Are the 2 singers in this track singing different notes?

[pulykamell]

@Leaffan

Well, certainly in a lot of Beatles songs there are nuances of their British, and especially Liverpudlian accent that come through. Galeazzo even points out a bit when he says Paul doesn’t really sing “All my loving” but instead sings something that sounds like “Oll ma loving.”

I can pick out the their Liverpool accent in a lot of songs.

Yes, that’s why I put “American” in quotes there. The Beatles are doing their version of an American accent–it isn’t perfect. And, of course, Galeazzo is another degree removed.

[Musicat]

@Saffer

If they are in fact doing this, do you have any links to tracks that make more obvious use of this technique?

Here’s one, where the vocal solo is a single take at first, then doubled (at :36), then the same singer (Charlynn Maybe) switches to harmony with herself (at :44).

Incidentally, the same soloist was also 6 of the voices in the background in the chorus, where 4 voices (3 male, 1 female) were recorded 6 times, then mixed into a stereo spread (12 on each side).

[Son_of_a_Rich]

The only example of non harmony singing I can think of is when the Glen Miller band shouts “Pennsylvania 6-500”, but that’s not really singing, is it?

[Terminus_Est]

@Son_of_a_Rich

The only example of non harmony singing I can think of is when the Glen Miller band shouts “Pennsylvania 6-500”, but that’s not really singing, is it?

Carmina Burana often has the entire choir singing in unison - sopranos, altos, tenors, basses, and all.

[pulykamell]

It’s also not uncommon for rock groups, at least, to have other members joining in unison for the chorus to thicken up the sound. I know in the bands I’ve played in, this was common, and in the concerts I’ve attended, this was fairly common, too. I’m trying to think of a recorded example–there’s got to be a bunch out there, but nothing is immediately coming to mind. Double-tracked vocals sung in unison have also been very popular since at least the 60s as a way of “thickening up” the sound. In this case, the lead singer sings the same vocal over him or herself (or sometimes this is done digitally or through tape tricks, like the Beatles did with automatic/artificial double tracking on much of Revolver and beyond.) Just Google or Youtube “double tracking” for examples.

[74westy]

Everything Bananarama sang was in unison.

[pulykamell]

@74westy

Everything Bananarama sang was in unison.

I was briefly listening to music on the radio today (my radio is typically just set on NPR) and what I was describing as pretty common unison singing in the chorus showed up when Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” song came up. That chorus has unison singing. I’m sure if I kept listening, I could have come up with dozens more examples.

[OffByOne]

@pulykamell

It’s also not uncommon for rock groups, at least, to have other members joining in unison for the chorus to thicken up the sound. I know in the bands I’ve played in, this was common, and in the concerts I’ve attended, this was fairly common, too. I’m trying to think of a recorded example–there’s got to be a bunch out there, but nothing is immediately coming to mind. Double-tracked vocals sung in unison have also been very popular since at least the 60s as a way of “thickening up” the sound. In this case, the lead singer sings the same vocal over him or herself (or sometimes this is done digitally or through tape tricks, like the Beatles did with automatic/artificial double tracking on much of Revolver and beyond.) Just Google or Youtube “double tracking” for examples.

The Irish singer Enya took this to extreme measures, overdubbing both unison and harmony. The end result is like nothing I had ever heard before.