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Jingle Bells (chorus)

Jingle Bells (chorus)

Rhythmic, repetitive. Trains holding the same note.

🎤 Melodies
Level: Beginner
Melodic pattern
♩ 120
about 1 min

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

Jingle Bells (chorus) trains rhythm and repetition, not range. The whole chorus sits within a perfect fifth, and the famous opening is the third degree sung three times, then three times again. Then a hop to the fifth, a drop to the root and a long four-beat note back on the third. The second half moves through the fourth and third, dips to the second and ends on the fifth. Twenty-six notes at 120 beats per minute; the task is keeping repeated notes identical.

How to do it

Sing along with the piano at a brisk tempo; the lyrics are shown.
On 'jingle bells, jingle bells', sing the third degree three times exactly, checking that all three blocks are the same green.
On 'all the way', hold the four-beat note evenly; don't let it fade or wobble.
In the second half, watch the fourth degree: it repeats several times and likes to sag.
One pass, one score; run it again and aim for every repeated note green.

Coach's tip: The repeated “4 4 4” must be identical – no sagging.

What to watch out for

Repeated notes sag. The third 'jingle' is often lower than the first because breath pressure drops; keep the support constant. The long note on 'way' loses pitch as air runs out; take a bigger breath before it. The fourth degree in 'oh what fun' tends to go flat since it isn't a chord tone. Consonants steal time at this tempo, so keep them crisp and get to the vowel. It's an easy sing; strain means your range is set too high.

Who it's for

For beginners and anyone who wants a cheerful check on holding pitch, not just finding it. Use it in the main block after Long note 6 s or Stability: 3 long notes, which train the same steadiness, and before melodies with leaps. It isn't in a preset program; find it in the Melodies category.

Practice this exercise

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