Listening Quest #4:Singing in Harmony with Lalah Hathaway

Sunday, October 18, 2015 by Vicki Martin | Listening Quest

What is a melody? When I describe to my students what a melody is, I usually explain that is the part of the song that you would sing, and you can only sing one note at a time. 99.99% of the time, that is true. What you are about to see is the .01% - or maybe it's not even that much! The video below is a collaboration between Snarky Puppy (best described as a modern big band) and Lalah Hathaway. Her vocal feats start becoming impressive around 3:00, and at 6:12, that's when you hear the jaw-dropping moment when she starts singing two notes at once! I love how the band reacts. This recording won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 2014.


Extra Exploring: Lalah Hathaway is not the only one who can sing two notes at once. Here Anna-Maria Hefele shows what is possible: