Vocal lab
Original lines for the voice. One syllable chart and Play on each card. Labs A–F climb. The chart is movable do: the key control moves every card together.
Use this page when the separate lessons feel scattered and you want one sitting. You do not have to finish every card in one day. One lab at a time is enough.
Each card is the same job as on its lesson page, only collected here. If a line keeps failing, leave the lab and fix it on Shape the vowel, Hold one note, or Pitch, time, words, then come back.
Stop everything cuts Play, Metro, and the drone so you can reset between cards without hunting buttons.
Status under the controls shows which card was last running — useful when you leave and come back.
Lab A · Mouth and line
Lab A is the mouth and the simplest line. Before leaps or words, you need one pitch that stays steady while the mouth changes, and a short scale where the vowel does not chase the note names.
These cards come from Shape the vowel and Hold one note. A long hold checks breath and pitch together. The five-note line checks that you can move the scale without opening a new vowel on every step.
Press Play once and listen. Your turn only after you know what the check will name on each lit syllable. Play does not start the drone unless you turn it on in the bar.
When A1 through A5 are easy at one tempo, change BPM or key at the top and run them again. The whole lab follows your do.
Finish Lab A before Lab B — mouth and line failures show up as rhythm mistakes later.
A1 · Five mouths
Your job: ah, ay, ee, oh, oo on one do. The pitch does not move. The mouth does.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
A2 · One breath
Your job: Hold do for six beats. The name on the check stays do.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
A3 · Five notes
Your job: do up to sol and back. One vowel shape. The check walks the names.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
A4 · ee up the five
Your job: Keep the small smile. ee does not spread wider as you go up.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
A5 · Connected four
Your job: do–re–mi–fa on one breath, then sol–fa–mi–do. No new push between notes.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Lab B · Time
Lab B keeps the pitch simple on purpose. The job is when the note starts, how long it lasts, and when silence is part of the line.
Turn Metro on in the practice bar when you are ready. Count out loud with the click before you sing. If you cannot say the numbers evenly, the voice will rush or drag with you.
Long notes and rests are where singers cheat: clipping a hold to match short notes, or humming through a rest. The check still names a syllable when a note is lit; on a rest your job is to stay silent.
These drills mirror The beat on the hub. When B1 through B5 work, go back to the scale rhythms there and sing real solfege instead of only do.
Metro from the practice bar is required for honest time work — counting alone hides rush.
B1 · Four even
Your job: Count 1 2 3 4. One do on each number. The check stays on do.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
B2 · Hold the long notes
Your job: mi, la, and high do are longer. Do not clip them to match the short ones.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
B3 · Leave the rest
Your job: The gap is silent. Do not fill it with a hum.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
B4 · Run into the hold
Your job: Four quick notes, then sol sits. The quick ones stay even.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
B5 · Six
Your job: Count six. One note each count, then again. Do not turn it into four.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Lab C · Chest, mix, head
Lab C is the same key with a different feel in the body. Chest is the speaking part of the voice. Head is lighter and higher. Mix is the bridge where many singers learn to carry power without yelling.
None of these names is a button you flip. They are clusters of sensation. If the throat pinches or the tone turns to air, stop, reset on Warm up, and try softer.
The siren card is one connected slide through the range. It is not a contest for the highest note. It is proof that you can move without a break you did not choose.
Read the full story on Chest, mix, head. Lab C is the daily practice version of that page.
Register cards are sensations — if C5 feels bad, lower do and retry before forcing head voice.
C1 · Chest
Your job: do up to sol in the speaking part of the voice. If sol pinches, it has left chest.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
C2 · Mix
Your job: fa sol la sol fa. Depth and a little ring. Not a yell.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
C3 · Head
Your job: sol up to high do and back. Lighter than chest. Still connected.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
C4 · Siren
Your job: One slide up to high do and back. No break into air on the way.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
C5 · Loud, same pitch
Your job: do–sol–do, louder. The check stays on those names. Volume is not a shove in the throat.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Lab D · Words and leaps
Lab D adds consonants and distance. The consonant starts the word; the vowel holds the pitch. A leap is only finished when you land on the syllable you meant, not a neighbor.
Scale words train the mouth shapes from The words. Hot cross buns is the first tune on the hub: same pitches, real lyrics.
Every leap-home pair ends on do. That is movable-do ear training: the name tells you whether you arrived home or stopped short.
The blues turn introduces me and fi — lowered and raised steps — without leaving the card. Smooth-then-short mixes legato and staccato on one line, the way phrases in songs actually behave.
Words and leaps together are the first time the check judges both pitch and diction habits.
D1 · Scale words
Your job: doh, ray, mee, fah, sohl, lah, tee, high doh. Each word on its own pitch.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
D2 · Come home
Your job: Leap, then do. The last note of each pair is do.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
D3 · Hot cross buns
Your job: The words sit on the notes. Breathe where the line leaves a gap.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
D4 · Blues turn
Your job: do, me, fa, fi, sol, and back. me and fi are the lowered and raised steps.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
D5 · Smooth, then short
Your job: Connect the long notes. The short ones stay separate. One line, two touches.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Lab E · Minor
Lab E keeps the same do as the other labs. Three syllables sit lower than major: me instead of mi, le instead of la, te instead of ti. If the check still says the major names, you have not moved the pitch yet.
Start with do–mi and do–me so your ear learns the smaller third. Then walk the five-note minor line before the full scale up and back.
The minor chord outline is do, me, sol — the same leap shape as the major arpeggio on the hub, with one vowel changed.
The raised-seventh card swaps te for ti under high do so the scale pulls home. That is the harmonic minor color; Aeolian is the natural minor scale without that raised step.
Minor leaps and the full scale also live on Natural minor on the hub.
E1 · Mi or me
Your job: do–mi, then do–me. The second pair sits lower. The check should say mi, then me.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
E2 · Five of minor
Your job: do re me fa sol and back. The third note stays me. One vowel shape.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
E3 · Three leaps
Your job: Leap to me, then le, then te. Each one comes home to do. Do not sing mi, la, or ti.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
E4 · Natural minor
Your job: do re me fa sol le te, high do, and back. me, le, and te are the three that sit lower.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
E5 · Minor chord
Your job: do, me, sol, me, do. Leap. Do not fill the notes between. The second note stays me.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
E6 · Raised seventh
Your job: The same minor scale, with ti under high do instead of te. That step pulls home. If the check says te there, you dropped it.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Lab F · Modes
A mode is the Western version of a thaat. An alankar is one pattern sung in that thaat. Here the pattern is the scale, up and back, and the mode is which step moves. Do stays put, the way Sa stays put.
Jazz, folk, and contemporary singers practice this. A classical lesson usually stays on major and minor. Major is the rest of this lab. Natural minor is Lab E, and its mode name is Aeolian. Locrian lowers sol as well. Songs almost never sit there, so it is not a card.
The seven names, and the thaat comparison, are on Western theory and East beside West. Bilawal is major. Kalyan’s tivra Ma is the Lydian step.
Sing major once before each mode card so your ear knows what moved.
Modes are not exotic — folk, film, and jazz use them daily. Classical training often delays them; this lab does not.
F1 · Mixolydian
Your job: Major, except the note under high do is te, not ti. If the check says ti there, you are still in major.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
F2 · Lydian
Your job: Major, except fa is fi, a half step higher. The fourth note should say fi. fa means you dropped it.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
F3 · Dorian
Your job: Minor, but the sixth stays la, not le. me and te still sit lower. If the sixth says le, you are in natural minor.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
F4 · Phrygian
Your job: Natural minor, and re becomes ra, a half step above do. The second note is not re. When it lights, the check should say ra.
Press Play once without singing. Notice which syllables light and how long each hold lasts.
Turn Listen on for Your turn. Hold the lit syllable until the check names it in tune, not only once.
If the name flickers or jumps to a neighbor, stop on that spot. Fix pitch or vowel, then run the card again.
When the card is clean at 72 BPM, nudge BPM down if you rush, or up if you stall — then try another key from the menu.
One clean pass beats five sloppy ones. Stop while it still feels easy on the throat.
Same lab, other rooms
The same kind of lab, on another instrument: Piano · Guitar · Ukulele · Bass
Instrument labs use the same card shape: one line, Play, Your turn, key and tempo at the top.
Return here after repertoire weeks to keep mouth, time, and modes in one place.
Voice is the only lab with Listen naming syllables — use that when piano labs feel easy but singing does not.