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Harmony in sixths
The piano plays the melody up high while you sing a second voice below it – a sixth lower, in parallel, step for step. Major and minor sixths alternate, as in a folk duet.
Here the piano plays the melody up high and you sing a sixth below it, in parallel: when the melody moves, your line moves with it. The sixths change size as you go: minor, major, major, minor. Your line steps down from the major third through the second and root to the note just under the root, then climbs back. A sixth is wide, so it sounds open and warm, like a folk duet. “Loo” keeps the tone round.
How to do it
- Put on headphones and listen while the piano plays your line alone.
- Sing it on “loo” while the piano plays the melody above you. Stay below it the whole way.
- Move down together with the melody to the low note just under the root, then come back up.
- Watch the roll: only your notes appear as tiles. The melody above you isn't drawn or scored.
- Hold the last note for two beats. Each repetition starts a semitone higher, then the ladder comes back down.
Coach's tip: A sixth is wide, so it’s easy to drift to an octave or a fifth. Learn your line well while it’s played, then sing softly and listen to the melody above you.
What to watch out for
A sixth is wide, so it's easy to drift onto the melody's own notes or a fifth below it without noticing. Learn your line while it's played alone, then sing softly and listen to the melody above you. The low note just under the root is the riskiest: it tends to sag, so aim a hair high. Don't push your volume to hear yourself. Headphones are strongly recommended, since piano sound from speakers leaks into the mic. Stop if your voice tires.
Who it's for
Level 3, so try Harmony a third above first if you haven't. Use it in the main block when your voice is warm, and keep your tone gentle. Interval: major sixth is useful beforehand, because sixths are the main sound here. When it feels steady, try Two-part song. No program lists it, but it comes up more often in the daily training when you pick the Folk / country style.
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- Interval: major seventh You sing a note, leap 11 semitones up and come back.
- Interval: octave You sing a note, leap 12 semitones up and come back.
- Interval mix 1-3-1-5-1-8-1 Bigger and bigger leaps from the same base.
- Octave leap with a strong top An octave leap and a held peak, then a fresh start on the top note and a way down through minor-pentatonic notes to the root.
- 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.