Stackapella Open the app

Unit 3 · The shantyman

Lead the call

Sing the shantyman's verse alone, a big warm voice that never strains, while a four-part crew answers you with the chorus you already know. Free to sing.

Sing this lesson

Free in the app: sing one lesson of each course with no account; a free account opens the course unit by unit.

More in The shantyman

What it teaches

Now you're the shantyman: you sing Drunken Sailor's verse alone, and the guide's crew answers you with the chorus you know.

You sing alone. A big warm voice, never a strain; stop if anything tightens or hurts

The crew answers. In four parts, after your verse

Headphones or a speaker. The calls sound in your rests either way

What you sing

  1. Your verse, then the crew's chorus.

Singing safely

As big as you could keep up for the whole song, never shouted: a shout has no pitch, so it can't be scored. Pull with your body, not your throat. Stop if anything tightens or hurts.

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.
Start the beginner course Open the app How Stackapella works

More free tools

No account, no ads. Each one keeps working offline once you've opened it.

See all 17 tools