn't clash with the established tonality within the harmonization (If you are playing this over a F# major, then yes, it'll be fairly "out"). Because the harmonization itself is following the "tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone" format of the diatonic scale, the feeling is much more lively and organic (in my opinion) than a static interval.

You can apply this to any scale, even non-diatonic (harmonic and melodic minor, diminished, whole tone etc.) as long as your harmonization references the scale.


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## ozzcows (Jul 7, 2010)

Here's a pretty easy noobish way.

First identify the key you are in with the melody you plan on harmonizing


Let's just say it's in D major.

Write out the notes of the scale in a column

D
E
F
G
A
B
C

Use the whole whole half, whole whole whole half formula to figure out the sharps.

D to e IS a whole step
E to F is NOT a whole step, make F #'d
F# to g IS a half step
G to A IS a whole step
A to B IS a whole step
B to C is NOT a whole step, make C #'d
C# to D IS a half step

Now, go across in rows for each note, labeling the 3rd and 5th. All you have to do is skip a letter, there's your 3rd, skip another letter, there's your 5th

So

D skips e goes to F skips g goes to A

R 3rd 5th
D F A

Do this for every note in the scale, and then add the #'s where they belong. In this example, in the key of D, every F and C needs to be a sharp.

R 3rd 5th
D F# A
E G B
F# A C#
G B D
A C# E
B D F#
C# E G

Ok so now, let's say your melody goes D E A G if you want to harmonize in 3rds simply look at your chart and you'll play F# over a D, G over E, C# over A, and B over G. If you want to harmonize in 5ths, just take then note in the 5ths column instead.


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## avenger (Jul 7, 2010)

Trespass said:


> This is a chromatic semitone, as opposed to diatonic. Playing 3, 5 and 6 frets up produces the intervals of minor 3rd, perfect 4th, and a flattened 5th - Not 3rds, 5ths or 6ths.
> 
> 
> Here is an example of chromatic and diatonic harmonization in C minor:
> ...


 

This is a great post and a great place to start out.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jul 7, 2010)

+1 on Trespass' post.


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## stryker1800 (Jul 7, 2010)

I also find that using the same harmony through out, especially with multiple different riffs can get a bit boring. Or you can try an ascending run with a descending harmony or vice versa though the riffs might get a little tough to play.

More on topic I think trespass explained it best.


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## Trespass (Jul 8, 2010)

stryker1800 said:


> I also find that using the same harmony through out, especially with multiple different riffs can get a bit boring.



Yes, but you can't just change the harmony to any arbitrary interval or motion and expect it to make sense. Music has to have direction, it has to have contour and shape structurally. (It has to "build up" to something)



> Or you can try an ascending run with a descending harmony or vice versa though the riffs might get a little tough to play.



Your referring to contrary motion between voices, as opposed to the parallel motion of two ascending harmonized voices we've been discussing. But that's counterpoint, and beyond the scope of this thread.


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## Jtizzle (Jul 8, 2010)

In a theoretical sense, it depends on what kind of music you're playing.
For happy sounding music you might want to use Major 3rds, mainly, and 4ths sometime do the job. Minor 3rds, 6ths, are more for minor/darker sounding melodies (metal and stuff like that). If you're even trying for even darker or way more eerie stuff using diminished intervals, such as diminished 5ths (which is what differences minor chords from diminished chords) can sound good if you know what you're doing. It's all about experimenting though. The band Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is known for their usage of minor 2nds (playing the same figure a half step above). You can use 7ths of the melody chords, or even mix and match.

If that doesn't make sense, just do what sounds good. Use guitar pro, or other music writing software to hear the two guitar parts simultaneously. It helps A LOT. Believe me.


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## stryker1800 (Jul 10, 2010)

Trespass said:


> Yes, but you can't just change the harmony to any arbitrary interval or motion and expect it to make sense. Music has to have direction, it has to have contour and shape structurally. (It has to "build up" to something)



Well yes I wasn't suggesting you arbitrarily change your harmony from section to section, but used properly it creates more interest and helps build the piece up to whatever you're going for.



> Your referring to contrary motion between voices, as opposed to the parallel motion of two ascending harmonized voices we've been discussing. But that's counterpoint, and beyond the scope of this thread.



I guess that is a little advanced for this thread, but again if you're willing to put in the time to learn it whenever you're ready to it's an excellent tool in the right context. but we can just leave it at that so I don't Pirate the thread.


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## onpalehorse (Jul 10, 2010)

OR if you have a good ear you don't have to worry about the theoretical horse and you'll just find the best notes on your own.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jul 10, 2010)

onpalehorse said:


> OR if you have a good ear you don't have to worry about the theoretical horse and you'll just find the best notes on your own.


 
Which will probably lead you to the same (or maybe better) conclusion, anyway, so do this if you can.


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## Andromalia (Jul 10, 2010)

Stuff your guitar pro with maiden tabs. The basic idea will come easily enough.


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