close harmony

American

[klohs] / kloʊs /

noun

Music.

harmony in which the voices, excluding the bass, occur within an octave or, sometimes, within the interval of a tenth.

close harmony British

/ kləʊs /

noun

a type of singing in which all the parts except the bass lie close together and are confined to the compass of a tenth

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of close harmony

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

close harmony

The mix of working in close harmony, but entirely individually, chimed with McMurtry.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2024

But “Mr. Tambourine Man” offers an early showcase of the flair for close harmony singing that would define much of Crosby’s work over the decades to come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023

The close harmony between the three in both trios is nonpareil.

From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2015

Some of the lovingly recreated performances – a trio of chaps in Aran sweaters singing in close harmony, or John and Jean's songs, reminiscent of Peter, Paul and Mary – have a comic edge.

From The Guardian ● May 19, 2013

As we left the Temperant tent, the quartet was singing, in close harmony: .

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023