Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you have a hard time singing 7th chords in tune? Most vocalists do. Don’t worry, the sing-along song tracks can help! Read more to learn how.
7th chords tune differently that other intervals. The tuning theorist Harry Partch calls them septimal intervals, because in just intonation theory, they have a frequency ratio based on the prime number 7.
Therefore, chords with septimal intervals can be called septimal harmony. Today’s post will look at how to harmonize septimal dominant 7th chords.
Septimal 7ths sound harmonically in tune, but will have more roughness or buzz than 3rds, 5ths, and octaves. Thus, you need to listen carefully for the amount of buzz when harmonizing.
Conversely, the septimal 7th sounds melodically low, making melodies that contain them sound out of tune to some musicians. Hence, I’ve put them in the inside parts: alto and tenor. This arrangement helps the septimal 7ths to sound better. (For an explanation of how music can be harmonically in tune and melodically out of tune, see Harmony and Melody Tune Differently.)
Therefore, I’ve given you two versions of the chorus part. One has the septimal 7th in the alto and the other has it in the tenor. Also, this means there will be two SATB, alto, and tenor song tracks for you to perform with.
The sing-along tracks use synth voices rather than actual voices. Science has shown that this helps you, the vocalist, to identify and perform absolute pitch information. For more info, see Why Use a Synth Voice Instead of Real Voices.
Chorus Sound Model:
Singing 7th Chords in Tune: The Basics of Singing (Review)
Let’s go over some of the essentials of tone production before you start to work on singing 7th chords in tune.
- Performing with a Supported Tone: Sight Singing with Solfege
- Good Tone Production with Vowels: Harmonize with Sing-Along Songs
- Free Air Flow: Ear Training Exercises for Harmonizing in Tune
- Phrasing and Taking Breaths: Shape Note Singing Lesson
More pro tips:
- Perform without vibrato
- Sing with a high soft palate
- Listen for the buzz between pitches
- Notice the beating between notes, then tune your pitch until the beating goes away
- Observe how the tone color of each chord changes the sound of your part
The specially tuned sing-along song tracks below create harmonic sound models that help get the sound of well-tuned harmonies in your ear.
Sing with the synth vocal tracks using the vowel ah. After that you can practice the vowels ay, oh, ee, and oo with the song tracks.
Each voice part has a narrow range, so you can try to perform all of the parts. If you find one part to be too high or low, try switching octaves.
Once you have the sound of each part in your ear, try singing each vocal part to the solo organ track. Next, try performing with the SATB tracks. (For a review of shape note notation, see Shape Note Sight Singing Success.)
Make sure you take regular breaths. If you run out of breath, your pitch can drop, and you’ll go out of tune.
The Vocal Parts for Singing 7th Chords in Tune
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
The SATB track for Singing 7th Chords in Tune 1:
Soprano 1:
Alto 1:
Tenor 1:
Bass 1:
Solo Organ:
The SATB track for Singing 7th Chords in Tune 2:
Alto 2:
Tenor 2:
Concluding Thoughts for Singing 7th Chords in Tune
The above soundtracks demonstrate how well-tuned chords should sound when singing 7th chords in tune. Getting the sound of the harmonies in your ear is half the battle.
Therefore, practicing every day with the soundtracks will develop your brain’s mental pitch schemata. This in turn will give you the skill you need to harmonize in tune. Until next time, have fun singing!
© 2022 Geoffrey Keith
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