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Unit 2 · Old scales

Name that mode

Sing the Dorian and Mixolydian scales over the same drone, then hear two short tunes and pick each one's mode by its bright or soft note. Free, step by step.

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More in Old scales

Name that mode

Two short tunes over the same drone. Which mode is it?

The bright note. Minor with a raised sixth: Dorian

The soft note. Major with a lowered seventh: Mixolydian

Listen as often as you like. Only your first answer counts

What you sing

  1. First sing each: the Dorian scale, the bright sixth near the top. Listen, then sing it back.
  2. And the Mixolydian, the soft seventh near the top.
  3. Listen to both, then choose.
Try one round

Challenge: All hands

Drunken Sailor again, the whole verse, with no one to echo now. Make the bright note bright and keep the long notes plain.

Listen once more. Then it's yours

Plain long notes. "morn-ing" steady and easy

Strong, not loud. A crew sings together, not over each other

What you sing

  1. The verse at your own pace first.
  2. After a bar of the drone, sing the verse.

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

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Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.

Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up.
  • 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.
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