Stackapella Open the app

A Plus course · 16 lessons

Same notes, your sound.

A plain tune and a styled one are the same notes. The difference is a few small moves: a scoop up into a note, a fall-off at its end, a slide, a little cry, and a tone colour to suit the song. And the taste to use them sparingly.

  • 16 lessons, 2 to 4 minutes each
  • About 40 minutes in all
  • Over real chords

Try the first lesson free See the lessons

By the end, you can

  1. Scoop up into a note, and let a note's end fall off, on purpose.

  2. Slide between notes, and add a little cry, light and quick.

  3. Try three tone colours, breathy, bright and twang, and choose one for a song.

  4. Style a plain line your own way, using the moves sparingly.

Four small moves

The app draws your voice as a line, so you can see each move as you make it. Use them sparingly: on the long notes and the line ends.

The scoop Start a little below a note and slide up into it, on purpose.
The fall-off Let a note's end drop away, with the breath still steady.
The slide Glide smoothly from one note to the next, on one breath.
The little cry A quick flick up into your lighter voice and straight back down.

Small and light

Every move is small and light, at a medium volume in the middle of your voice. Stop if anything tightens, tickles or hurts.

  • Breathy means a little air, not a whisper. Keep water nearby.
  • Bright comes from the vowel and a slight smile, not from more volume or higher notes. This isn't belting.
  • Twang is narrow and bright, never pressed: start from a light "nyeh", and stop if your throat feels squeezed.
  • The cry is a light flick, never a hard catch, and a fall-off never collapses into a creak.

From plain to your record

4 units, 16 lessons

  1. Stage 1Unit 1

    Scoops and fall-offs

    Plain to styled, the scoop, the fall-off, and Down in the Valley styled.

    1. Plain to styled Free
    2. The scoop
    3. The fall-off
    4. Styled valley

  2. Stage 2Unit 2

    Slides and the cry

    The slide, the little cry, hearing which move is which, and Lone Prairie.

    1. The slide
    2. The little cry
    3. Which move?
    4. Lone prairie

  3. Stage 3Unit 3

    Colours

    Breathy, bright and twang, a crooner's Aura Lee, a country edge, and your colour.

    1. Three colours
    2. The crooner
    3. The country edge
    4. Your colour

  4. Stage 4Unit 4

    Your way

    Where the moves go, answering back, Beautiful Dreamer your way, and your record.

    1. Where the moves go
    2. Answer back
    3. Your way
    4. Your record

Try this now: plain to styled

One line of Down in the Valley, sung twice. Small and slow.

  1. Sing "Down in the valley" plainly, every note straight.
  2. Sing it again with a scoop into "val-": start a little below the note and slide up into it.
  3. Keep the scoop small and slow. It should sound meant, not missed.
  4. Record both takes on your phone and listen to them back to back: same notes, different song.

Lesson 1 hears your scoop into "val-" and each note's pitch, and plays your plain and styled takes back.

What the app listens for

It hears your scoops, fall-offs, slides and a cry's shape, and each note's pitch. Tone colour and whether a move sounds good are yours to judge.

Up to 3 stars, half for the moves asked for and half for the notes on pitch, plus XP; styling your own way, more moves never earn more.The same take says it plainly, like "We heard 2 of the 3 moves asked for", with no stars or XP.

Plain to styled, the first lesson: Down in the Valley with a scoop into "val-", sung small and light. Plain to styled, the first lesson: Down in the Valley with a scoop into "val-", sung small and light.
Three colours: hear the breathy model, record yourself, then compare, with a note that tone isn't scored yet. Three colours: hear the breathy model, record yourself, then compare, with a note that tone isn't scored yet.

From the record shelf

Who it's for

  • Singers whose lines sound correct but plain.
  • Anyone who loves pop, country or crooners and wants to sing in that style.
  • Harmony singers who want their part to match a styled lead.

What you need

  • A quiet spot, and water nearby.
  • Headphones help you hear the chords and yourself.
  • No reading music: you see your voice drawn as a line.

Singing it safely

  • Keep every move small and light, at medium volume in the middle of your voice.
  • Twang is narrow and bright, never pressed: stop if your throat feels squeezed.
  • Breathy means a little air, not a whisper; keep water nearby.

The songs

  • Down in the Valley Traditional American, public domain
  • Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie Traditional cowboy song, words 1910, tune 1839, public domain
  • Aura Lee Song from 1861, its original words, public domain
  • Beautiful Dreamer Song from 1864, its first line, public domain

Questions

How long does it take?

16 lessons of 2 to 4 minutes each, about 40 minutes in all.

Is this belting?

No. Bright comes from the vowel and a slight smile, not from more volume or higher notes, and every move stays small and light.

Will I sound like a particular singer?

No recording is imitated and no living singer is named as a model: styles are described, and you style a line your own way.

Does it score my tone?

Not yet. It hears your scoops, fall-offs, slides and the shape of a cry, and each note's pitch. Your tone colour is yours to judge, by comparing your takes.

What does it cost?

The first lesson is free, with no account needed. The rest of the course is part of Plus. Saving your progress takes a free account.

Make it yours

On Plus, with the first lesson free.

No account needed to try it. Saving your progress takes a free account.

Try the first lesson free See Plus

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