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Pentatonic over a drone

The piano holds a low drone – the tonic an octave down, like bagpipes or a hurdy-gurdy – and you sing the major pentatonic over it, up to the sixth and back. You hear the melody first, then sing it alone with just the drone.

loolooloolooloolooloolooloo
One repetition of the pattern. In the app it is transposed to your vocal range and scored note by note.

Under you sits a low drone: the tonic, an octave below your starting note, struck again every four beats. Over it you sing the major pentatonic up to the sixth and back: root, major second, major third, fifth, major sixth, then home. Notes that fit the drone sound calm, and a note that misses seems to throb, which makes this gentle ear training. A soft “loo” keeps the tone round, so you can hear both sounds.

How to do it

  1. Put on headphones and listen while the piano plays your line alone.
  2. Sing “loo” softly over the drone, one syllable per note. Hold the sixth and the final root for two beats.
  3. Listen to how each note sits on the drone. If one throbs, nudge it until it settles.
  4. Watch the roll: only your notes show up as tiles. The drone isn't drawn or scored.
  5. Rest on the last beat. Each repetition starts a whole tone higher, climbs through your range, then comes back down.

Coach's tip: Listen to how your voice sits on the drone: a clean root and fifth sound calm, an off note seems to throb. Sing softly so you can hear both.

What to watch out for

Headphones matter here. Piano sound from speakers can leak into the mic and confuse pitch detection, and the app warns you when it hears that. The major sixth tends to sag during its two-beat hold, and the major third can drift flat. If you can't hear the drone, you're singing too loud, so come down to conversation volume. Stop if your voice tires or your throat tightens. The tempo slider slows everything down.

Who it's for

Level 1, so it suits beginners and anyone who goes flat when no chord is playing. Use it early in a session, once Hum on one note has warmed up your voice. Afterward, try Major pentatonic, which adds the octave on top. No program lists it, but it comes up more often in the daily training when you pick the Folk / country style.

Practice this exercise

Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.

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