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Johnny
Mar-28-2005, 12:11 GMT
IP:
Germany

Well, I´m singing along their songs (and Pauls solo songs) from time to time. I always thought that AG sings much higher than PS. Apparently, I was wrong. What I, with my little musical knowledge, found out is that they both sing in the small and one-line octave mostly!? The only difference is that AG´s voice is brighter and shinier and PS´s voice a bit rougher (which I don´t mean negatively). That makes you believe that AG sings higher. Am I right?
And am I right that BOTW starts with the g of the small octave? Thanks in advance!

Kuno
Mar-28-2005, 15:17 GMT
IP:
Switzerland

Artie DOES sing higher most of the time. I am not sure, but I think he´s often 3 tones higher than Paul, because that "makes a good harmony". Good songs to check that out are: Go tell it on the mountain, Wednesday morning, Old Friends, Cecilia...and, of course, The Boxer. And on a lot of songs, you can clearly tell the different harmonies of the two guys by playing with the balance-knob on your stereo/pc.

I spend a lot of time to listen to the different harmonies/voices of certain songs. And when I listen to Paul doing Old S/G hits, I often sing Arties part together with Paul :o)

I´m not sure about BOTW... I thought it was D or D#. I´ll have to check out that one...

Johnny
Mar-28-2005, 16:12 GMT
IP:
Germany

You´re right with the different melodies. Artie is singing the second voice mostly. He is singing slightly higher then, but only a couple of tones. I thought they would sing in completely different octaves. So I was a bit astonished when I found out that I can sing along BOTW fairly well. Artie is definetly better, but it´s not as hard as I thought...

I´ve read somewhere that Bridge was first written in G and then changed to E flat for Garfunkel. On his page he says it´s in the Key of D. However, I figured out that the very first note is the G from the small octave. But that doesn´t say anything about the key, I guess.

Kuno
Mar-28-2005, 20:52 GMT
IP:
Switzerland

I am sure there are a few places where Art sings an octave higher than Paul. Maybe on certain parts of SOS, or the last chorus of America...but I don´t remember a song where they sing in different octaves throught the whole song.

By the way, I recently found out something:
Usually on Homeward Bound, Paul starts the song and Art does some Uuuh- and Aaah-stuff (or he sings the same harmony as Paul). And then on the point "..on a tour of...." the 2nd harmony (Art) starts (again, the three tone-difference).
Now listen to the version on the newest DVD (2003). They start to sing as usual, they pass the point where the two harmonies split, but then, from the first "Home, where my thoughts..." on, Art suddenly sings Pauls harmony, and Paul sings a few tones below his usual notes. You know what I mean ? The 2nd harmony on the chorus was to high for Artie, but with this little trick it was still possible to keep the two-part-harmony through the chorus. And you only notice it, when you listen to Paul on this parts, because Arts harmony sounds "normal".

Phew...I hope you all know what I mean. I definitely have to improve my English :o)

Johnny
Mar-29-2005, 08:55 GMT
IP:
Germany

I know what you mean ;) Just watched Homeward Bound again. Couldn´t figure out what you said. To me it seems that they do not change their vocals.It´s Paul´s voice being dominant for a second. Therefore, you don´t hear Artie. Still, he sings the whole song slightly higher than Paul. As Art sings BOTW in the same key as 30 years ago there wouldn´t have been a reason to change Homeward Bound anyway. I mean BOTW is THE song with regards to Arts voice...

bluesmoke
Mar-29-2005, 11:00 GMT
IP:
Italy

BTW, what do you mean by "different octaves"?
Do you mean a whole octave higher?That would produce no harmony whatsoever...

Johnny
Mar-29-2005, 11:52 GMT
IP:
Germany

I told you I don´t know that much about music and harmony teaching. ;)

Well, I was astonished because I thought Arts voice is someway extraordinary. I, however, am able to sing along and it is not that difficult.
There´s only few songs where I can hardly follow him, e.g. his part in the "Dangling Conversation"...

So am I right that he starts most songs in the small octave?

John Whapshott
Mar-29-2005, 12:11 GMT
IP:
Sweden

I´m not certain what you mean by ´small octave´ - I guess there´s a problem in translation somewhere.
Anyway, BOTW is in E flat, and actually starts on A flat (´When you´re´); ´weary´ is G-F-E flat. When Paul sings it solo he sometimes starts on F# or D, as he performs it in D.
I´ve also read the interview where he says he wrote it in G, which is strange, because it would make the song incredibly low. I can only speculate that this is either a mistake (he meant D), or else he originally wrote the melody in G on his guitar and later pushed it up to D, then to E flat. Though it´s much easier to play BOTW in D than it is in G...

Johnny
Mar-29-2005, 13:06 GMT
IP:
Germany

Thanks! A flat is just a halftone higher than G, so it´s hard for me to hear the difference...

The small octave is c to c´. You know you´ve got the sub-contra octave, the contra octave, the great octave (C-c), the small octave(c-c´), the one-line octave (c´-c´´), and so on. Have a look here http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/appendix/o
ctaveregisters/octaveregisters.html and you´ll see what I mean. Don´t know how you call them in Swedish ;) I study the language but I haven´t learned any music words yet ...

Klausi
Mar-29-2005, 13:57 GMT
IP:
Germany

I also forgot everything I learned about chords and notes in school.

But I was surprised too that I could follow Garfunkel on BOTW better than Simon on Have A Good Time. And some background vocals on Late In The Evening are even higher.

But Garfunkel is much more able to change loudness and tremble/colour of his voice, whereas Simon`s strengt is phrasing.

He can put many words into a melody line without sounding strange. He sings without any tremble.

But live he sometimes sings a quarter or half tone beneath the right line - he is not a master of vocal reliability and intonation.

Bodo
Mar-29-2005, 14:11 GMT
IP:
Austria

John isn´t from Sweden ;-)
He undermines the flag-system :-)

John Whapshott
Mar-30-2005, 12:12 GMT
IP:
Sweden

Tis true! I am English, but I work for a Swedish company!
Anyway, after all the criticisms of Paul´s singing, I just wish I could sing that bad!!

Claudine
Mar-30-2005, 15:26 GMT
IP:
France

And I´m French, last night I´m dreaming of a marvellous concert, like in CP 91, and suddendly I waked up,singing in my bed, no octaves but singing like a.... saucepan!!If I possessed a voice like Paul or Artie I would be very, very happy!!!

Claudine
Mar-30-2005, 15:36 GMT
IP:
France

The concert in my dream was in....Germany!!A premonition perhaps??

Johnny
Mar-30-2005, 15:54 GMT
IP:
Germany

Well, I didn´t criticise Paul´s singing. I like his voice really much, at least his "young" voice. I was just wondering why Artie sounds so much higher even though he is not singing that much higher.

You´re English!? Then I have to bother you again with a musical question. You say BOTW is in E-flat. But don´t "sharp" and "flat" in English caracterise single notes only? For the key you´d use "major" and "minor", don´t you? So the key would be E-minor and the very first note A-flat!?

@claudine Well, sometimes I dream I could play guitar very well and was a folk song writer, but that didn´t happen yet...

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