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Unit 1 · The crew answers

The answer

Sing the crew's answer to the shantyman, on pitch and all together, as big as you could keep up for a whole song, then the whole chorus. Free, step by step.

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More in The crew answers

What it teaches

A shanty is a work song: the shantyman sings, and the crew answers together. In Drunken Sailor the crew's answer is "Hooray and up she rises".

As big as you could keep up. Like calling a friend across a garden

Pull with your body. Never your throat; stop if anything tightens or hurts

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

What you sing

  1. Find the answer's notes. Each waits until you're on it.
  2. Hear the shantyman's line, then answer: "Hooray and up she rises".
  3. Now the whole song: the shantyman sings the verse, then you sing the chorus, all four lines.

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.
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