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Unit 8

Expression

Shape a phrase from a breath to its peak and a soft ending, let a gentle vibrato come if it wants to, and open your vowels on high notes. Free, step by step.

Sing this unit

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Loud and soft

Expression is how you sing, not just which notes.

Get softer at a line's end. Let it settle

Warm up a long note. Let it grow a little

Shape each phrase. Loud and soft, not flat

What you sing

  1. Sing this phrase, starting strong and ending soft.

A gentle vibrato

Vibrato often comes on its own when the breath is steady and the throat is easy. If it doesn't yet, that's fine: a straight tone is beautiful too.

Never push it. No shaking, no forcing

Breathe steady, throat easy. Hold each note relaxed

Let it move if it wants. A gentle wave, on its own

What you sing

  1. Find each note and hold it, relaxed.
  2. Listen, then hold each long note steady and easy.

Vowels on high notes

High notes like room. Only go as high as is easy, and stop if anything tightens.

Open as you climb. Let the vowel grow taller

"ee" leans to "ih". Less tight, less wide

"ah" gets taller. Not wider

What you sing

  1. Climb on "ah", opening the vowel as you go up.
  2. Now on "ee": let it lean toward "ih" at the top.

Shaping a line

A phrase is a breath with a shape.

Breathe before it. Not in the middle

Grow toward the peak. The highest or longest note

Let the end fade. Don't just stop

What you sing

  1. Sing it in one breath, growing to the top and settling at the end.

Challenge: Danny Boy, with expression

What you sing

  1. The unit's challenge: record the melody of Danny Boy, shaping each line: a breath before it, growing to its top, settling at the end.

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.

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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