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- Interval: perfect fifth
Interval: perfect fifth
You sing a note, leap 7 semitones up and come back.
Root, perfect fifth, root: a leap of seven semitones and back, with the root held two beats. The fifth is the most stable interval after the octave and the frame of every chord. Hitting it cleanly and consistently is the difference between an arpeggio that sounds in tune and one that sags. Three notes at a slow tempo, sung on 'lah'. 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 piano play root, fifth, root.
- Hear the fifth in your head, then leap to it directly on 'lah'.
- On the roll, the fifth sits seven rows above; check it reads green.
- Return to the same root. 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 the second note in your head before you open your mouth.
What to watch out for
The fifth comes out flat more than any other interval, especially when sung late in a long session. Aim slightly above where you think it is. Singers also tend to add weight to the top note; keep it the same volume as the root. If the roll shows a ramp instead of a step, you're scooping. The return root should be exactly where you started; check the two bars line up.
Who it's for
Intermediate singers, or beginners who already handle the third and fourth cleanly. Use it in the main block before Major triad 1-3-5-3-1 or 1-5-8-5-1, both of which depend on a secure fifth. Continue to Interval: major sixth for the next size. Listed in the Intonation program.
Part of programs: Intonation
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Related exercises
- 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.
- 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.