Learn Roots Music

Jenny Lester & Friends

Bluegrass Harmony Singing

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"Outstanding. Jenny's vocals would make an angel weep with joy!"


- Alice Hill (WELY, MN)


Bluegrass Harmony Singing with Jenny Lester & Friends

Harmony singing is one of the great pleasures of bluegrass music and this DVD is a good, friendly, and fun introduction to harmony for those who have wanted to try it, but haven't been able to grasp the concepts or just haven't felt comfortable with it. Now you can step out of the shower and sing, at least in your living room, with a DVD. And, it gives enough confidence building information that you should feel at ease going out of the house and singing at jams or on stage.


Jenny Lester is a well-known Canadian singer/songwriter and bluegrass musician. She leads the program here with two friends and creates a nice, relaxed atmosphere for learning. Singing is one of the most personal things you can do, and it's often difficult to get people to let their ego go and just start singing, which at the beginning , at least, means making mistakes. Another problem people sometimes have is in understanding the technical aspects of harmony. Jenny introduces these concepts in an ear-friendly way, not teaching theory too quickly, but allowing the feel of harmony to be experienced first. It's a good way of teaching. And it's helpful to hear how different notes lay in the different ranges of male and female voices.


Other topics include finding the root, third and fifth of chords; tips for blending and tone; following the direction of lead parts; singing consonants s a group; picking out the tenor and baritone parts in basic bluegrass harmony and varying the stacks, and much more. She breaks down two songs (her own compositions) into their basic parts. It might have been better to choose more widely-known songs, but these are good songs and appropriate for teaching harmony.


The production is well done with good lighting and multiple cameras, and Jenny paces the lesson well,building toward a good general understanding of bluegrass harmony. Nicely done menu for easy navigation of the lessons. Recommended for those new to bluegrass harmony or those needing a refresher course.


- review from Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, June 2008


Ever wonder how to put together the vocal parts in bluegrass 3 part harmony singing? In this very intimate lesson, Jenny Lester puts her band mates through the paces of finding their harmony parts and they very generously comply in an honest, open hearted session that takes you right into what could easily be one of their private vocal practice sessions.


You will soon be practicing lead, tenor and baritone singing, each on it's own and then with the other 2 parts through this instructional DVD.


In this lesson, Jenny takes two songs (Friends Like You and The River, Mother Nature and Me) and touches on the following techniques for good harmony singing;