Any tips for someone looking to get into sea shanty group singing? How do you pick what notes to sing/not end up starting to sing someone else’s notes as you go along?
Great question! There’s a lot to be said about it, but here are a few thoughts:
First off, you don’t *have* to sing harmony if you don’t want to! I really love to do harmony parts, but it’s also important to have enough singers on the melody line. Nobody Expects you to be able to sing harmony if you go to a group sing, so if it’s something you’re not interested in or don’t feel capable of, don’t feel obligated, and don’t put off going because of it. That said! If you are interested in exploring harmony, that’s great!
To begin, you might want to follow the melody for most of a line and then split off at the end or on notes that are held for a long time. If the melody goes down at the end of a line you go up, or vice versa. If you get lost, just come back to the melody.
It can be really helpful when you’re starting to practice singing along to recordings of songs you like and try to harmonize with those. It takes a lot of pressure off if you’re just doing it at home, and I find it’s easier to hold a part against a recording than against other real-life singers!
In terms of choosing which notes to sing: If you’ve done any music theory and are familiar with the terms, singing in thirds is often a good place to start; I find it feels pretty natural and is unlikely to clash with other parts
If you don’t know music theory, it’s really a matter of finding what sounds good. It’s a skill you’ll start to develop more as you practice, but you can usually tell intuitively when you sing a note whether it “fits” with the song.
My best advice for starting out? Find a note that sounds good, and then stay on that note until it doesn’t sound good anymore. Repeat as needed. (Especially when you’re playing around at home, you can just sing on an “Ah” to find these notes and then hold them until it’s time to change. This is really good for listening to how a note sounds without the distraction of words and rhythm)
You will want to be tentative when you’re starting out. Try to fight it. A wrong note sung with confidence is better than a correct note half-sung. (Easier said than done, I know, and another reason I recommend practicing by yourself where you don’t have to worry about mistakes being Observed)
Holding your part when other people around you are singing different notes is a real challenge! I still have trouble with this if I’m trying to sing a “middle” part. It’s something that comes down to practice and confidence. To work on this, you might try standing next to someone who’s singing a part you like and matching them, or singing melody when standing next to people doing harmony parts. If you do get thrown off, it’s okay! Go back to the melody or take a breath and try again on the next verse.
As you get more familiar with songs that come up a lot, you’ll start to get the harmony part you like to sing in your head, and it will be easier to hold your own.
Most importantly, play around and have fun!
I hope this helps! A lot of my music stuff comes down to “I just do what Feels Right” which I know is supremely unhelpful as advice. If you have any more questions, I’m happy to answer them.
Go forth and sing!
