The Wellerman - harmony tutorial video by Chris Murphy

I recently posted a multitrack video of the sea shanty “The Wellerman”, made popular recently by Nathan Evans on TikTok and other platforms. I had some requests for me to make a tutorial of the harmonies that I used, so here it is. I used four parts: the melody, then a bass harmony, a harmony just below the melody (which I refer to in the video as the “middle harmony”), and a harmony just above the melody (which I refer to in the video as the “high harmony”). This is a fairly common grouping of harmonies when singing shanties, which doesn’t follow the classical SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) format.
The first chorus features all parts mixed.
The second chorus isolates the bass part, with the melody quiet in the background.
The third chorus isolates the middle part, with the melody quiet in the background.
The fourth chorus isolates the high part, with the melody quiet in the background.
The fifth chorus takes the bass part out of the mix, with the other parts blended; this is useful if you wish to practice the bass part, while singing along with the other parts.
The sixth chorus takes the middle part out of the mix, with the other parts blended; this is useful if you wish to practice the middle part, while singing along with the other parts.
The last chorus takes the high part out of the mix, with the other parts blended; this is useful if you wish to practice the high part, while singing along with the other parts.
Enjoy, and happy singing! Cheers, Chris

[@Game_Blox9999]

That's quite an impressive vocal range.

[@DonGonzalito]

Thank you for explaining the melodies separately.

[@Seshi]

Just for reference:
0:32 Bass part
0:55 Middle part
1:17 High part

[@havasmama05]

I specifically searched for a harmony tutorial for this song, and this was the only one I found. I wasn't sure it was what I was hoping for, being so short, but I was pleasantly surprised. Fantastically done! Brilliant! Thank you so much!
PS I love your background

[@krazythekid]

I love this so much. If only I had friends to sing it with 😥

[@musikwerkstatt]

Thanks a lot, great work!

[@jacobmorgan7203]

Bravo Chris Murphy

[@lauryntonio]

wow i love the format of this video it's so smart!!!!! thank you so much :)
Edit: i was having such a hard time differentiating the high and middle harmony parts and wanted to say again how helpful this video was ⭐️

[@AngieJamison-zl3tf]

Thank you so much for this breakdown of harmonies Mr Murphy! I sing with friends that get together at least once a week. Although our singing gets better all the time, and we've enjoyed singing Wellerman in unison, we are SO excited to have found this tutorial to help us. Thank you!

[@prattnexgen4626]

Great breakdown of this song! Thank you! Was really helpful learning this song to do a fun quartet number with a group of friends.

[@IamCree]

I can't love this enough. I had picked out the high and middle harmonies but couldn't disentangle which notes went to which one at points. This is so well done!

[@ilpacchiapacchierini3535]

I was trying to figure out what were the other parts of the choir and this is a perfect full example. There's also the last part where people can try to sing along their part with all the others.
Great video!
Thanks man ❤

[@lucyslinger4808]

Absolutely epic, did with family and was a huge success 🎉🎉🎉

[@mm__4555]

OH MY GOD THIS IS AMAZING

[@samuelcohen2362]

Impressed with the bass singing, low parts are not easy!

[@enricocscs]

Grazie per questo video, ha fatto tanto bene a tante persone🙏

[@kamilmuca1464]

Very useful tutorial, thank you sir

[@jameswalden7401]

Absolutely amazing

[@jonnyb6700]

Good stuff. Gonna make a cover of my thanks to you.

[@jomsShoots]

Just excellent.

[@bigpapi2658]

Nice!!

[@GOODNOIGHT]

Lets ness with the algorithm! This needs more views!

[@StarryVeck]

Perfect, thank you

[@samson374]

thank you this helps me so much

[@rewindthefuture1600]

very good video, exactly what I needed and cooler!

[@JimmyOlsson]

Absolutely amazing!

[@GamalKevin]

Wonderful ✨

[@Eikei]

Excellent tutorial!

[@shadezilla5020]

Thank you so much
I’m doing this with my chior buddies
:)

[@aniaanik3973]

Magnific! :)

[@santanicclaus551]

Thank you very much, very helpful :)

[@nicoletobiasson5629]

Thank you!!! 😍

[@fretnopujiastuti3510]

There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down
Oh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguing is done
We'll take our leave and go

[@gabrieleplutino8233]

what's the tune of this version? :D

[@sammascreel]

you know what would be awesome? if you did the song in full, no parts. I like you better than the original.

[@ChrisMurphy1977]

Thanks, I did in fact do it in full. Here’s the link: th-cam.com/video/51pLW5rF8Ug/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared

[@sammascreel]

@@ChrisMurphy1977 Thank you, sir!!! after listening to it, I would like to emphasize the fact your better than the original by far!!