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Harmony a third above
First the piano plays your line, then it plays the melody while you sing a second voice over it – a third higher, step for step. That’s the high harmony of folk and country.
A second voice a third above the melody, the sound behind much folk and country harmony. The piano plays the melody: root, second, third, fourth, then back down. You sing a line one diatonic third higher on every note, so the thirds change size as you go: major, minor, minor, major. You stay inside the major scale the whole way. “Lah” is open and steady, which leaves your attention free for hearing both lines.
How to do it
- Put on headphones and listen while the piano plays your line alone.
- Sing it on “lah” while the piano plays the melody underneath. Your line starts a major third above the piano's first note.
- Keep your line steady and quiet. Listen to both voices at once; a clean third blends into the melody.
- Watch the roll: only your notes appear as tiles. The piano melody isn't drawn or scored.
- Hold the top and last notes for two beats. Each repetition starts a semitone higher, then the ladder comes back down.
Coach's tip: Hold your own line and don’t get pulled onto the piano’s melody. If you keep sliding onto it, sing more quietly and listen to both voices at once.
What to watch out for
The pull of the melody is the main problem. Many singers slide onto the piano's line and end up in unison instead of a third. If that keeps happening, sing more quietly and learn your line well while the piano plays it alone. Minor thirds are narrower than major ones, so listen for the changing distance instead of copying one shape. Use headphones: speaker sound can leak into the mic and confuse pitch detection. Stop if you feel strain.
Who it's for
Level 2, for the main block. Work on single intervals first, such as Interval: major third and Interval: minor third, because you meet both here. Once it feels steady, move on to Harmony in sixths or 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: perfect fifth You sing a note, leap 7 semitones up and come back.
- Interval: major sixth You sing a note, leap 9 semitones up and come back.
- Intervals from the tonic, no piano The piano gives only the first note. From the tonic you sing a second, third, fourth and fifth on your own, returning to the tonic each time – like in solfège.
- Leaps on the “and” in swing From the tonic, a leap of a major third, a major sixth and a minor seventh – each time the top note comes in on the short eighth before the beat and carries over. A typical jazz push.
- 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.