Pitch, time, words

This page is the notes, the beat, and the words. If you have not sung here before, do not start in the middle of it. The sidebar is the order: stand, warm up, one vowel, one steady note, then come back and sing do re mi.

Play is the example. Your turn is you. The drone is the home note. Listen tells you which syllable you actually sang. Stop if your throat tightens.

This hub is the Western classroom: solfege, rhythm, diction, a first song, chords, and a taste of harmony and reading.

Use the sidebar order unless a teacher sends you elsewhere.

Play is the model; Your turn is you; Listen tells the truth about pitch.

Start here if you are new

The sidebar is a curriculum, not a menu. Each page assumes the pages above it.

You may read ahead for curiosity, but drills will feel harder if the mouth and breath are not set.

A short day that finishes the checklist beats a long day that skips warm-up.

Indian riyaz and Western solfege share the idea of a home pitch; they diverge in syllables and repertoire — both stay available in this workspace.

1. Stand and breathe — feet, jaw, a low breath, and a home note you can hold.
2. Warm up — two minutes with a straw or a lip buzz before any scale.
3. Shape the vowel — ah, eh, ee, oh, oo on that one note.
4. Hold one note — steady, then soft and loud, without the pitch wandering.

Then sing do re mi on this page, and stay until Hot cross buns works on the words.

After the song feels easy

• Loud and soft, then chest, mix, and head.
• A second part, singing in a group, then five songs.
• Sing it your way when you want a style. Strong high notes only after high notes already feel easy.
• Vocal lab — Labs A–F. Minor, then modes. Key and BPM sit at the top.

A short day is enough: warm up, five vowels, do–re–do, one line of the song. Names for the notes live on Western theory. Indian riyaz stays on Singing.

Tone and registers come before harmony because singing two parts while straining in the throat doubles the strain.

Repertoire gives real tunes; style and belt paint them — not the other way around.

The vocal lab collects cards when you want one sitting that crosses mouth, time, range, words, minor, and modes.

Theory pages explain names; these pages train the ear and the body.

Solfege

Do the Vowels page first: same pitch, every mouth shape. Then move the pitch. The bar is do. Movable do names the job of each note, the way Sa does in riyaz. You sing the vowel; the consonant only starts it. Press Play and you hear the syllable on each degree — doh, ray, mee, fah, sohl, lah, tee — on the key the practice bar is set to. The consonant starts the word. The vowel holds the pitch. Change the key and those same words move with do. To hear a real mouth first, play the recordings on Shape the vowel. Those are in the key of C, except oh, which is in D♯. Then sing those shapes here, in your key.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

One start, then the vowel stays. A second push in the throat is a new note you did not mean.

First, only do

Locking do is the whole game at first — every other syllable is measured from it.

Hum against the drone until the wobble slows — that is you matching home.

Headphones keep the drone out of the mic when Listen is on.

Do not rush to re until do holds for a full breath in tune.

Locking do is the whole game at first — every other syllable is measured from it.

1. Press Drone. That sound is do. Listen for three seconds.
2. Lips together. Hum “mmm” on that pitch until the hum and the drone blend. A wah-wah wobble means the two pitches are apart. Ease the hum until the wobble slows and disappears.
3. Open the hum into “doh” on the same pitch. Hold it for one breath.
4. Press Listen on the check. It should say do · in tune. Headphones keep the drone out of the mic. A laptop mic works too.

Then re

Re is the first step up. Say “ray.” This is the note that slips first.

Re is the smallest step up and the first note beginners miss — usually still on do or overshooting to mi.

Your turn without Play first trains the ear; Play is not cheating, but hiding misses under the model is.

Neighbor names on the check tell you which direction to adjust.

1. Press Play. Listen to do–re–do. Press Stop. Do not sing along this time.
2. Press Your turn. Sing “doh, ray, doh.” Hold “ray” and read the check.
3. do means you are still on the drone. Step higher.
4. mi or me means you stepped too far. Come down.
5. re, with “a little flat” or “a little sharp,” means you found the name and the pitch is still moving. Nudge it until the check says in tune.
6. re · in tune means stay for one breath. That re is locked.

With the mic off: drone on do, you hold re. You should hear two separate pitches a small step apart. If they blur into one sound, you are still on do. If they growl, you are sitting between the notes.

Then ti

This ti sits a half step under your do. Say “tee.” A dot under the syllable is the mark for below do, the way a dot over do is the octave above. The ti in the scale has no dot. That one sits just under the high do, so it is above the drone.

Low ti with a dot is not the ti under high do — the dot marks below the drone.

Confusing the two ti syllables is normal until you slow down and read the dot.

Te is a whole step below do — if you hear te, you dropped too far.

1. Press Play. The middle note drops under the drone. Listen, then Stop.
2. Your turn. Hold “tee.” The check should say tị · in tune, with the dot under it.
3. A plain ti, with no dot, means you went up to the ti under the high do. Come back down, past the drone.
4. tẹ means you dropped a whole step. Slide up toward the drone until the name is tị.
5. do means you never left the drone. Go a little lower.

Ti is wandering when the name flips between ti and te while you hold it, or when “a little flat” never clears. A locked note sits on one name and says in tune.

The major scale

Sing this only after do, re, and ti sit still. Eight syllables up, then eight down. One breath holds four of them.

Up: doh, ray, mee, fah — breathe — sohl, lah, tee, high doh.
Down from the high doh: high doh, tee, lah, sohl — breathe — fah, mee, ray, doh.

The ti here has no dot under it. It is the higher one. The dotted tị from the last exercise is the one below the drone, and it does not appear in this scale.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

1. Press Play and listen once through. Singing along the first time hides a miss under the model.
2. Press Your turn. Sing the syllable that lights. When you can hold a note, the check should name that same syllable.
3. When the names match, set the metronome to 60 and press Metro. Your turn again. One syllable per click. The click is the time. The pitch still has to match.
4. If the check says te while the light is on ti, or do while the light is on re, go back to that pair and lock it again.
5. When the names match, press Hide the names. Your turn again. The check is the only syllable you get. Show the names if you get lost.

Practice the steps

The scale is the list. These are the repetitions. Each little group comes home before the next one starts. Stay on the syllable the check names.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Play a group and listen. Your turn on that group only. The check names each note.
2. When a neighbor misses, stop and lock that pair. Then start the group again.
3. Metronome at 60. One syllable per click. The five-note line is the one you repeat until it is boring.

Natural minor

Same do. Three vowels sit lower. mi (mee) becomes me (meh, as in met). la (lah) becomes le (leh, as in let). ti (tee) becomes te (teh, as in ten).

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Sing the major scale once, so the old vowels are in your ear.
2. Your turn on the minor line. On the third note the check should say me. If it says mi, you are still in major. Lower it until the name changes.
3. The sixth note should say le, the seventh te.

Modes

A mode is the Western version of a thaat. An alankar is one pattern sung in that set of notes. Singers do practice this: jazz, folk, and contemporary voice treat it as ordinary work. A classical lesson usually stays on major and minor, which is most of this page.

Do stays put, the way Sa stays put when the thaat changes. One step moves. Mixolydian is major with te instead of ti. Lydian is major with fi instead of fa, the tivra Ma of Kalyan. Dorian is minor with la kept. Phrygian lowers re to ra. Natural minor is the mode called Aeolian. Locrian lowers sol too, and songs almost never sit there.

Sing the same scale in those four colours on Lab F. The seven names are on Western theory. Bilawal beside major, and thaat beside mode, are on East beside West.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

Then the two thirds. Hold each one and let the check name it. Do–mi is major. Do–me is minor.

Name the leap

Six pitches, names covered: do, sol, mi, la, ti, do. Play once and listen. Your turn. The check should say those names in that order. Press Show the names only after you have sung them.

Hidden-name leaps test whether you hear structure without reading syllables.

Show names only after you sing the line — the check is your teacher.

Do–sol–mi–la–ti–do is a workout in fifths and thirds — common in ear training.

If one leap fails, isolate it on the interval table row.

Also watch: Piano and Voice with Brenda — major scale, then natural minor. The scale chart is on Western theory · Solfège.

Intervals

An interval is the distance from do to another syllable. Sing do, leap, then come home to do. The drone stays on do. If the leap misses, walk the scale up to that syllable, then leap it again.

Intervals are named distances from do — seconds through octaves in the table.

Leap drills ask you to return home to do so the ear resets between distances.

Minor leaps lower the third, sixth, and seventh — me, le, te.

If a leap misses, walk the scale to the target, lock it, leap again.

1. Press Play on one row. Listen. Then sing do and hold it until the check says do.
2. Sing the second syllable and hold it. The check should name that syllable. A neighbor means you stopped short or stepped past.
3. If the name is wrong, walk the scale up to that syllable, lock it, then leap it again.
4. Your turn on “the leaps down” starts on the upper note and comes home to do. Home should read do, in tune.

Mix them

A song does not warn you which leap is next. These two lines are the practice after the table feels easy.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Your turn. Hold the top of the leap until the check names it, then sing do.
2. On the way home, do has to read do. If it says re or ti, you stopped short of the drone.

Minor leaps

Same do. The third, sixth, and seventh sit lower: me, le, te. If the check says mi, la, or ti, you are still in major. Lower the leap until the vowel changes.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

Also watch: 30 Day Singer — intervals for beginners. Names and sizes are on Western theory · Intervals.

Meter

Turn the metronome on. 60 is a good start. A quarter lasts one click. An eighth is half a click, so two eighths fill one beat.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

4/4 — four quarters in a bar

Count, and clap on every number. Each mark is the pitch do.

Four-four is the default pop and folk meter — count four before you add eighths.

Clap on numbers, not on ands, until the pulse is steady.

Sing do on each quarter first — pitch stays home while rhythm wakes up.

Then split each beat. The “&” sits halfway between clicks. Keep the clap on the numbers.

3/4 — three quarters in a bar

Three feels like a waltz step: strong beat on one, lighter two and three.

Clap only on one at first, then add the other counts when one is steady.

Your voice should still say do on every quarter — the check catches pitch drift while you count.

Row, row, row your boat lives in 6/8 later, but many beginner tunes use 3/4 — feel the difference.

Three feels like a waltz step: strong beat on one, lighter two and three.

A hold

One syllable, two clicks. The dash is the second click. You do not sing a new note there. Hot cross buns holds “buns” this way.

A hold is one pitch across two clicks. You do not re-attack on the second click.

The throat often wants to gulp a new breath in the middle — plan the breath before the hold starts.

Hot cross buns uses a hold on “buns.” The check should read do through both clicks.

If the name flickers, you probably sang two separate dos instead of one long one.

A rest

The word rest is silence. The pitch stops. The next do is a fresh start. Breathe on the rest.

Rest is silence on purpose. It is not a chance to hum through the gap.

The metronome keeps going; you do not. Breathe during the rest so the next note is clean.

Rests in songs mark phrasing. Treat them as part of the rhythm, not as optional.

Your turn: stay quiet on the rest, then land the next do as a fresh balanced onset.

A dot

The dotted do lasts a click and a half. Re takes the half that is left, tucked in before the next click. Then mi is one whole click.

A dot adds half again to the note before it. Dotted do eats a beat and a half; re tucks into the leftover half.

This pattern appears in folk and classical lines — learning it on do keeps the ear on the math.

Count “one-and two” for the dotted figure before you sing it.

If re arrives late, you probably held do too long or clipped the dot.

6/8 — six clicks in a bar

Count six. Clap on 1 and 4. That is the feel of Row, row, row your boat.

Six eighths group into two big beats: one-two-three four-five-six, with emphasis on one and four.

It feels like two triplets side by side — not the same as six even quarters.

Clap on one and four while you say all six numbers to keep the inner counts honest.

When this feels natural, open Row, row on the repertoire page in the same feel.

1. Set the metronome to 60 and press Metro. Count “one, two, three, four” out loud, one word per click, and clap on the numbers. No tune yet.
2. When the count is steady, Your turn on the quarters. Sing “doh” on each number, the same pitch as the drone. The check should stay on do. If the name changes, the pitch wandered while you were counting. Lock do, then put the rhythm back.
3. The “&” is a second “doh” halfway between clicks. Clap only on the numbers. The check still has to say do.
4. Same work in 3/4: three counts, then the &s.
5. On the hold, one “doh” lasts two clicks. The check stays on do through both.
6. On the rest, you are silent. The next do is a new start, still do.
7. On the dot, do hangs past the click and re arrives before the next one.
8. In 6/8, clap on 1 and 4. Six “doh”s, the check still on do.

The same rhythms on the scale

Counting on one do teaches the click. These three put that click on moving pitches, which is what a song asks for.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Metronome at 60. Your turn. The long note keeps its name for the whole hold.
2. On the rest, stay quiet. The note after it is the one in the line, not do unless the line says do.
3. On the run, four names in two clicks, then sol sits. If a name drops out, slow the metronome.

Also watch: Saher Galt — quarters, then eighths and Sarah Stockton — 4/4 and 3/4. The names are on Note values and Time signatures.

Legato

The pitch moves from do to re. The vowel stays on the same breath. Press Play: one tone slides across the two syllables. The dash on the line is that slide. A fresh “h” on re means you started the note again.

Legato connects notes on one breath; staccato separates them with tiny fresh starts.

The dash on the drill line marks a slide between syllables without a new attack.

Songs need both — Hot cross is mostly separated; Ode wants more connection.

Then the same pairs, short. That is staccato. Each note is a small bounce. A tiny “h” in front (“ha”) keeps the folds from slamming. The air keeps moving.

1. Listen to Play. The pitch moves, and the tone does not stop between do and re. Then Your turn: “doh” slides into “ray” on that same breath.
2. Your turn on the connected pairs. The check should move do, then re, with no third name in between.
3. The short pairs are the opposite. Each note is a small “hah,” and the air keeps moving. Then sing one connected pair again.

Longer breaths

Pairs are the first step. A phrase is four notes on one breath, then a line that switches between connected and short on purpose.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Your turn on the four-note slur. One start. The check walks do, re, mi, fa with no extra name between them.
2. On the mix, the short notes are the only new attacks. If every note has an h, you are still bouncing.

Also watch: Elizabeth Prince — staccato, then legato.

Diction

Diction is how the word sits on the pitch. The vowel is the note. The consonant is the edge of the word. A long consonant steals the beat and the pitch sags. A late consonant turns the word to mush. Shape the vowel first on Vowels, then put the consonant on that same pitch.

Diction puts consonants on the beat and vowels on the pitch.

Voiced consonants can buzz before the vowel; unvoiced ones are air puffs — both must stay short.

Hot cross is the first tune where words meet rhythm you already counted.

If a word bends pitch, sing the syllable alone on that note, then retry the word.

The vowel holds the note

“Hot” is a puff of h plus the vowel. The vowel is the mi. “Cross” is the vowel on re, and the ss arrives as you leave. If you sing the consonant for half the beat, the check leaves the syllable.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

Starts

Every word below is the vowel of do. Only the consonant in front changes. Metronome at 60. One word, two clicks. The check says do on every one of them.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Play once. Listen for one pitch under six different starts.
2. Your turn with Listen. If the check says ti or re, the consonant kicked the pitch. Make that consonant shorter and sing the vowel again.

1. Your turn on hoh up the five notes. The check names do, re, mi, fa, sol. A kick from the h shows up as the wrong name.
2. Then the scale words. The consonant matches the syllable. The vowel is still the note the check hears.

Ends

The last consonant waits until the note is almost over. Close to it as you leave, not in the middle of the hold. “Ahm” rings as ah, then the lips meet.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Hold the vowel for most of the two clicks. Land the consonant as the note ends.
2. The check stays on do through the vowel. A drop at the end means you pitched the consonant.

On a tune

First phrase of Hot cross buns, now with the words. Hot is mi: the h is the puff, “ot” is the note. Cross is re: the vowel rings, the ss is the exit. Buns holds for two clicks: the vowel fills the hold, n and s arrive together at the end.

Hot cross buns is where diction meets melody you already know by syllable.

Each word is still mi, re, or do under the hood. The check does not care about spelling.

If “cross” bends pitch, sing “re” on that spot, then put the word back without changing the vowel.

Phrase the consonants short enough that the vowel owns the beat.

1. Your turn. The check should say mi, then re, then do. A neighbor means the word bent the pitch. Sing the syllable on that spot, then put the word back.

Words that touch

“One a penny” is four notes on one breath. The n of “one” and the n of “pen” are taps inside the line, not new attacks. A fresh “h” between the words chops the phrase.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

Also watch: Madeleine Harvey — consonants for singers.

A song

Hot cross buns. Three pitches you already know: mi, re, and do. The tune is in 4/4. A dash holds for two clicks. Listen to Play once, all the way through, and do not sing. Then Your turn: sing the syllable in the box that lights. On each long do the check should still say do. When the syllables are easy, sing the words on the same pitches. If a word moves the check off the syllable, go back to the syllable on that spot.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

The check names the pitch you actually sang — adjust until it matches the lit syllable in tune.

If anything pinches, stop and reset on SOVT or a lower do in the practice bar.

Short daily reps here beat one long session on the weekend.

1. Syllables until the row and the check agree.
2. Your turn on the words. “Two” is still re. “Pen-” is still do. If the check leaves the syllable, sing the syllable on that spot, then put the word back.

Also watch: 30 Day Singer — how to sing a song. The method there is the same one: melody on a syllable, then the words.

Chords

These three notes are the major chord of your do. The scale used every syllable between them. Here you keep only do, mi, and sol, and you leap: do jumps over re, mi jumps over fa.

Do is home, the same pitch as the drone. Mi is the third. It is the note that makes the chord sound major, the do–mi you already held. Sol is the fifth, the leap that opens “Twinkle.” This is the chord a song sits on when it is home. If the check says re between do and mi, you stepped. Leap again.

The line climbs do, mi, sol, then comes home through mi to do. You hear the third on the way down, and you finish on the drone. Sung one note at a time, this outline is an arpeggio. Count it 1, 3, 5, 3, 1. Further down, Play sounds do, mi, and sol together. Hold do against that chord.

The second line is the same shape with me in place of mi. That one vowel is the minor chord.

Press Play once and listen before you sing. Your turn is for testing, not for guessing.

1. Listen to the major shape once. Then Your turn. Hold each syllable until the check names it: do, then mi, then sol, then mi, then do.
2. Same work on the minor shape. The second note should say me.
3. Press Play on the major chord and leave it running. You sing only “doh.” The check has to keep saying do. If it slides to mi, the chord pulled you. Come back to the drone, then try the chord again.
4. Open the backing band on your do when you want the chord to change under that same held do.

Also watch: Dots Singing — 1–3–5–3–1. How the chord is built is on Western theory · Chords.

Harmony

Quick taste: third above the drone — mi · sol · mi · do. How to stack triads and build I–IV–V is on Building harmony; choir parts on Ensemble.

Harmony is hearing a second job while your part stays steady. This taste line sits a third above the drone.

Sing it after do–mi–sol arpeggios feel easy. The syllables mi and sol should already be locked from intervals.

Headphones help you hold your line when Play sings the model.

Building triads, Roman numerals, and choir parts continue on the harmony and ensemble lessons.

Range

Quick check: low do, high dȯ, home again. Chest, head, passaggio, and siren are on Registers & range. Dynamics, vibrato, and agility are on Tone & agility.

Range is personal. Movable do lets you move the whole map when do is too high or too low.

This quick drill visits low do, high dȯ, and home again — not a full siren.

Chest, mix, head, passaggio, and the siren live on the registers page with more room to explain.

Dynamics and agility on one note are on tone — range is not only top note bragging rights.

Sight-singing

Five lines. This clef is treble. For this exercise the bottom line is do. Each step up, line to space to line, is the next syllable. The bar holds four quarters. Read the syllables under the notes, sing them with the metronome, then sing them again while you only look at the noteheads.

The staff taste uses treble clef with bottom line as do — a beginner anchor.

Point at each notehead while you sing — eyes, voice, and check together.

Full sight course continues on the sight-singing lesson after repertoire.

Theory sight-reading adds letter names and other clefs when you are ready.

1. Point at the first note. It is the do you already sing. Hold it until the check says do.
2. Move your finger only after the check agrees. Your turn lights the same five notes. Finger, syllable, and check move together.
3. Then sing them from the noteheads alone, with Play stopped.
4. This line is a taste. The full course is Sight-singing, after you can sing songs. Letter names and other clefs: sight-reading lessons and the gym.

Also watch: Saher Galt — sing a line, then check it.

After this page

When Hot cross buns stays in tune on the words, the beginner classroom is done. Do not open belting yet. The voice still needs tone and a map of registers before it carries harmony and style.