Silent Night

A wide range (1.5 octaves) and long notes. A ballad in its purest form.

🎤 Melodies
Level: Intermediate
Melodic pattern
♩ 90
about 2 min

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

Silent Night is the widest and slowest melody in Clearsing: forty-six notes spanning an octave plus a perfect fourth, at 90 beats per minute, many held for three beats. The tune rocks on a dotted figure between the fifth and sixth degrees, lifts to the ninth on 'all is calm', and peaks on 'sleep in heavenly peace' at the eleventh before descending step by step to the root. A ballad in its pure form: long vowels, gentle high notes, breath management across nearly two minutes.

How to do it

Sing along with the piano; the lyrics are shown and the tempo is slow, so breathe deep before each phrase.
Keep the dotted figure on 'Si-lent' gentle: long note, short note, no bump between them.
On 'all is calm' and 'sleep in heavenly', sing the high notes lightly, in a mix; watch them turn green without pushing.
Hold every three-beat note steady to the end, then breathe in the gap.
The final descent to the root should be as quiet and on pitch as the beginning.

Coach's tip: The high “Sleep in heavenly” – lightly, in mix, don't shout.

What to watch out for

The high phrases get shouted. If 'sleep in heavenly' turns red, you're not too low, you're pushing; sing it softer and think higher in the head. Long notes run out of air and sag flat in the last beat; plan breaths at the phrase ends. The dotted figure often becomes two even notes. In the final descent the fourth and second degrees tend to sag. Any pinching on the top means stop, lower your range, or come back after a proper warm-up.

Who it's for

For intermediate singers with a warm voice and a saved range that comfortably covers an octave and a half. Never sing it cold; do Lip trill – siren and “Oo” siren (octave) first. It pairs naturally with Long note 10 s for the sustained notes. Use it as the closing melody of a main block. Not in a preset program; see the Melodies category.

Practice this exercise

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