Continuing the songs recorded at A Beautiful Mess in Lubbock, one of the questions I got asked a lot that night was about my harmonies. It’s pretty obvious I have pre-recorded tracks for the band (all of which is me), but the harmonies… how did they match so closely?
That’s probably because I generate them live. No, it’s not Tibetan throat singing. When you watch the video, look at the little blue box by my right foot. That’s a TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic. It’s a magic little box full of musical voodoo.
My guitar and microphone are routed through that box. It constantly analyzes the chord structure that’s being played. So when it comes time for harmony, all I do is choose the harmonic structure I want (one above one below, two on top, two below, 3rd above, etc) and just punch the button. At that point, that magic little box will take my voice and match it to the harmonic structure I’ve chosen while tuning it to the chord that I’m playing on my guitar. Voilà! Perfectly matched harmony (as long as I play the chord correctly).
So here’s a chance to hear the harmony, America-style.
There is one app that I’ve realized I could not really replace without an iPad, and it’s a great app for live musicians… especially solo artists or small acoustic groups. It’s called 