Description
I turned Amerie's 1 Thing into a 4-part a cappella harmony — and one moment changes everything.
In this vocal arrangement breakdown, I show how mixing major and minor scales creates the "harmonic rub" that makes gospel and R&B harmony feel so satisfying. If you've ever wondered why certain chords give you chills, this is your answer.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Why 1 Thing is PERFECT for arranging
00:17 - The Main Countermelody
00:26 - Using the key to create the countermelody
00:55 - The main note from the chorus' melody
01:22 - The “Major” Moment
01:38 - Using Harmonic Ambiguity to Shift the Mood
02:13 - Small Variations That Wake Up the Ear
03:10 - Building Tension on Purpose
03:54 - A Quick Brandy-Style Moment
04:21 - 1 Thing’s Most ICONIC Voccal Line
05:06 - "Scratching the itch" (Resolving the harmonic tension)
05:12 - Breaking down the main harmonization
05:33 - Labelling Parts
05:41 - When Crossing Parts Actually Helps
06:06 - Breaking down each individual line
06:21 - Creating Harmonic Rub
08:25 - Reinforcing the Major Moment with the soprano line
09:11 - Exploiting the differences between mine and Amerie's voice
09:30 - The Volume of the Mix
10:07 - Shaping the Tenor Line
10:44 - The Polyphonic Section
10:54 - Switching Up the Texture
11:34 - The Octave Drop
12:22 – Filling the Empty Space Near the Ending
12:45 – The Final Call-and-Response Idea
13:18 – Turning Amerie’s Note Into a Color Tone
13:50 – The Last Two-Part Rub
14:02 – Completing the Final Chord
This is more than a vocal harmony tutorial — it's a look inside the choices that turn a simple melody into something that moves you.
If you want to learn how to sing harmony, click here to grab my course! http://howtosingharmony.com
#amerie #1thing #vocalharmony #acappella #rnb #musictheory