close harmony

American  

[klohs] / kloʊs /

noun

Music.

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

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close harmony British  

/ kləʊs /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of close harmony

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

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

So there are, for example, ravishing duets for Woolf and Laura, one in which they sing lines from “Mrs. Dalloway” in close harmony over trembling strings.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2022

We all know the answer, but when it’s posed this beautifully, in such impeccable close harmony, the obviousness of the question can be forgiven.

From The Guardian • Dec. 5, 2019

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

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck