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Unit 2 · Old scales

The soft note

Hear the soft seventh of the Mixolydian mode, a major scale with one note lower, then sing its scale and the chorus of Old Joe Clark over a drone. Free.

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What it teaches

Old Joe Clark is a major tune with one note lower: a soft seventh. That's the Mixolydian mode, the sound of many old-time fiddle tunes.

Listen to the chorus. Old Joe Clark, a dance tune from the Appalachians

Find the soft note. On "a-" of "away", just below the home note

Major, but softer. One note lower than a major tune would sing

What you sing

  1. The scale from the soft note below the home note up to the fifth, and back.
  2. Listen to the first half, then sing it back.
  3. After a bar of the drone, sing the chorus. Light and bouncy, strong, not loud.

Singing safely

Sing at an easy volume, in the middle of your range. Stop if anything tightens, scratches or hurts, and rest your voice.

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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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