VocalTools · Practice guide
The piano as a singer's tool
Make the keyboard your ally: give yourself the note, guide a vocalization and accompany a three-chord song.
Session routine
22 min total- 1Finding notes: find every C on the keyboard and name the keys next to middle C, without counting from the edge, because the group of two black keys already tells you where you are.3 min
- 2Five fingers: with your right hand on C-D-E-F-G and fingers 1 to 5, play the notes up and down while you sing them, so your hand and your voice travel the same path.4 min
- 3Self-guided vocalization: you play the first note, sing C-D-E-F-G-F-E-D-C and move up a half step at a time while your voice is comfortable.5 min
- 4Linked triads: C-E-G, C-F-A, B-D-G and C-E-G, first with the right hand alone and then with the bass in the left.5 min
- 5Three-chord song: accompany a simple verse with one chord every four beats and sing over it. If your hands trip up, slow down.5 min
Exercises
Sung five fingers
With your right hand in the five-finger position, play each note, imagine it in silence and only then sing it with its name: imagining first is what tunes your ear. When that works, play and sing C-D-E-F-G-F-E-D-C together, slowly and with a loose wrist.
Scale that rises a half step at a time
Play C and sing the five-note pattern up and down. Then move the starting note to the neighboring key on the right and repeat. Keep going up while your voice is comfortable; when you reach the ceiling, come back down the same way. If the black keys trip you up, play only the first note of each round.
I–IV–V–I chord change (MIDI)
Listen to the lesson's MIDI first, so you know how it should sound. Then play C-E-G, C-F-A, B-D-G and C-E-G with your right hand, adding C, F, G and C in your left. Four beats per chord; when it comes without looking, record it and sing the tonic over it.
Weekly progression
- Days 1-2: keyboard map and five-finger position, played and sung, no rush.
- Days 3-4: self-guided vocalization that rises and falls a half step at a time, playing only the first note.
- Days 5-7: C, F and G chord change with the bass in the left and an accompanied verse.
Checklist
- I find middle C without looking at the ends of the keyboard.
- I play and sing the five-finger position with a loose wrist.
- I link the C, F and G chords without jumping with my hand.
- I accompany myself through a verse with bass and chord while I sing.