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Broken thirds
1-3-2-4-3-5-4-6-5... Trains thinking in intervals.
A scale in broken thirds: root, major third, second, perfect fourth, third, fifth, fourth, major sixth, then a straight walk down from the fifth to the root, thirteen notes in all. Every pair is a third, some major and some minor, so you're constantly leaping and stepping. That's why it trains interval thinking rather than just scale singing. The syllable 'dah' gives each note a clear consonant start. Each repetition is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then the pattern comes back down the same way.
How to do it
- Listen to the pattern; hear it as pairs: up a third, down a step, up a third again.
- Sing on 'dah', starting every note cleanly with the consonant.
- Follow the zigzag on the piano roll; the highest bar is the major sixth.
- Watch the walk-down at the end and land the long root note in green.
- Each pass is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then it works back down the same way.
Coach's tip: Hear each third as a separate “question and answer”.
What to watch out for
The zigzag makes people lose the scale underneath, so the fourth and sixth drift sharp or flat. Keep the step notes in mind as anchors. Rushing the pairs blurs them; each note gets a full beat. The major sixth at the top often comes out flat because it arrives after a leap; aim slightly above it. If the descent feels hurried and sloppy, slow the tempo. This is a brain exercise more than a voice exercise, so no strain is expected.
Who it's for
Best for advanced singers and for anyone learning harmony or sight-singing. Do it in the main block once you're warm and accurate on 5-note scale. It pairs well with Interval: major third and Interval: minor third, which isolate the two kinds of third. It isn't part of a preset program; choose it from the Scales category when you want a mental challenge.
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- Chromatic (5 notes) Each next note a semitone higher. An extreme intonation test.
- 9-note scale More than an octave – you pass through the passaggio both ways.
- Blues scale with the “blue note” The minor pentatonic plus a flattened fifth, the “blue note”. Three notes a semitone apart are the heart of blues and soul.
- Bebop scale down The mixolydian scale with one extra semitone between the octave and the minor seventh. Thanks to it, in swing the tones of the seventh chord land on the strong beats.
- Twang on “nyah” A bright, narrow “nyah” on the first five scale degrees, holding the fifth. Twang is the safe base of rock edge – the voice sounds sharp while the throat stays loose.
- Five vowels on one note One note and five vowels in a row: mee, eh, ah, oh, oo – with no gaps between them. Trains even vowels and legato: pitch and tone stay, only the shape of your mouth changes.