Harmonies

I've noticed something lately about the music I've been listening to. I sometimes put one of the music stations on the radio. But when I'm listening to something other than the radio, it's almost always one of two things — barbershop music, either quartet or chorus, on my MP3 or Los Panchos (or El Trio Los Panchos) on CD.

Once I noticed that, it started me thinking about why. And I realized it was because of the harmony in both. Nearly every note sung is in harmony — a chord. And then I realized the same thing, the harmony, is what's driven a lot of my musical preferences over the years, including in my preferences in instrumental music.

Listen to the harmonies for yourself (on YouTube) — here's a song called La Hiedra by Los Panchos and God Bless America by Albuquerque's New MexiChords barbershop chorus. The harmonies in both are indeed excellent.