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Reading a melody from the roll

Five notes from the major scale, a new melody every time. You hear only the first note – you read the rest from the piano roll, like from sheet music.

Five notes from the major scale, and a new random melody on every repetition. The piano plays only the first note, as a cue. You read the rest from the piano roll like sheet music: the blocks are visible, and each row is one semitone. One or two rows apart is a second, three or four is a third, five is a fourth, seven is a fifth. It trains you to hear a written pitch in your head before you sing it.

How to do it

  1. Listen to the cue note. It's the first note of the melody.
  2. Read the whole line on the roll before you sing. Count the rows between neighboring blocks and note the direction.
  3. Hear the line in your head, then sing it on “lah”, matching each block's height.
  4. Check the colors and percentages. The next repetition brings a new melody.

Coach's tip: Count the rows between the blocks: one or two is a second, three or four a third. Read the whole line first, then sing.

What to watch out for

The most common error is mixing up a minor and a major third, which are three and four rows. Count the rows instead of guessing. The next trap is a wrong first note: if you start off pitch, the whole line shifts, so hum the cue back before you begin. If you miss a note, keep going and compare afterward rather than correcting mid-melody. If the line feels too busy, lower the tempo with the slider.

Who it's for

A level 2 exercise for singers who want to read pitch, such as choir singers learning sight-singing. Use it in the main block after Interval: major third and 5-note scale. Unlike Repeat 5 notes, where the targets stay hidden until you've sung, here you can see them. It's in no fixed program; the daily training favors it with the Classical & choir style.

Practice this exercise

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

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