Guitar Harmonies Explained: Adding 3rds and 5ths to Your Solos
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Guitar Harmonies are the gateway to god-tier guitar playing. Adding 3rds and 5ths to your solos will sound awesome. Let’s see how it’s done…
Guitar Hamonies Explained: Adding 3rds and 5ths to Your Solos
So, we all love a good solo, right? The bends, the tapping, the emotion! However, do you ever feel like you’re missing something? Iron Maiden, Extreme, Queen and The Eagles have all been known to layer up the sounds of their guitar parts.
First, we need to understand what guitar harmonies are. When discussing musical harmony, we refer to two or more notes played simultaneously. For example, in a basic C power-chord, we can hear a C note, and the 5th above it, G. The effect on the sound all depends on which interval you use. Be that 3rds, #4ths, 5ths, octaves even.
3rds
Firstly, we need to accept that most of the time, to play a harmony live, we need two guitarists. However, we can sometimes play certain intervals together depending on their relationship to each other.
Here, we’re looking at 3rds. The major or minor 3rd is three degrees away from the root of the scale. So, in the key of A minor, our minor 3rd is C. Contrastingly, if we were looking at A major, our major 3rd would be C#. Basic 3rds are fairly simple guitar harmonies.
Take a look at the scale below, it depicts the A major scale, followed by a harmonized version. Whereby the harmony line will always be a 3rd away from the root note at all times. In A major, we start at the root and then move to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th degrees of the scale before returning to the root A. When applying the 3rds, we move thusly: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, root, 2nd and 3rd.
Guitar Harmonies Explained: 3rds
5ths
The benefit of 3rds is that they sound euphonous. However, get the major or minor 3rd mixed up and your guitar harmony will flop. Creating dissonance. Not what we want with our guitar harmonies. This is where 5ths come into effect.
Similarly, 5ths refers to the 5th degree of the scale from the root note. Power chords are made up of 5ths and are therefore familiar to most guitarists. Overall, 5ths give a totally different sound when harmonized with the rest of the scale.
A lot of guitar solos will combine 3rds and 5ths depending on what is required. Let’s take a look at another TAB that shows the C minor pentatonic scale, with 5ths above. This guitar harmony will sound very different to the one before.
Guitar Harmonies Explained: 5ths
Octaves
Now, octaves don’t really count as official ‘Guitar Harmonies’. Although, by definition, they’re allowed into this list. Two or more notes played at the same time. Let’s see how they sound and how to apply them.
An Octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another. This is the distance of eight notes. Luckily for us, octaves sound exactly the same as the root note, providing it is eight notes ahead of it in the scale. On guitar, we benefit from 4 complete octaves.
Here is a simple riff, utilising octaves. You’ll be able to see that we have a series of set notes, accompanied by an octave. Overall, octaves can be higher or lower and ultimately add a bit more depth.
Guitar Harmonies: Octaves
Run To You – Guitar Harmonies
Okay, now that we’ve looked at what they are, how about some musical context?
The solo of Run To You by Bryan Adams features a simple lead guitar line. Effective and memorable as a guitar solo. Moreover, the second time around, major 3rds are added over the top of the original guitar line.
Totally transforming the overall feel of the solo, the addition of the major 3rds creates a completely different mood for the listener. And for us, it’s fun and easy to play. This TAB shows us the first lead line, followed by the major 3rds.
Guitar Harmonies – Run To You
Thin Lizzy – Guitar Harmonies
Finally, let’s look at another example of how guitar harmonies are used.
‘Do Anything You Want To‘ ‘s intro features a shredding combination of guitar harmonies throughout. They sound great, don’t they? To play this live, you’d need at least two guitars. Recording in the studio? All you’ll need is lots of patience.
Furthermore, Garry Moore‘s solo in ‘The Boys Are Back in Town‘ has another killer set of guitar harmonies in. Take a look at this live performance. You can see the hand placement of each guitarist is slightly different. With one playing the main lead line, accompanied by the 3rds and 5ths.
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Guitar Harmonies Explained: Grab Your Guitar!
Hopefully, this brief rundown has explained a bit more about the ins and outs of harmonisation guitar. It can get pretty technical, and various solos get quite tricky. However, a basic major third is all you need for a compelling improvement over your compositions.
If you’re wanting to try out some cool harmonies, check out these cool effects solutions:
Flashback 2 Delay
BOSS DD-8 Digital Delay
BOSS RC-500 Loop Station
Vahlbruch Octavia v2 Fuzz / Octa
Videos:
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