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Unit 3 · Call and response

A riff

Sing a riff, a short phrase repeated over the changes, built on the minor pentatonic and ending on five so it fits every chord of the blues. Free to sing.

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A riff

A riff is a short phrase the band repeats over the changes. This one is the minor pentatonic: flat seven, do, flat three, four and five, ending on five.

Five notes. Flat seven up to five

Every chord. The same riff

Ends on five. It fits even over V

What you sing

  1. The riff over I, IV, I and V.

Challenge: Trading twos

Lesson 1's trades, then four calls and your answers, each ending on the chord's third, unit 2's colour note.

Then and now. Lesson 1's trades

Trading twos. Two bars each

The colour note. Every answer ends on the third

What you sing

  1. Lesson 1's four trades again.
  2. Four calls; your answers end on the third.

Singing safely

Light and easy: a loose jaw, a medium volume, the middle of your voice. Accent with breath, never the throat. Stop if anything tightens.

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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