Unit 1 · The plain voice
Join the crew
Learn how sailors sang shanties to pull together, then answer each line of Drunken Sailor as the crew, strong not loud, over a bagpipe-like drone. Free.
Free in the app: sing one lesson of each course with no account; a free account opens the course unit by unit.
More in The plain voice
- Join the crewYou are here
- Ring with the drone
- Tell it
What it teaches
Sailors sang shanties to pull together: a shantyman sang the line, and the crew answered as they hauled. Sing it strong, not loud, over a drone: one note held underneath, like a bagpipe's.
Listen, then answer. You're the crew: echo each line of Drunken Sailor
Keep the top notes light. In the middle of your voice, never pushed
Look after your voice. Stop if anything tightens, tickles or hurts. Don't sing when you're ill, and see someone if hoarseness lasts more than two weeks
What you sing
- The first line, at your own pace. Each note waits until you find it.
- Listen to two lines, then sing them back.
- Now the last two lines. Listen for the bright note in "drunk-en", higher than you'd expect.
Singing safely
Sing at an easy volume, in the middle of your range. Stop if anything tightens, scratches or hurts, and rest your voice.
Free tools by Stackapella
All of these are free, and so is every course.
Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.
- A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
- Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
- Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
- Every course free
- Open source
- No ads, no tracking
More free tools
No account, no ads. Each one keeps working offline once you've opened it.
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