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Stability: 3 long notes
Three chord tones, 4 seconds each, with a breath between them.
Stability: 3 long notes spreads a major triad across time: root for four seconds, a one-beat rest, major third for four seconds, another rest, perfect fifth for four seconds. Each note is a separate long tone with its own breath, so you train two things: steady sustaining and starting a fresh note exactly on pitch after a quick inhale. Repetitions move up two semitones. “Oh” keeps the sound rounded and the airflow controlled, so all three notes stay calm.
How to do it
- Listen to the piano play the three notes with the rests between them.
- Sing the root for four seconds, steady and moderate in volume.
- In the rest, take a short, quiet breath through the nose, then start the third exactly on pitch.
- Repeat for the fifth. Watch all three blocks on the roll turn green with flat lines.
- Each repetition starts two semitones higher.
Coach's tip: Between notes a short, quiet breath through the nose.
What to watch out for
The breath in the one-beat rest is the tricky part. Gasping loudly and lifting the shoulders makes the next note late or scooped; keep the breath small and silent. The third often begins slightly flat because it's approached from silence rather than a step; hear it before you sing it. The fifth tends to come out louder than the other two; keep all three even. Four seconds shouldn't feel like effort; if it does, lower the range.
Who it's for
A level 2 exercise for singers who can hold Long note 6 s and want to combine sustaining with clean starts. Use it in the main block, or as an unhurried cool-down. Major triad 1-3-5-3-1 uses the same notes at speed and makes a good pairing. Listed in Breath and long phrases.
Part of programs: Breath and long phrases
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Related exercises
- Long note 10 s Ten seconds without wavering and without sagging.
- Messa di voce (soft → loud → soft) Crescendo to the middle, then decrescendo. The pitch stays put.
- Straight tone without vibrato The opposite of vibrato: a perfectly straight, motionless note. The pop “straight tone”.
- Long note 6 s Hold one note steadily for 6 seconds.